Hey gang, I make wallets with a 1mm veg tan and line them with a 1mm chrome tan garment leather. They look great but since lining them, I find the edges to be a challenge as the chrome liner doesn't burnish like the veg tan body.
I have considered edge paint but I do this for a living (so efficiency is really important) and drying times as well as edge resiliency to wear and cracking have my attention drawn elsewhere.
Currently I make a clean 1.5mm cut off the side of the wallet to get a flush edge, bevel with a 1mm seiwa, sand with 500, water+PVA (thanks Phil), burnish with slicker, open the edge up after the slicking has dried with 1000 grit, dye with black dye x 2, then edge gloss 2 layers.
The edge gloss is SUPER thin which I actually think helps with strength instead of building up on the edge, however, because it doesnt build up, the chrome tanned pores dont get filled up, and the end result is a strong and shiny but less than aesthetically pleasing, and even, edge.
I'm considering playing around with a wax finish instead of the gloss to flatten and even out that edge - but of course this now leads to another problem of WHAT WAX?
Beeswax is great because of its low melting point which allows a lot of flexibility without cracking, but I find it unusable because of how sticky it is and how much lint it picks up from the pocket. The softness is great because it looks good to begin with but doesn't hold up to wear the best.
I've tried Columbus, which looks INCREDIBLY glossy and decently even but because it is such a stiff wax, if you lay on enough to fill the pores, it cracks terribly.
I know I'm probably splitting hairs here but I'm really trying to bring my edges up to 100, and I'm only feeling like an 80.
Any thoughts, suggestions and advice would be appreciated !
Speaking of doing edges, where can I buy the sponge sticks shown in the edge finishing video?
Hey gang, my greatest fear came true again lol. Only 2 weeks of use and I've got cracks on the INSIDE bend of the wallet. Im using Vernis with Phillip's techniques. Just finished it with alcohol instead of heat, and applied to a freshly cut square edge.
I'm gonna try again, this time with a bit of roughing prior to the first layer application with 1000 grit sandpaper.
My question: is it the paint? Is it me? Am I just not good enough? Did my father not love me enough????????!!!!!11!
Also: Should I try Uniters?
took 2 days to do the edges on this wallet but definitely came out the best. Thanks papa Phil for the advice. Definitely is a skill to lay down this paint properly, but have been great so far. Will update when the tokonole gets here!
thanks everyone
Thank you everyone that has helped with this post.
I've ordered tokonole, and am currently drying a chrome tan wallet with edge paint that I will have as my own EDC to test the vernis edge paint for wear.
I tried a new method with the columbus edge wax (heating it a bit longer so that it really sinks into the leather instead of laying on top) and the edge is no different from my previous glossing method.
Will come back to this with some edges soon!
Up untill now I've always used tragacanth gum and beeswax (from WUTA) on my veg tan projects.
On chrome tanned leather I always use edge paint. I've tried several paints but lately I'm sticking with Giardini edge paint. Never had an issue with cracking.
I put on muplitple laysers of paint with sanding and heating in between the layers. I always allow the edges to dry naturally and I just do other stuff when they are drying.
@northliftbelts As there are already some great answers here, I will add another idea, and that is time management. If you are looking at having solid colours for you edges, I would revisit a high quality edge paint such as Uniters or Giardini. I have yet to see cracking on either of these two products when applied correctly.
The key is to have other things on the go at the same time as the edges are drying. If I know that I have edges to finish, I have the next project organised ready to go beforehand.
Another trick I like to do is to burnish/shape an edge and when dry, dye the edge with spirit dye. Once dry again, lightly hit it with some 800 grit (slightly scuffing without making the edge rough, it should still be smooth, but ready to absorb edge paint) and apply one layer of paint with a sponge. This has provided some great results in the past. Should your one layer of paint wear in places, it is the same colour underneath since it has been dyed.
@Fadi Are some of those items made from re-tanned or combination tanned leather rather than pure chrome?
Phil
Hey Mate,
So, personally, with chrome tans, I use Tokonole. This thing is incredible, I have yet to see a leather that tokonole cannot burnish.
Resistance wise/cracking wise, on the fold in middle of the wallet, it will look a little less shiny once you use the wallet but edges themselves will stay pretty for a long time.
Check out the edges below, all made using Tokonole.