Crease those edges

Even though I'm not making a lot of tack these days, I am always interested in the tack making process. As I was scrolling Facebook yesterday, I saw this picture by Elaine Lindelef. She writes: I am making some new reins/lines for a harness. The top and bottom are skived and then wet and given a creased edge. The middle shows the raw lace. Creasing significantly improves the visual of the reins and makes them feel much more polished in scale and finish/texture IMHO. The lace is Tandy 1/8” (3mm) premium calf in tan.

In the comments section, someone asked how, she produced that nice straight line. This is where things got really interesting. Instead of a knife or similar tool, Elaine produced a photo of her smooth tracing wheel.

She explains: I've had this wheel was in my toolbox for twenty years doing pretty much nothing. Then one day when I came back to tackmaking, I took it out and suddenly it's my favorite tool! It's pretty easy to control and more forgiving than I would expect. Since it isn't making a cut, even if I wobble or go off the edge, I can usually just go over that area again and it works out. Even with wobbles, in my opinion. it still looks better than not having the crease. I run this tool on pretty much all my strap goods, including small items like keepers. 

Here are some examples of Elaine's work.

Look at those beautiful creased edges!

Even though I'm not making a lot of tack these days, I do make some, and it's clear this is a tool I need for my own collection. Mine should arrive some time next week. Thanks, Elaine, for the wonderful tip!