The starting idea here was to try to demystify leather burnishing, and William Cambridge set that out plainly: a five-step method aimed at getting a smooth, glossy edge on vegetable-tanned leather. Burnishing is one of those topics where everyone seems to guard a slightly different routine, so a clear walkthrough of one complete approach is a genuinely useful thing for the community to have.
The sequence is easy to follow. It opens with a size 0 edge beveler trimming the top and bottom corners, then dye goes along the edge from a 15 mm pump marker filled with Fiebing's Pro Dye, and the edge gets worked with a grooved wooden slicker to compress the fibers. From there a first layer of Tokonole is spread on with a finger, left to cure a little, and slicked back and forth for a preliminary shine. High-grit sandpaper comes next, applied in a single direction, followed by a second Tokonole coat, more slicking, and hand buffing with a scrap of white lint-free cloth. The last step rubs the edge straight with a yellow Columbus wax bar and gives it a firm buff.
Details that stand out to me: the pump marker as a dye applicator looks tidy and repeatable, the contoured slicker choice seems sensible for working a rounded edge, and the tools laid out on a gridded cutting mat keep the whole thing readable. Text screens paired with instrumental music give it a calm pace.
The honest caveat comes from the maker directly: the first attempt may not succeed, and the advice is to keep trying and practice on scrap leather while referencing several other guides too. The finished edge shown on brown leather looks smooth, dark and glossy, which is a good sign the method holds up.
Project by William Cambridge. Watch it on their YouTube channel: