Schärf-Fix 2000

[esantoro]

I think this paring machine will have to be the next addition to my shop. Anyone have any experience with it.

http://www.charnwoodbooks.co.uk/shop/produ...products_id/107

I should have bought it when I saw it for sale in the states for around $350.

Ed

[esantoro]

I found it in my neck of the woods for $325. I've never seen it lower than this.

http://apps.webcreate.com/ecom/catalog/pro...ProductID=17482

Ed

[bruce johnson]

Ed,

I tried one. It is designed for bookbinding. It will do leather up to maybe 4 oz pretty well. The blades that come with it are sharp, but won't hold up for long, or stand up to leather with more body like latigo. They are designed for bookbinding type leather. Several of the bookbinding websites sell them (or used to). I looked at one that was bought with a set of bookbinding tools and was told to bring it back if it didn't work for me. It was for $150. Sometimes they show up on ebay.

What you really need for your leather is something stouter. A handcrank skiver with a rerally sharp blade will do latigo and firmer chrome tan like diamond-tan OK. Not good for soft chap. The Landis or American B (?) both have a smooth top feedwheel, and won't mark leather. The blade has to be sharp and the blade adjusted right or softer leather will bunch up against the blade. The ideal machine is a bell knife skiver. This machine is designed for just what you are expecting one to do. They are a bit pricey - low enders on ebay from $900. I have a used Fortuna. These are kind of like a sewing machine, you have to make friends first, then dance with it. There is a thread on bell knife skivers in I think the sewing machine section. It just depends on how much you need one, and how good it needs to be whether you can justify a hand crank or bell knife. I have both and wouldn't be without either.

[esantoro]

Ed,

I tried one. It is designed for bookbinding. It will do leather up to maybe 4 oz pretty well. The blades that come with it are sharp, but won't hold up for long, or stand up to leather with more body like latigo. They are designed for bookbinding type leather. Several of the bookbinding websites sell them (or used to). I looked at one that was bought with a set of bookbinding tools and was told to bring it back if it didn't work for me. It was for $150. Sometimes they show up on ebay.

What you really need for your leather is something stouter. A handcrank skiver with a rerally sharp blade will do latigo and firmer chrome tan like diamond-tan OK. Not good for soft chap. The Landis or American B (?) both have a smooth top feedwheel, and won't mark leather. The blade has to be sharp and the blade adjusted right or softer leather will bunch up against the blade. The ideal machine is a bell knife skiver. This machine is designed for just what you are expecting one to do. They are a bit pricey - low enders on ebay from $900. I have a used Fortuna. These are kind of like a sewing machine, you have to make friends first, then dance with it. There is a thread on bell knife skivers in I think the sewing machine section. It just depends on how much you need one, and how good it needs to be whether you can justify a hand crank or bell knife. I have both and wouldn't be without either.

Thanks, Bruce. What I really need to do is probably get better at using a paring knife, and just skive the corners of my gussets rather than the entire length. Though more about the Schar-fix 2000. I'll pass, but I will pick an English paring knife from this same store in MAnhattan, $14. 95 for a handleless English paring knife.

Ed

[esantoro]

I don't know. I sure am tempted to buy this machine and give it a try. It just looks so well engineered. Valerie Michaels use one for 6 oz or thicker veg tan in her book (though I think it's the Brockman type) , but I know to trust your experience, Bruce.

I'll email the company and ask if I can return it if it doesn't suit my needs. It would probably be easy to sell later for the same price.

Would it be redundant both to skive a gusset edge and gouge about a half inch from the edge?

ed

[esantoro]

I have this fantasy that this machine will allow me to split an 6" wide 8 oz strip of leather down to 4/5 oz in 1.5" increments. But now that I think about it, if I'm willing to spend $350 for a machine that might do this with some patience, why not spend $500 to $600 for a 12" or 8" hand crank splitter. Would such a splitter have an open ended side to allow me to do six to nine inches on one side of a 12" to 18" piece of leather side and then do the same on the other side?

Ed

[bruce johnson]

Ed,

I don't think the Scharf-Fix will do that on any leather. Most handcrank splitters are 6" that I have used. I don't know of any that have an open side. Closest you are going to get is a bell knife skiver. Mine will do up to I think 2" with the guide fence. I have free handed some wider than that, it might take 6" off an edge in a few overlapping passes.

If you just need to evensplit a 6" or a little better strip down, then a sharp blade and a Chase pattern splitter would be my choice. I have 8" and 10" Chase patterns, and they will do up to about 2" less than capacity without a lot of effort. Much wider than that, and you are looking at either a bandknife splitter or one of the new Artisan wide blade splitters they are coming out with.

[Ladyk]

The Scharf-fix is an excellent tool for paring and skiving garment type leather so you can easily make turned edges. Indeed it is finely engineered, it requires very little skill to use it proficently. If you wish to make turned edges on garment leather I highly recommend it!

[esantoro]

The Scharf-fix is an excellent tool for paring and skiving garment type leather so you can easily make turned edges. Indeed it is finely engineered, it requires very little skill to use it proficently. If you wish to make turned edges on garment leather I highly recommend it!

Thanks, LAdyk. Do you think it will work well on 4 oz to 12 oz chrome tan and veg tan?

Ed

[penguineer]

Hiya!

My partner has one of these and is a bookbinder. She loves it. She doesn't work with anything over 1mm kangaroo or goat though(about 2.5oz). Probably would work for thin garment leather too.

I'm not sure if it has enough of a throat for the sizes of leather you're talking about either.

Cheers!

[esantoro]

If finances are good come September, I may go for it. There are several light-duty applications I can see this tool handing. Resale value seems to be 100 percent. I just love quality tools that are also portable.

You know, Valerie Michaels has a similar machine illustrated in her book, and it's pictured being used with at least 6 oz veg tan. But, as always, Bruce's advice to the contrary cannot be ignored.

ed

[esantoro]

I'm dying to talk myself into getting this machine. I think it may work well for up to 6 oz leather where I need to pare two to three inches in certain areas down to about 1.5 mm.

Anyone know what the largest amount of clearance is underneath the blade? I do know that the machine comes with three different rollers -- 4mm, 8mm, 12mm -- for varying the width of the pare.

Talas in Manhattan just raised the price $25 to $350.

Ed

[esantoro]

I'm going to pull the trigger on this purchase and hope it works for my needs (though bookbinding is something I'd like to get into, as well). I might be able to get the Brockman, which Valerie Michaels references in her book -- and may infer that it is suitable for heavier work than bookbinding -- for the same price.

http://apps.webcreate.com/ecom/catalog/pro...ProductID=23720

I would have to secure this machine with two C-clamps, while the Schar-fix has a built in single clamp.

http://apps.webcreate.com/ecom/catalog/pro...ProductID=17482

Based on the pictures, it seems that the Brockman may be able to take thicker leathers between the blade and the anvil. Does anyone have experience with the Brockman?

Thanks,

Ed

[Ladyk]

Ed,

Please read what everyone has to say about this tool, it's good at what it does but the types of leathers you wish to skive, pare, etc. are far too heavy for the Scharf-fix. It is good for garment leather nothing else; it's not a splitter. I personally wouldn't use it for anything but paring down 3/8" around an edge for making folds in very soft garment leather. You do have to change blades often or use expensive coated blades even with this light weight leather. As nicely engineered as ths tool is, when I move into a larger work space I will be getting a power skiver as others have described elsewhere in this posting. Although I will most likely never use it on heavy leathers it would non the less save me LOTS of time.

If you do purchase this tool let me know and I will give you a few tips on how to use it effectively.

I'm dying to talk myself into getting this machine. I think it may work well for up to 6 oz leather where I need to pare two to three inches in certain areas down to about 1.5 mm.

Anyone know what the largest amount of clearance is underneath the blade? I do know that the machine comes with three different rollers -- 4mm, 8mm, 12mm -- for varying the width of the pare.

Talas in Manhattan just raised the price $25 to $350.

Ed

[Ladyk]

Thanks, LAdyk. Do you think it will work well on 4 oz to 12 oz chrome tan and veg tan?

Ed

Ed, It will in NO way work well on 4oz heavier leather, and I can't see it working at all on heavy veg tan, it only works on stuff thats super supple-garment grade leather. The knife doing the cutting is an old style disposable razor blade!

Ladyk

[esantoro]

I've decided to save up for Artisan's 20" splitter.

However, a new reason for getting the Scharf-fix 2000 has surfaced. While on vacation, I got some good ideas for women's bags that would require butt stitching together symmetrical pieces of 3oz or 2oz coach-style leather to make up single panels. This stitching will require clean, even pairing of the the edges to about 1/4". The edges will have one invisible stitch then folded over to receive the top stitching. It seems that the Scharf-fix might be ideally suited to this task.

Ed

[esantoro]

I've been making nice with my safety skivers. They told me to keep them supplied with fresh, sharp new blades and twenty cents a pop and they will take care of my needs. We have become very, very good friends.

Thanks, again, for talking me out of that unnecessary purchase.

Ed

[esantoro]

I finally bought the Scharf-fix 2000, from Trish. I'm still playing with it but I'm very surprised how well it works with thick leather, veg tan and chrome tan. Durability of such thin blades certainly is an issue, but cheap good quality double-edged blades should be available.

By the way, the instructions mention the availability of optional 16mm and 20mm rollers. Might anyone know where to get these?

Ed

[oldtimer]

I finally bought the Scharf-fix 2000, from Trish. I'm still playing with it but I'm very surprised how well it works with thick leather, veg tan and chrome tan. Durability of such thin blades certainly is an issue, but cheap good quality double-edged blades should be available.

By the way, the instructions mention the availability of optional 16mm and 20mm rollers. Might anyone know where to get these?

Ed

Ed, by quriosity I googled Schärf-fix and it seems that the machine is made in Sweden, so I´d suggest you E-mail the factory and ask your questions.

www.teknomek.se/int/scharf-fix.html

/ Knut ( my name turned green !!??) :-)

Edited February 3, 2010 by oldtimer

[esantoro]

Thanks, Knut.

I called Teknomek, the Swedish company that makes the machine, today and was told to go through Talas here in Brooklyn, New York, though I may have to wait several months for Talas to put in their next order. I'll look around for other distributors.

Ed

Ed, by quriosity I googled Schärf-fix and it seems that the machine is made in Sweden, so I´d suggest you E-mail the factory and ask your questions.

www.teknomek.se/int/scharf-fix.html

/ Knut ( my name turned green !!??) :-)

[esantoro]

LadyK,

Well, I finally did get this machine and am actually quite surprised how well it works with 5/6oz veg tanned and chrome tanned leather. For best results I will have to go through quite a few blades. The OEM blades, while very sharp, are paper thin. Do you know if thicker standard blades are readily available? All I know is that I can get 100 generic blades for $19 from Talas here in Brooklyn. I'd also like to find a knife maker to make a few custom blades that could be sharpened, honed, and polished.

I'd love to hear more about any tips for using this machine.

Thanks for all your advice.

Ed

Ed,

Please read what everyone has to say about this tool, it's good at what it does but the types of leathers you wish to skive, pare, etc. are far too heavy for the Scharf-fix. It is good for garment leather nothing else; it's not a splitter. I personally wouldn't use it for anything but paring down 3/8" around an edge for making folds in very soft garment leather. You do have to change blades often or use expensive coated blades even with this light weight leather. As nicely engineered as ths tool is, when I move into a larger work space I will be getting a power skiver as others have described elsewhere in this posting. Although I will most likely never use it on heavy leathers it would non the less save me LOTS of time.

If you do purchase this tool let me know and I will give you a few tips on how to use it effectively.

[esantoro]

I've found out that generic double-sided blades work just as well as the OEM blades, but not all blades are created equal. The cheapest blades that work very well are the Dorco-301 stainless steel $8/100. Vidyut Super-Max, which are easy to find at $.99-Stores in NYC are horrible.

LadyK,

Well, I finally did get this machine and am actually quite surprised how well it works with 5/6oz veg tanned and chrome tanned leather. For best results I will have to go through quite a few blades. The OEM blades, while very sharp, are paper thin. Do you know if thicker standard blades are readily available? All I know is that I can get 100 generic blades for $19 from Talas here in Brooklyn. I'd also like to find a knife maker to make a few custom blades that could be sharpened, honed, and polished.

I'd love to hear more about any tips for using this machine.

Thanks for all your advice.

Ed