Making our own Tools

When you're working with Leather, the one tool you'll most likely use every single time is your wood burnisher (sometimes called a slicker).

If you're new to Leather Work ,we use the wood burnisher tool to create a seal on your leather edges to stop the raw edges from fraying etc.

Cocobolo wood makes great burnishers, its a tropical hardwood but is becoming an endangered wood, so the market is awash with cheap burnishers made with soft woods with exposed grain and a rough finish, which does nothing but give you problems when you're trying to get a lovely smooth burnished edge to your leather.

So..... we decided we'd develop our own Wood Burnishers and to start we're using UK sourced Apple and Yew wood.

We've started with the Apple wood.

And then started shaping it on the lathe.

This was our Leathersmith, Richard's first time working on a spindle lathe. A great day of learning as he switched roles and became the student for the day being taught the ins and outs of wood turning by Terry at www.turnedwoodenbowls.co.uk

We'll post a video of the finished Apple wood burnisher.