Leather edge beveller advice

[LittleWheelsandBig]

I have a new B17 Std (<400km) that proving a little recalcitrant. The bottom edges are pretty rough on my chubby thighs. Normally I choose a higher quality saddle with a skived (= chamfered/ bevelled) edge to avoid this problem.

I want to bevel the edge on this saddle. What size and shape of edge beveller should I get? French or English style? V or U?

[nobby]

Couldn't you take it to a cobbler and ask them to smooth it on their machinery?

[LittleWheelsandBig]

I suppose I could. This way might be fun though.

[Brucey]

IIRC I have seen a video of them doing the edge chamfer in the brooks factory, on the models which have it.  Like many craft skills, the guy doing it made it look very easy, handling a razor-sharp tool with confidence and precision. I watched this and thought 'it is clearly not as easy as it looks, I wonder how may goes he had before he got that good...?'.... NB the leather is probably pretty dry at that stage and probably cuts easily too.

FWIW if I wanted to make an edge chamfer I'd probably just grind the edge away, much as a cobbler does when they have remade a goodyear welted sole.  I would of course reach for something like an angle grinder (possibly because it is tool with which I am fairly confident) but I'm sure there are any number of other ways of doing the job.

cheers

[LittleWheelsandBig]

I visited the Brooks factory with the V-CC in 2004 or 2005. It was fun to see the transition period between English and Italian management.

I don’t have a bench or angle grinder. Depending on the type of tool used and amount of leather to be removed, bevelling the edge isn’t always hugely difficult. It all depends on how you hold your tongue...

I will just ask my mother this question. She did a lot of leather craftwork back in my youth but is >30 years out of practice.

[nobby]

I suppose I could. This way might be fun though.

Very true and it may be a good excuse for buying another tool.

[hubner]

I would use a very sharp knife or chisel as I've already got them. If you don't have sharpening equipment, a scalpel is a good alternative.

If the finished cut is not as even, flat or clean as to your liking, then use abrasive papers with a block to smooth down. Then burnish with beeswax or similar.

Angle grinders etc is overkill and would be hard to control, I would have thought.

[Brucey]

you could just use sandpaper to make th whole chamfer...?

cheers

[robgul]

... you could try a saddler if such a place exists in your vicinity?   

I've had a go, a long time ago, at what your trying to do with a poor outcome . . . . leave it to an expert!!

[Jurek]

If I was hand-applying a chamfer/bevel to anything leathery using a blade, I'd want something jig-like to keep the angle of the blade constant.
I speak from experience of hand-bevelling metres of Plastazote.

[Danu]

Very true and it may be a good excuse for buying another tool
Or a new saddle

[ElyDave]

I managed to remove the edge from the cutout on mine with nothing more than an emery board for nails, kept it smooth, but not sure how well that would work for the whole saddle edge?

[redshift]

A No.2 Joseph Dixon-style edge beveller would be my choice,  but that's because I have one.  Failing that, 80 and 120 grit Aluminium oxide paper which is fresh and sharp can be used to advantage.

To tidy up any straggling fibres the traditional method is gum tragacanth and a bone folder, and use friction to heat and seal the edges.  A piece of hardwood can be used if you don't have bone.  If you don't have the gum, you just need an appropriate mucopolysaccharide so spit works too.

I use a combination of these, plus Fiebing's Edge Kote  to finish the edges of my leather bags.  Wax (proofide) over everything when you're done to keep the water out.

ETA: If you want to actually skive the edges thinner, beyond the normal edge bevelling, then given the awkward clearances of a saddle I'd probably use a scalpel rather than a skiving knife.  Swann Morton No. 3 with a No.11 blade has a small triangular blade which might work.

[mrcharly-YHT]

Before bevelling, I'd have a go at smoothing and rounding the edge by rubbing with the back of a spoon. Lots and lots of pressure.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

The issue is on hold as I am fitting a different B17 Std. The edges of this one looks somewhat better, if a little lopsided overall, so we will see how it goes.

[Valiant]

You could use a mini plane and adjust the angle on one side, would give you a nice consistent edge. Failing that, skiving knives are only like £15.