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Publishing Article Archive and Reference Library
Articles by
Chris A. Paschke, CPF GCF
"Bone Burnishers…Revisited"
SEPTEMBER 1995
There's more to executing a professionally well
cut mat than simply using good equipment and avoiding hooked corners. Routine
servicing of your cutter by cleaning and lubricating, changing blades
regularly, making certain the blade is not overly extended and checking that
the slip sheet is never over-scored will all add to the accuracy and precision
for which we continually strive. But, there still remains one final finishing
step in the process of mat cutting that continues to set the polished
professional apart from the weekend hobbiest. Use of a bone burnisher. So where
is your bone anyway?
You remember....the one you bought way back when
you were told you needed one, then threw in a drawer waiting for when that time
came. Or worse yet, you're one of the number of framers who consider themselves
top notch designers yet haven't even invested in a bone at all! It's a small
inexpensive addition that should be part of every framers basic tool kit.
When To
Put It To Use
When cutting most soft museum rag, 12-ply tiered
mats or even if the blade is a little dull, a burnisher easily smooths down
newly cut raw or ragged edges and gives the mat a more polished and completed
look (photo 1). Slight imperfections in mat corners such as tiny overcuts may
also be visually reduced--never healed--by using a bone. When cutting pin striped or bevel banded
tiered mats of 8 to 15-ply thickness, there will appear to be a shifting of the
planes at the window corner. This is
merely the result of the blade being inserted then removed from a very dense,
thick board. By burnishing the bottom edge of the bevel from the back of the
mat, then flattening the shifted corner the mat window will appear realigned
from the front.
photo 1
Ragged edge on inner mat
window
calls for burnishing of the
bevel.
photo
2
Burnishers
come in a variety of sizes,
shapes
and materials.
Types
of Burnishers
Burnishers, also called bone folders, come in a
variety of sizes and shapes (photo 2) and are used extensively within the craft
of making and restoring hand sewn books and bookbinding. Though burnishers are
also available in stone, plastic, metal and wood, some can transfer a
discoloration to the mat. They may also have a little more resistance to
sliding along a toothed surface not allowing them to glide as smoothly as an
aged or treated bone. Most alternative burnishers have actually been developed
for other technical uses--vinyl transfer designs, gilding--and should only be
used as a temporary substitute for bevel smoothing while you search for your
neglected bone.
Seasoning
A New Bone
A new burnisher should be seasoned with oil prior
to use, much like you would a new gourmet sauté pan. Liberally apply a natural
oil--such as vegetable or corn oil--to all sides of the bone and rub off any
access with a clean absorbent cotton rag. Let the new bone sit at least
overnight to completely absorb the oil.
Since it is a natural material—this will not work with a synthetic or
plastic facsimile--the oils will readily be absorbed back into the dried bone. The
original white color of the newly ground and polished bone will now appear more
yellowed, but will be left extremely smooth and sensual. The darkening of the
bone is the direct result of oil absorption which does not leave the bone oily
in any way.
In fact the reason for seasoning is to somewhat
seal it from the dirt and oils found on human hands which can make dirty bones
rather sticky. The benefits of a burnisher are the smooth gliding way they slip
along the edge of cut paper or board. Older untreated bones will often take on
the same yellowed or aged look of a freshly seasoned one. This comes from
natural hand oils being transferred to the bone as it is used....along with all
the dirt and other alien substances of course. This may also make the bone
sticky.
Don't
Muscle The Bone
Very little pressure is required to smooth the
cut edge of the mat, this is an extremely important point. Too much pressure
may not only dent the board but could remove the crisp, clean contrast between
the mat surface and the bevel itself. The idea is not to reestablish the bevel,
just to clean it up (diagram 1). Burnishers are integral in folding paper
(diagram 2) and activating pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes (photo 3).
photo 3
Burnishers should always be
used
to fully activate P-S
adhesives.
Consider for a moment the impact all this could
have on your professional image. The viewer never quite realizes why the matted
picture looks better, it just does. As quality picture framers not only
interested in promoting the precision of our craft, we are also always in
search of the additional little elements that set us apart from "the other
kids on the block". Burnishing may
not only allow you to charge that extra percentage reaching the upper end
client, but may also give you the edge in technical execution during a framing
competition, which is also good for business.
Lightly burnished mat edges may not be the
solution to a hooked corner, but they most definitely should be the professional
framers finishing touch. So if that bone you bought last year is buried in the
back of a drawer somewhere, maybe it's time to dig it out and put it to some
good use. After all, a bone in the hand
is worth two in the drawer.
END
Copyright © Chris A
Paschke, 2011
Original editorial written for PFM, September 1995
For more articles on
mounting basics look under the mounting section in Articles by Subject.
Additional information
on all types of mounting and creative applications in:
The Mounting and
Laminating Handbook, Second Edition, 2002,
The Mounting And
Laminating Handbook, Third Edition, 2008,
Creative Mounting, Wrapping and Laminating, 1999.
Chris Paschke, CPF GCF
Designs Ink
Tehachapi, CA 93561
P 661-821-2188
chris@designsinkart.com
http://www.designsinkart.com/library.htm