How to Burnish Leather Edges

by jessyratfink

499K1.2K39

Intro: How to Burnish Leather Edges

Burnishing leather edges is a great way to make a leather project look AMAZING. If you're unfamiliar with the term, burnishing is basically polishing the rough edges of the leather.

Burnishing can be a pretty time consuming technique, but the way it finishes a project is well worth it. In this instructable I'll show the simplest way of burnishing - manual labor and a slicker! If you're planning on burnishing a giant leather project, it might be a good idea to look into more automated methods, like attaching the slicker to a Dremel. :D

To see a great example of an automated method, check out PowellMade's automated burnisher build!

Check out my other leather ibles for more leatherworking basics:

STEP 1: What You'll Need:

  • gum tragacanth
  • a slicker
  • something to condition the leather - I'm using jojoba oil
  • paper towels
  • fine grit sandpaper

Slickers come in plastic, glass and wood - any of those will do the trick!

Keep in mind that burnishing an edge with gum tragacanth will essentially seal the edge, so if you're going to dye the leather, do it before you burnish.

STEP 2: Sanding

I find that I get the best results when I sand the edges nice and flat - this isn't as necessary if you're working with a single piece of leather. When you have two+ pieces, it ensures they're nice and flush.

This can also help you soften your corners a bit!

STEP 3: Apply the Gum and Let Get Tacky

Shake the gum well and use a piece of paper towel to apply a small amount to the very edge. Let this sit for 30-60 seconds. You want the gum to dry just a little bit - if it's too wet you won't get any friction while slicking.

STEP 4: Use the Slicker and Repeat!

Use a decent amount of pressure to push the slicker up against the edge and bring it rapidly up and down the edge. (You should feel slight friction while doing this. If you don't let the gum dry a little longer.) Keep going until you can tell the gum has dried out a bit.

Once that happens, apply more gum and let it get tacky before repeating. :)

Burnishing an edge to a mirror finish can take up to 30-45 minutes sometimes - definitely not fast! I worked on this one about that long. But it's a nice thing to do in front of the TV!

If you find that you aren't getting significant results after the first couple cycles of gumming/slicking, your edges might be too dry! This means they're sucking up all the gum and not allowing it to sit properly on the surface.

To fix the dryness, apply a tiny amount of jojoba oil to the edges - just until they darken slightly. Then apply more gum and keep going!

31 Comments

JeffreyT 2 years ago

I have been playing around with Nikki Wallets out of different types of weather. I will use vegtan as the basis of this question. When I get ready to burnish the edges I use an edge beveler and after I start trying to burnish using the gum trag and beeswax it seems no matter how many times I do it I still have the split down the middle and they do not fused together how can I get it so they fused together and do not come apart? You will see in my picture that I purposely split it apart with my finger nail just to accentuate the problem. I see a lot of videos on YouTube where they look like they are fused and do not come apart once their job is done. For some reason I cannot seem to achieve this. I would be very thankful for some tips

Jethro BunBun 1 year ago

Have you tried gluing the leather edges together before assembly and stitching?

Wolfie Boy 3 years ago

What If I were to attach the slicker tool, to something like a drill. Then move the wallet up and down, or against the rotation of the slicker

wesleyhall42 4 years ago

Does burnishing only apply to Edges? Or can you burning the face also?

ilovetoedit 4 years ago

Do you need to bevel as well if working with a single piece of leather? I want to use veg tanned precut belt lengths to make very simple leather handles for some bags I've knitted. Would like to order all the supplies/tools in one go as shipping is expensive where I live.

GregS234 5 years ago

ooh! (sorry i'm just thinking about tips I've learned in the last couple of weeks) you can burnish multiple times, so it's common to burnish once with a bit of water, sand it even smoother, and burnish it again with trag or wax it can really help to get nicer edges. While it is important to dye it before hand, you may need to redye the edges between sanding and burnishing again after the water step, once it's water proofed the dye won't take well

Ikechukwu8 4 years ago

Its true I did thesame, while burnishing and the result was for me, Better.

Gigi Ez 5 years ago

What is gum tragacanth made of

jeanniel1 5 years ago

The slicker looks like it could be mounted on a base and then the piece rubbed against it having only one item moving back and forth, and sparing the hand holding the slicker. As for the slicker as you call it, I can see a wheel from ao screen door or a pulley wheel! Cool instructable to finish workmanship.

DanD190 6 years ago

Can I use beeswax to burnish the edge?

GregS234 5 years ago

you can. I recommend heating it by using a small metal spatula or something to spread on, I use some clay tools, heat with a candle, dip into the wax and spread it on, then you can burnish the same

GregS234 5 years ago

excuse the fingers, but this is a watch strap i made that was burnished using this method using melted beeswax. it's actually a strip folded over and glued so there are 2 peices of leather in that one strap. A bit of sanding, some wax, and a rounded burnisher was able to do that. This is a bout 3 weeks on and the burnish is holding up quite well. With wax it generally stays on so you can just reshine it up fairly easily with some buffing.

Raitis 9 years ago

Simple yet effective it seems, thanks!

Do you think it could be done on a combined wood and leather edge as in my notebook 'ible?

GregS234 5 years ago

The leather you use looks chrome tanned? I'm not sure. If it can be burnished, i'm sure you can also polish the wood edge as well, I feel like beeswax on wood buffed would probably at least smooth it if not create a decent polish

GregS234 5 years ago

It's worth noting you can burnish edges with water only, and almost anything can be used as a slicker. Just a piece of canvas is a common practice as well. The gum or other slicking agent is just to help it last longer and weatherproof it

silvertinkerer 8 years ago

I use mostly pre dyed soft leather, not veg tan like you have here. Is there any diferance in how you would burnish it?

jessyratfink 7 years ago

As far as I know, you actually can't burnish most of the softer leathers. Most folks tend to paint the edges instead!

GregS234 5 years ago

If it's chrome tan or oil tanned leather it won't burnish (that's what the soft stuff is). There is specific edge paint for that, it's usually got some give to it so you can bend it without cracking or delaminating

gnomehome123 7 years ago

Hi yeah I'd like to know if this only works on veg tan leather too.

More Comments