Alran Chevre Sully comes under the Semi Chrome category, which means that they take vegetable tanned crusts and then add chrome in the post tanning stage to achieve evenness of dye penetration throughout the hide. Moreover, they finish the sully with a little pigment for sure cause it is impossible to achieve that level of even colour throughout a goat hide.
(A simple way to test if a leather has pigment on it or not is to take a cotton ball, dip it in acetone and rub it on the leather in one single hard stroke. If the cotton ball just changes colour then its dyed, whereas if the cotton ball accumalates any pigment buildup like acrylic paint it has some pigment.)
Coming to the burnishing part. I've used sully for a while and i've never had a problem burnishing it. But also understand that the fibres in goat skin in general are not as compact as fibres in cow skin. So over time you will clearly be able to tell the difference in burnishing result between leather made from both the animals.
And Fadi also mentioned that its very soft. So burnishing can become a task if it keeps moving around. Generally once chevre (any type) is glued onto another leather and dried it will become slightly stiffer. So then place that panel in your stiching pony to sand and burnish. This might help in keeping it taut and stable.
Thanks so much for the advice. After reading most of the responses, I will be using an edge paint for sure. I know that it can be tough enough sometimes getting a nice burnish on good veg-tanned cow hide.
It's so nice having so many experienced leather crafts people to trouble shoot with.
I've burnished the Sully quite successfully with Tokonole.
However, first it is a real pain to do as it is too soft and always wiggles when burnishing. Second, it just doesn't look nice. The edges feels smooth and soft, but they just look weird.
Hi Ben,
Alran Chevre Sully comes under the Semi Chrome category, which means that they take vegetable tanned crusts and then add chrome in the post tanning stage to achieve evenness of dye penetration throughout the hide. Moreover, they finish the sully with a little pigment for sure cause it is impossible to achieve that level of even colour throughout a goat hide.
(A simple way to test if a leather has pigment on it or not is to take a cotton ball, dip it in acetone and rub it on the leather in one single hard stroke. If the cotton ball just changes colour then its dyed, whereas if the cotton ball accumalates any pigment buildup like acrylic paint it has some pigment.)
Coming to the burnishing part. I've used sully for a while and i've never had a problem burnishing it. But also understand that the fibres in goat skin in general are not as compact as fibres in cow skin. So over time you will clearly be able to tell the difference in burnishing result between leather made from both the animals.
And Fadi also mentioned that its very soft. So burnishing can become a task if it keeps moving around. Generally once chevre (any type) is glued onto another leather and dried it will become slightly stiffer. So then place that panel in your stiching pony to sand and burnish. This might help in keeping it taut and stable.
Hey,
I've burnished the Sully quite successfully with Tokonole.
However, first it is a real pain to do as it is too soft and always wiggles when burnishing. Second, it just doesn't look nice. The edges feels smooth and soft, but they just look weird.
Hi,
Alran leather is chrome-tanned, so you won’t have the same
Also, in my opinion, the edges of this kind of leather look better when painted (not burnished).