Alternative uses for Tokonole: Pasting down a flesh side
Looking to buy Seiwa Tokonole? We stock all three colours here!
Seiwa’s tokonole is a handy little product. It gives you lovely, glossy edges. It washes off your hands with a little water. It has no chemical smell, unlike its competitors. It will work on veg-tan and even some chrome-tanned leathers. And it even comes in clear, black, or brown, helping you to dye and burnish all in one application.
At the end of the day, it is just a really good product that is really easy to use.
But did you know it has another, incredible use?
You can actually burnish the flesh side of any leather product with it!
This will give you the ability to take any skived, split, or unfinished flesh side and ‘paste’ it down, giving it a smooth finish. Here’s a quick list of benefits this can have:
- If applied to a skived section of previously finished leather, will bring back to a uniform finish
- Give a lovely slick feel and a slight sheen to the flesh
- When using the clear, this will darken the flesh side, which can help to bring the often light-toned flesh side to a more consistent colour with the grain
- Most split leather won’t be refinished unless coming directly from the tannery, so burnishing the flesh side will help give it the original finish
- Adds a layer of protection to the leather so it won’t fluff up when scratched over years of uses
- When applied to a card pocket it can help cards slide in and out with ease
This is by no means an exhaustive list, and there is likely to be many more benefits!
So now you know some of the perks to burnishing your flesh side with tokonole, let us have a look at how to do it.
Step One
Clean the leather of any dirt either by wiping over with your hand or a horse hairbrush. Then get the tokonole and apply generously to a rag or gather generously on a spatula
Step Two
Wipe over the flesh side to ‘paste’ the leather down
*Pro Tip - Apply quickly so the tokonole doesn’t seep into the leather and dry up before you get to burnishing
Step Three
Once covered evenly, rub over vigorously with the same rag or the side of the wood slicker handle
Step Four
Go through the steps for greater consistency. This is strongly recommended when using brown and black tokonole to get a consistent colour.
If choosing to re-apply, do not sand like you might when burnishing edges, as this will bring up the leather fibers again.
Give this a go on your next project! It is a fantastic way to clean up a fluffy flesh side or improve the functionality of a wallet by slicking the card pockets.
Let us know how this works for you by sending us a message on Instagram, or even share your own tips with us!
