The leather stretches as i start to skive it what do i do

[hickok55]

Hello, I am starting to cover the box in goat leather, but after I cut out one of the sides of leather and start to skive down the edges, it stretches the leather and then I have to cut it down again and re-skive it.

[TomE]

Haven’t worked with goat leather but I do most of my skiving on a scrap of heavy leather with flesh side up. Glass or marble is too slick and the bridle leather I’m skiving slides around. More friction might keep the goat leather from stretching?

[Gezzer]

@TomE  That makes good sense , I haven't worked any goat but  this might be trick to file away for down the road 

[mike02130]

I've heard of some folks using double sided tape to hold it down.  So I've "heard".

[TomMeyers]

I put just simple masking tape on the finished side. 

[xnikolaos]

Goat leather, in Europe, is very soft and pliable and it's used almost for shoe linings. It can be found between 0,4mm to 1,2mm (1,6oz to 3oz) and majority of shoes manufactures use 0,7mm. They don't skive it. It's so soft that a little pressure reduce in half it's thickness. I think a belt sander can help you. I'm not a leather professional.

Edited October 14, 2022 by xnikolaos

[Klara]

On 10/3/2022 at 3:14 PM, hickok55 said:

Hello, I am starting to cover the box in goat leather, but after I cut out one of the sides of leather and start to skive down the edges, it stretches the leather and then I have to cut it down again and re-skive it.

I believe this is normal. I seem to remember that when Jo from JH Leather (YouTube channel) pulls straps through a skiving machine, they come out considerably longer than they were. Having a razor sharp knife should help a bit.

[hickok55]

10 hours ago, Klara said:

I believe this is normal. I seem to remember that when Jo from JH Leather (YouTube channel) pulls straps through a skiving machine, they come out considerably longer than they were. Having a razor sharp knife should help a bit.

Yes i have found that a sharper knife makes it much easier

[Samalan]

Painters tape on the flesh side never put tape on the grain side peel tape off at a very low angle slowly .

[Danne]

I use a glue spreader. I'm right handed so with my left hand I hold down the leather with the glue spreader (at a low angle) and with my right hand I skive, and move the glue spreader and continue skiving. I share a couple of photos where it might be easier to see how I do it. The leather I used in this example is Alran goat leather (Thickness: 0.5mm)

[Danne]

On 10/14/2022 at 7:30 AM, xnikolaos said:

Goat leather, in Europe, is very soft and pliable and it's used almost for shoe linings. It can be found between 0,4mm to 1,2mm (1,6oz to 3oz) and majority of shoes manufactures use 0,7mm. They don't skive it. It's so soft that a little pressure reduce in half it's thickness. I think a belt sander can help you. I'm not a leather professional.

I have some samples of some goat leather that is very soft and "stretchy", and feels more suitable for shoe linings and such. I'm not a professional either, but I use goat a lot for wallets and watch straps, and I think it depends on the tanning process. Just like veg tan cow leather can be quite stiff (like the ones suitable for belts, leather carving and such) there are often also a choice from the tannery to get "tooling leather" soft (tumbled in a drum to break the fiber structure) The goat leather I use is not super soft, but softer than tooling leather. As example when lined (two pieces glued flesh to flesh) there is very little stretch. But I like goat because the strength is very good. You can see examples of things I made from goat if you look at my post history.