Trekbike

What to holster makers put on the joined edges of the leather to "harden" the edge and make it smooth?

I've got a raw edge on a holster that I would like to "harden".

Thanks,
David

gicts

its a varied process for many holster makers. If you have a saddle maker around he should take care of them real quick for you and probably real cheap. If you really want to do it yourself shoot me a pm

John OK

some people use a product like gum tragaranth to seal up the edge, others just use a slicker which can be a plastic wheel just for that particular application or just about any hard smooth item that can be used to burnish the edges.

MNBurl

It is called burnishing the edges. You can wet the edge with water (on a sponge) and take a smooth item like a deer antler. Then rub the edge with the burnishing item until is smooths out.

Hope this helps.

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MNBurl

Side Guard Holsters

"If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking" - George S. Patton.

retsupt99

TN has a ton of horses...head to a tack shop...they'll be able to help you out.

__________________
"That I cannot do."

"Give this to, uh, Clemenza. I want reliable people, people who aren't going to be carried away. After all we're not murderers in spite of what this undertaker thinks."


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NRA Life Member

QKShooter

I do my edges differently.
I don't burnish my edges at all.
I sand my edges smooth with 3M Wet or Dry paper.
That will raise a feather edge on the top grain since the top grain does not sand at the same rate as the flesh end grain.
So I change the sanding angle and sand that top grain at a 45 degree angle to knock that off.
Then I stain the leather item including the edges.
Let that dry.
After that I use a thin water based Acrylic sealer on the edges.
It will raise the end grain a bit but will also seal the grain so that it never raises again even if the leather gets wet.
Let that dry and then I re-sand the edges one final time with a finer grit.
Finally I put another coat of thin clear Acrylic on the edges and they are beautiful and as smooth as polished glass.

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Liberty/Tyranny
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retsupt99

Could you do this with a Dremel on slow speed and fine grit?

__________________
"That I cannot do."

"Give this to, uh, Clemenza. I want reliable people, people who aren't going to be carried away. After all we're not murderers in spite of what this undertaker thinks."


***********************************

NRA Life Member

QKShooter

Sure I guess you could. When I'm doing real thick laminations I use a drum sander in my drill press as a first step getting all of the different layers perfectly even and square.

I'm working on a project now. I'll take pics tomorrow and post them here.

Bat21

You just need to dampen the edge and burnish it with a wooden handle, even a broom stick.

Trekbike

Thanks for the tips. I'll give it a try and see how it works out.

David