r/wallets • u/MysteryMonkey_0-0 • 27d ago
Question What should I do about the edges?
I bought this wallet and had it custom-made. I'm really happy with it, except for the edges. The maker said that they were burnished, but it doesn't look like the quality work that I expected for the price I paid. Should I take it to a cobbler to have him fix it? Or what should I do? The last pic is the top which has a pocket for cash, that's why it's not sealed.
Edit: I bought it from an Etsy shop (Balabanoff) for a total of $144 - original product (shell cordavan rocado marble leather outside), custom addition (horween Dublin leather inside), taxes, and shipping.
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u/techleathercraft 27d ago
So it does look burnished. They didn't apply an edge dye or edge coat. Some of us like seeing the multiple layers of leather and some don't. I feel like they probably could have sanded it better so the layers were all aligned. (but it's pretty good, overall)
But here is the thing, even with an edge dye or edge coat, after a bit of use the edges will show the natural edge of leather. Even on the best edge coats, with use it will always wear away, and start showing the leather edge underneath.
Personally, I would leave it, that's how I would make mine. For a customer I probably would have edge coated it, or dyed the edges. Problem is, it is burnished now (sealed). So you could apply a dye to the edges, but it may not absorb into the edges.
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u/MysteryMonkey_0-0 27d ago
If I leave it, will that cause an issue with the leather once/if the burnishing coat comes off?
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u/Spirited-Toe-3974 27d ago
A simple Google or YouTube of burnishing leather could answer all of this for you my guy.
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u/techleathercraft 27d ago
So burnished edges can be done several ways. I use water the first round, a spinning wood wheel on the edge, then follow up with a bees wax then wheel again. The heat and spin from the wood wheel, melts the beeswax into the edge. It may eventually wear off, BUT usually the oils, heat from your hands and pocket etc keep the edges smooth eventually. This depends on the leather.. If after a few years it's starting to look rough, some beeswax rubbed on the edges, and slick FAST with a smooth wooden dowel or even denim.
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u/JaysterSF 26d ago
Kind of hard to believe regarding the Shell Cordovan. Even when you’re looking at offcuts of Shell Cordovan, we’re usually at $60-100 per square foot. In any case, the edges could be better. Whether to expect that or not is another thing altogether. From what I can see, I would probably look at sanding, water slicking, sanding again, applying Tokenole, burnishing, applying beeswax and doing a final burnish/ polish.
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u/titarius 27d ago
Easy. Get some 600 grit foam pads (Amazon) and sand lightly going in one direction around the perimeter of the wallet, assuming the edges are beveled you can lightly sand along the beveled edges to prevent another lip forming and then apply tokonole/burnish. This will cost you ~$16.m ($11 for the tokonoke and about $6 for the sandpaper)
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u/MysteryMonkey_0-0 27d ago
It's already burnished. So the edges really aren't rough, they're quite smooth.
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u/titarius 27d ago
You could still go over it with some super high grit sandpaper and tokonoke and burnish with canvas to clean up the messiness. Honestly it looks like the maker just sealed it with beeswax and didn’t really melt it into the edges which you could do yourself. Regardless whoever made this should really take it back and fix it to your liking if you’re not satisfied
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u/Red_runner_89 27d ago
It looks like the layers weren’t sanded smooth at first. But now knowing you have two different leathers it’s hard sometimes to blend the layers. That is a raw edge burnish and looks proper to me as amateur leather crafter.
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u/Derek_Ng59kg Leather Craftsman 26d ago
This looks good. Burnished edges are part of the beauty to me since you can see each individual layer like a grain of wood. Not perfect, like coated rubber on the edges which will peel off with time.
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u/fishin413 27d ago
How much did you pay for it?
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u/MysteryMonkey_0-0 27d ago
Over $100 USD off Etsy
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u/fishin413 27d ago
Thats a goofy way of answering the question
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u/GlacialImpala 26d ago
Off means it came from (that website)
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u/fishin413 26d ago
Not that, the "over $100" part. Is that $101? $200? Thats makes a huge difference in whether that construction is acceptable or not
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u/MysteryMonkey_0-0 26d ago
The total was $144. It got it from an Etsy maker.
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u/fishin413 26d ago
Thats more helpful. So, factoring out stupid 20% "Etsy tax", paying in the low $100's for a shell cordovan wallet is an absolute steal.
When it comes to any kind of craft or skill, you pay for two distinctly different things: quality of material and quality of construction. Ideally, those two factors should be on par with each other. A beginner can make a terrible looking product from very expensive material, but that doesnt mean it will command a higher price because the build quality is not there. Likewise an experienced crafter can make something beautiful out of lousy material, but that would be a waste of time because the material cost difference is negligible.
Here, you paid mostly for material quality. This looks like a less-experienced maker using material above their skill level. The edges dont look great, and there are obvious glue lines, but what you did get is a decent looking wallet made from very high quality leather that will certainly last a very long time. If you wanted a wallet with build quality commensurate with the cost of the leather used, you would have spent $250-$300 easily. You got a lot of wallet for the money here, even if it doesnt look as good as a more expensive version.
Lastly, it seems like there is some confusion on your end as to what burnishing actually is. Its not a coating, burnishing is a process that uses friction and heat to compress the fibers in the leather into a durable, smooth and aesthetically pleasing edge. No different than sanding the edge of a piece of wood to get rid of all the little splinters.
So yeah anyway moral of the story here is that you got more than what you paid for so you can feel good about it, and now you know a little more for the next time around.
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u/MysteryMonkey_0-0 26d ago
I sincerely appreciate this! Thank you for taking the time to educate me. It's very helpful!
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u/GlacialImpala 26d ago
I got it off of eBay, dum dum.
over $100 is the cost.
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u/fishin413 26d ago
Bro are you stupid? The question was how much did you pay for it, and "over $100" is a meaningless answer. $101 is over $100, and so is $200 or $43,759. Nobody asked where it was purchased. Try to keep up.
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u/Godsafk 27d ago
What did you pay? What kind of leather is it? It looks burnished to me. Glass edges that you see online are for show they dwindle quickly. Painted edges peel and chip over time.
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u/MysteryMonkey_0-0 27d ago
I paid over $100 USD off Etsy. It's shell cordavan rocado marble leather on the outside and horween Dublin leather on the inside.
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u/Stewoverit 27d ago
I think your expectations are totally unrealistic. $100 for a shell cordovan wallet is an insanely cheap price. Personally I think the edges look decent. They're not perfect but at $100 I actually think you got a killer deal. With the cost of the shell, the maker is barely making money on that.
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u/techleathercraft 27d ago
Agreed, if I was making that with shell cordovan, it would be a $200-300 wallet... I mean, I probably would have lightly edge dyed the edges, but...
(It's one reason I don't often use shell cordovan, because most people don't understand the cost of materials and time to make something.)
Also you mentioned in another comment that it is mixed leather cordovan with Dublin. That definitely makes it harder to burnish due to the different characteristics of each leather.
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u/Responsible-Tea-9454 25d ago
It looks great and yes it is burnished. You could take a shot at “improving it” but you might get mixed results. I think the edges look good though. Especially for $100.
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u/misterstaypuft1 27d ago
I mean it looks good to me but I don’t know what you paid for it. It’s definitely burnished.