No Splitter? No Problem!

[TwinOaks]

Actually, what the picture shows and what you have is in fact a block plane. I've been a woodworker much longer than I've been a leather worker. Block planes are designated as such because the bevel is up on the blade. On a bench plane the bevel goes down. Therefore, block planes can have a much lower attack angle than bench planes. I am surprised you were able to get that Lowe's grade stanley to do that. I have some higher end planes that are SHARP and I have not had great success trying to do what you're showing, but I didn't give it much effort either. Now that I see your results I'll have to get it another shot. Did you start feeding the belt into the plane right at the end or did you start a little ways into the belt?

Thanks for the clarification on the plane types. I learned a little today. I was going by the label on the package, one said block, one said bench.

As far as using a Lowe's grade stanley.....what can I say? I know how to sharpen steel.

I'm not starting right at the end, I'm leaving a little tag end and starting perhaps 1/2 an inch from the end.

[azrider]

If I start sharpening something at 10pm, the wife is going to kill me. Must wait until tomorrow....

How did overlaping the skives work for you for larger pieces?

[TwinOaks]

I'm not trying to split larger pieces. This was a purpose driven experiment, only for belts. I guess you could do larger pieces, but I think you'd end up with uneven areas. With a strap/belt, if you get a little uneven pressure, you have a barely discernible area that's thicker.....uneven pressure on a piece larger than the blade would look like it was cratered. Tree Reaper's idea of a 12 inch blade might work, but at some point, we're reinventing the splitter.