Edge Finishing
The choice of edge finish on your leather goods is personal to you, be that a naturally burnished edge to show off the natural colours and beauty of your chosen leather, a dyed leather edge which is finished in the same way as a natural burnished edge, or using edge paint in a colour of choice to subtly match the main colour of the exterior or choosing a contrasting colour to make your purchase truly unique to you.
Using anyone of the options listed below will give your leather goods a complete and finished look and will also help with the longevity of you purchase.
The below gallery and process explanation will show you both the looks that can be achieved from the different styles and finishes and hopefully allow you to make the right decision for your purchase.
Naturally Burnished Edges
We have devised a 26 stage process to ensure our naturally burnished edges are beautifully smooth and finish with a wonderfully shiny lustre.
It all starts with sanding the edges as flat and as smooth as you possibly can. Starting off with 400 grade wet and dry paper, then working your way through grades until you get to 7000, my sanding process goes as follows: 400 - 600 - 800 - 1000 - 1200 - 2000 - 3000 - 5000 - 7000
After each sand, you wet the leather with a sponge, not saturating it, but just enough to soak in the edge, once wet, buff the edge with a piece of linen or denim, my preference is denim as it tends not to shed any fibres which can embed in the edge, with each completed sand, wet & buff, check the layers and ensure everything is flush, if not, start the process again from 400 grade
Once you’ve reached 7000 grade and are completely happy with the overall finish, buff in the Tokonole, once complete you have a couple of final finishes to make the edges really shine, you can melt in some Columbus Wax or use a clear edge finish such as Fiebings Edge Kote. The whole process is very time consuming to get right with a wallet taking around 2 hours to get perfectly shiny.
Edge Paint Finish
It all starts with the preparation of the leather by sanding the edges as flat and as smooth as you possibly can. As with the natural burnishing, I start off with 400 grade wet and dry paper, but as this is an edge paint, it isn’t necessary to work all the way up to 7000, I’ve found that leaving the sanding at 800 grade works just fine.
I still wet the edges and buff in between sanding, but before the first coat of edge paint can be applied, the edges have to be perfectly dry to ensure the paint stick, the first coat applied is the primer, once dry this should be sanded perfectly flat to remove any uneven lines, you may need to repeat this process a couple of times if you haven’t prepared the edge as good as you should have.
The final coat of edge paint (top coat) will be the final finish, so ensure this is as smooth and as even as possible, a little trick I have and it’s one I use in finishing signs, it use a fine grade wet and dry, to dull the top coat and give it a key, then finish with Fiebings Edge Kote to get the perfect glossy finish and an added layer or three of protection.
Dyed Edges
The process for dyed edges is relatively the same as a naturally burnished edge where it all starts with sanding the edges as flat and as smooth as you possibly can. Starting off with 400 grade wet and dry paper, then working your way through grades until you get to 7000, my sanding process goes as follows: 400 - 600 - 800 - 1000 - 1200 - 2000 - 3000 - 5000 - 7000
After each sand, you wet the leather with a sponge, not saturating it, but just enough to soak in the edge, once wet, buff the edge with a piece of linen or denim, my preference is denim as it tends no to shed any fibred which can embed in the edge, with each completed sand, wet & buff, check the layers and ensure everything is flush, if not, start the process again from 400 grade, the main difference with dying the edge process, is you add the dye in from 1000 grade, let dry, then dampen the edge and buff, do this all the way up to 7000 grade to ensure a deep colour
Once you’ve reached 7000 grade and are completely happy with the overall finish, buff in the Tokonole, once complete you have a couple of final finishes to make the edges really shine, you can melt in some Columbus Wax or use a clear edge finish such as Fiebings Edge Kote. The whole process is very time consuming to get right with a wallet taking around 2 hours to get perfectly shiny.
