Splitting Edges... Impossible?

[Suemi]

has anyone found a way to split about a 1/4" into the edges of a belt from beginning to end? I have a new tool in mind I was going to make to accomplish this but I thought I would ask first.

I want to split 8-9oz leather strap edges only, leaving the center in tact. Hope that isn't confusing anyone.

Thanks in advance,

Suemi

[TwinOaks]

build a jig with a slot the thickness of the belt/strap blanks, measure the slot to find the center and install a blade that protrudes into the slot the depth you want to cut. draw the strap/belt through the slot while keeping the to-be-split edge against the 'bottom' of the slot. That should produce the results you want.

[bruce johnson]

I am not 100% sure what you are wanting to do. If you are looking to skive off 1/4" into the edges of a belt, either a crank skiver or bell knife skiver will do that all day. That will thin down the edges and leave the centers full. For handtools, that is kind of the baliwick of french edgers or skiving blades. If you are looking to cut a slit into the edge, that is a little different. A channeler with a real sharp blade might do a passable job on something like that. Otherwise some sort of jig like Twin Oaks suggested could work. I don't do enough hidden stitch work to matter. When I do I follow what I think Steve Mason wrote a few years ago. I hold the leather down on the edge of my stamping rock with a ruler and use a blade to go along the edge. I can see better and have more control with a razor blade, cut towards myself to see better, and make multiple passes to get the depth I need.

[JLSleather]

As Bruce mentions, there are tools available to do that. If, on the other hand, you are wanting to "engineer" something, how about an angled slit cut into the blade-holding portion of a strap cutter, set to the angle you're looking for (Hmmm?). If'n a fella wanted to get fancy (or do different widths) you could easily make the angle adjustable with a set screw coming in frm the end of the tool.