Skiving machine

[Rich1]

I am looking to purchase a hand operated skiving machine and need some input on a good one. I am not to the point I can afford an electric bell skiver yet. I usually do 4oz or less leather. I was doing by hand with skiving knife but it's got to hard on my hands at my age, and to much skiving.

[Garyak]

I used the 5$ skiving knife sold at your local go to place for 34 years, never giving a thought of purchasing a mechanical or powered skiver, till my hands gave out and I had surgery. I didn’t do much research into options available and went into debt with the purchase of a TECHSEW SK-4. I know you said you’re not at a point to buy a bell skiver and neither was I, but it was well worth it. Would buy again. I never knew skiving could be so easy, and just plain satisfying to watch with a bell skiver. I’m interested to see what other folks use besides a bell skiver and what the results are….. 

Edited October 13, 2022 by Garyak

[Northmount]

On 10/12/2022 at 5:36 PM, Rich1 said:

I am not to the point I can afford an electric bell skiver yet

Take a look at paring machines.  I built a similar device and have had fairly good luck with it, but the Scharffix should be a good product.  I see a few simple clones without all the adjustments, some Chinese built that don't work (I tried it, wasted my money!).  Do a google search for the Scharffix and you will find a few sellers.

 

[Rich1]

I will take a look. Thank you.

[Rich1]

I have been reading on bell sliver that you can’t slice veg tan leather. Can someone tell me why or if they have experienced?

[mike02130]

1 hour ago, Rich1 said:

I have been reading on bell sliver that you can’t slice veg tan leather. Can someone tell me why or if they have experienced?

I'm guessing you mean skive?  Sure you can skive veg tan.  I do it all the time.

[Matt S]

On 10/13/2022 at 12:36 AM, Rich1 said:

I am looking to purchase a hand operated skiving machine and need some input on a good one. I am not to the point I can afford an electric bell skiver yet. I usually do 4oz or less leather. I was doing by hand with skiving knife but it's got to hard on my hands at my age, and to much skiving.

To which hand-operated skivers are you referring? The Chinese copies of the Scharffix, which take the razor blades, are junk in my experience. They flex too much (causes lumpy skiving and tear-through), need a fair bit of grip strength to use, and are easy to cut yourself on. A real Scharffix may work better, but I have no experience of those.

I don't know what hand issues you have, nor what skives you are doing, but I have a range of skiving knives and a bell skiver and often just skive using a skirt shave. I think it's called a French edger where you live. It's a simple push motion, which might work better for you. One of these:

 

2 hours ago, Rich1 said:

I have been reading on bell sliver that you can’t slice veg tan leather. Can someone tell me why or if they have experienced?

Well that depends on the leather. "Veg tan" covers a huge range. Certainly you can use a bell skiver on some veg tanned leathers. Most you see are for skiving lighter leathers like what you'd make a soft bag or a wallet from, or lining a shoe. In order to skive heavy, stiff leathers the usual bottom-feed-only machines might need the usual stone feed wheel swapped to a steel one with ridges, or you might have to go with the less common and more expensive top-and-bottom-feed design. Good dealers will demonstrate their machines on samples of your material if you provide some.

[RockyAussie]

15 hours ago, Rich1 said:

I have been reading on bell sliver that you can’t slice veg tan leather. Can someone tell me why or if they have experienced?

Not true at all. A compressed sole leather for a shoe is about the only veg leather I would hesitate at skiving but for that I would soften the area I wanted to skive by soaking it first. A sharp bell knife and a roller presser foot will handle any veg you can like. This video I made about 3 minutes in shows a very hard veg piece being skived and in this case I could have set it up a bit better than I did. It was an afterthought on the run at the time - 

 

[Rich1]

Thank you all for the information. That video says it all Rockie. I don’t know where they are getting it won’t do veg tan. Arthritis in my hands to where I can’t make a fist very tight and no gripe so this I think will do trick. Mike02130 yes I did mean skive. THANK YOU ALL, wife and I are going to look into.