How to get the BEST edge finish on vegetable tanned leather

00:06:32
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEFbahFVShI

Summary

TLDRJoe from JH Leather shares techniques to achieve a polished edge finish on vegetable-tanned leather. He emphasizes the importance of level edges, achievable through adding a trim allowance or sanding, for a desired shiny appearance. Joe prefers water-based stains for safe use and suggests using tools such as a wool dauber and various burnishers to apply stains and polish leather. For the best results, he recommends using a burnishing machine, but states that manual methods are also effective. Tokonole and beeswax can enhance the final finish, eliminating any joints' visibility. Joe concludes by inviting viewers to comment with their own tips.

Takeaways

  • 🪡 Achieving level edges through trim allowance or sanding improves polishing results.
  • 💧 Water-based stains are preferred for leather safety.
  • 🛠 Various tools can be used for edge polishing, like Irish linen and burnishers.
  • ✋ Manual polishing requires more effort but can yield similar results as machines.
  • 🕳️ Applying products like Tokonole and beeswax can enhance edge shine.
  • 🗂️ Selecting the right tool groove is key to effective polishing.
  • 📏 Maintaining level leather layers is crucial for smooth edges.
  • 🔄 Multiple polishing iterations can be beneficial if the stain dries too quickly.
  • 💪 Elbow grease is an alternative to burnishing machines for staining single leather layers.
  • 🔗 Joe provides product links and invites viewers to share their own tips in the video's comments.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:06:32

    In this video, Joe from JH Leather discusses various methods to achieve a smooth, shiny edge finish on vegetable-tanned leather. The key focus is on thorough edge preparation, which can be done through either adding a trim allowance or sanding. Joe advocates for the effectiveness of using a trim allowance since it offers more stable edges when glued or stitched, typically around six millimeters. For items where allowance isn't suitable, ensuring the layers are level before stitching is crucial. Pre-staining edges prevent glue from creating a barrier that inhibits stain absorption, and sanding smooths and loosens fibers for better results. Preferred stains include water-based options from Metropolitan Leather, applied using a wool dauber.

Mind Map

Video Q&A

  • What is the best tool for polishing leather edges?

    Joe prefers using tools like the Irish linen, bone folder, or wooden burnisher (handheld or machine) for polishing.

  • Why is a trim allowance preferred for edge finishing?

    A trim allowance helps ensure all layers are level, providing a smooth surface for staining and burnishing.

  • Which stain does Joe recommend for leather edges?

    Joe recommends water-based stains from Metropolitan leather and his own mixes for a safer application.

  • Can glue affect the staining process on leather?

    Yes, glue can form a waterproof barrier on raw leather edges, preventing stain absorption.

  • How should you apply pressure during the polishing process?

    Apply a small amount of pressure to smooth and flatten fibers for better polish.

  • What alternative can be used if you don't have a burnishing machine?

    Use a polishing cloth and elbow grease to achieve similar results.

  • What is Tokonole and its purpose in leather finishing?

    Tokonole is a product applied to leather edges to help achieve shiny and smooth finishes.

  • Why is the stain still being moist beneficial during polishing?

    Polishing when the stain is slightly damp provides better results.

  • What are Joe's recommended products for obtaining shiny leather edges?

    Products like Tokonole and beeswax are recommended for that shiny finish.

  • Where can additional information on leather finishing be found?

    Joe provides links in the video description for all products and further details.

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  • 00:00:00
    hi I'm Joe from JH leather and in this
  • 00:00:02
    video we're going over a number of ways
  • 00:00:05
    to get the best possible Edge finish on
  • 00:00:07
    your vegetable tanned leather projects
  • 00:00:11
    [Music]
  • 00:00:17
    there are a few different ways we can
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    achieve the shiny smooth edges wheel
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    after for our leather work and the main
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    thing we need to look at is The Edge
  • 00:00:26
    preparation so we're going to want our
  • 00:00:29
    edges to be as level as possible and to
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    get that result we have two options
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    either we add a trim allowance to our
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    projects or we sand the edges now in my
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    opinion adding a trim allowance gets you
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    the best results as your project is
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    already going to be held together either
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    by gluing or stitching and so the layers
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    of the leather are not going to move now
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    you can add as big an allowance as you
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    like I generally use a quarter of an
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    inch or six millimeters and I prefer to
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    trim after I've done my stitching Now by
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    having the trim allowance all the layers
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    of the project are going to be nice and
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    level so when we move on to the staining
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    and burnishing we are giving ourselves
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    the best chance at getting the smooth
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    shiny edges that we want now depending
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    on what you are making adding a trim
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    allow may not always be possible like on
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    a buckle turn on a belt for example now
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    we can help ourselves here by ensuring
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    the layers are glued or tacked as level
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    as possible before we get stitching once
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    the piece is together we can then
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    prepare the edges for finishing now
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    you'll see that on most of my projects
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    where I am not using the trim allowance
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    I will have stained the edges first now
  • 00:01:34
    the reason for that is that if you get
  • 00:01:36
    glue on the raw edges of leather this
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    can form a waterproof barrier and won't
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    allow the stain to penetrate into the
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    leather which is not what we want when
  • 00:01:45
    you are ready to do your final staining
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    and polishing we're going to sand the
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    edges of our leather where there are
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    multiple layers to get them level and
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    smooth this is also going to loosen the
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    fibers a little bit and so it will allow
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    the stain to absorb more easily into the
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    leather when it comes to the actual
  • 00:02:01
    stain I use my Preferred Choice is a
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    water-based Stone as it doesn't contain
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    some of the harsh chemicals that can be
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    found in spirit dyes so there are two
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    main types of stain which I use which
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    are the water-based ones for
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    Metropolitan leather which are great and
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    come in a range of colors and I also mix
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    my own stains up which you can find more
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    information on in this video linked up
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    here for the application of stain I like
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    to use a wool dauber and a paintbrush
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    for smaller areas but you can use
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    whichever method you prefer now for the
  • 00:02:30
    actual polishing part there are three
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    tools that I like to use here the stain
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    cloth and now I like to use Irish linen
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    a bone folder or a wooden burnisher this
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    can be handheld or a machine like the
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    one I have here from just woods now what
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    we're aiming for when polishing is to
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    create friction and use any or a
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    combination of the tools that I just
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    lifted to smooth the fibers in the
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    leather down and to get a really nice
  • 00:02:56
    polished Edge
  • 00:02:57
    now different Leathers will polish up
  • 00:02:59
    differently and this will also vary from
  • 00:03:01
    height to height so it is something to
  • 00:03:03
    be aware of my chosen method is to apply
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    this stain to the edges with my wall
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    doorber and then use a polishing cloth
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    to remove any excess stain before moving
  • 00:03:12
    on to the burnishing machine so you will
  • 00:03:14
    pick the groove that best fits your
  • 00:03:15
    project and use that to polish the edges
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    of your leather now I like to hold my
  • 00:03:20
    piece underneath the burnisher and what
  • 00:03:22
    we want to do is apply a small amount of
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    pressure here to really get the fibers
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    nice and smooth and flat now if you
  • 00:03:28
    don't have a burnishing machine you can
  • 00:03:30
    still get the same results with some
  • 00:03:32
    elbow grease you can use a polishing
  • 00:03:34
    cloth all on its own which is what I
  • 00:03:36
    would generally do for an initial
  • 00:03:38
    staining or where I am staining where
  • 00:03:40
    there is just a single layer of leather
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    and I have found that the older and more
  • 00:03:44
    stained the cloth is the better the
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    polished Edge you will get on your
  • 00:03:47
    leather work you can also wrap this
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    around the bone folder or use your thumb
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    and put pressure on the edge and polish
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    the length of your project to get some
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    really nice smooth and Polished edges is
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    now I use the bone folder on its own
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    around Buckle turns as it can easily fit
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    in between the fittings and the loops
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    and again we're going to apply some
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    pressure here and rub the bone into the
  • 00:04:08
    leather to get some nice shiny edges and
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    make it look like there is not a joint
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    in this area for areas where there are
  • 00:04:14
    two or more layers of leather I will use
  • 00:04:16
    the wooden Slicker and these come in
  • 00:04:19
    various sizes and I have a couple here
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    from Jess Woods where one has the
  • 00:04:23
    rounded Groove and the other has flat
  • 00:04:24
    ones as well as an old one that I've
  • 00:04:26
    picked up from Metropolitan leather like
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    on the burnishing machine we're going to
  • 00:04:30
    pick the groove that best fits our
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    leather work and get rubbing for larger
  • 00:04:34
    pieces I will stain a little bit at the
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    time and then polish that section before
  • 00:04:37
    moving on to the next and I will do that
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    with both the burnishing machine or if
  • 00:04:42
    I'm burnishing now I find that I get the
  • 00:04:45
    best results with my burnishing when the
  • 00:04:47
    stain is still a little bit damp now you
  • 00:04:50
    can go over this multiple times so if it
  • 00:04:52
    does dry into the leather you can go
  • 00:04:54
    over it again no problem now there are a
  • 00:04:56
    couple methods to help me with those
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    super shiny edges the first one being
  • 00:05:00
    the awesome product is tokeno now I have
  • 00:05:03
    the clear one here in the workshop as I
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    use it on a few different colors of
  • 00:05:07
    leather and stain but you can also get
  • 00:05:09
    this in black and brown we are going to
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    apply a small amount of the taco nut to
  • 00:05:13
    the edges of our leather work and we're
  • 00:05:14
    going to rub that in and then leave it a
  • 00:05:16
    second or so before we start polishing
  • 00:05:18
    now when it comes to using the talker
  • 00:05:20
    note I actually prefer polishing this by
  • 00:05:22
    hand as I like to use the stain cloth
  • 00:05:25
    now you can use which other burnishing
  • 00:05:27
    method that you like the most and we're
  • 00:05:29
    just going to rub the edges of our
  • 00:05:30
    leather once more and they're going to
  • 00:05:32
    come up really nice and shiny and smooth
  • 00:05:34
    alternatively when using the burnishing
  • 00:05:36
    machine I like to apply some beeswax to
  • 00:05:39
    the burnishing attachment and then
  • 00:05:40
    polish the edges of my project like that
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    and it gives a really nice finish to
  • 00:05:44
    your projects as well now that is the
  • 00:05:47
    process that I use to get the best edges
  • 00:05:49
    on my veg tan leather projects and there
  • 00:05:51
    will be links in the description to all
  • 00:05:53
    the products I've talked about in this
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    video now if you have your own tip tips
  • 00:05:57
    please feel free to leave them in the
  • 00:05:59
    comments section below so that other
  • 00:06:01
    people can learn from you so thank you
  • 00:06:03
    very much for watching this video I hope
  • 00:06:05
    you enjoyed watching and if you did
  • 00:06:07
    please click the thumbs up button and if
  • 00:06:09
    you haven't already please subscribe for
  • 00:06:11
    more videos and tutorials and I shall
  • 00:06:13
    see you in the next video
Tags
  • Leather crafting
  • Vegetable-tanned leather
  • Edge finishing
  • Polishing tools
  • Burnishing
  • Staining leather
  • Tokonole
  • Beeswax
  • Trim allowance
  • Leather tips