Am I Missing The Boat On Splitting Leather?

[billymac814]

I often read here about splitters and it seems a lot of people have them and id assume use them. I do have a 6" Landis 30 but rarely use it. I normally keep a side of various thicknesses so I have whatever I need. That always seemed easier than splitting pieces down but I recently watched a video someone made using the Cobra 14" splitter and it intrigued me but for nearly 2500 bucks that would buy leather in every thickness and from there you're just buying leather as normal.

My question is are you guys just keeping thicker leather around and splitting it if you need thinner leather? Seems like that's just an extra step but maybe I'm missing something. I can see how having that Cobra splitter would be handy to have around at times. Maybe I should just try out with what I have since its very similar, just smaller. I can see for someone that doesn't go through much leather where this would be a great advantage.

I think my advantage would be that instead of stocking different weights I could stock colors as well but then I'm just trading dying for splitting so its probably a wash.

[bruce johnson]

Here's my take on this. Realize I am a splitteraholic. I buy my leather in a couple weights for the big flat projects. For the most part I buy 7/8 or so, 10/11, and skirting. I buy cheaper vegtan for lining big pieces, and use either that or split down heavier leather or latigo for lining straps.

Currently I have four splitters on the benches.

Landis 30 - I use this for splitting down odd shaped pieces, small scrap, and level splitting straps. My wife can easily crank out hand size pieces from the scrap bin and then click out coasters of the same thickness. I can split a wallet back pretty easy from scrap and so that is one weight of leather I don't buy.

8" Chase - I leave this pretty much set at 8 oz. I use this setting for the skiving the ends of straps and belts where they are going to fold over a buckle. Stick the strap in to catch the fold area, pull back and it is level 8 oz out to the end. I do the same for spur straps and dial it down to about 4 oz to allow for lining since I fold them bottom to top over buckles.

12" Chase - The width here is handy for two reasons. I can do a lot of splitting across the width before I need to strop or resharpen. I have also leveled some skirting pieces up to almost the width on cased leather. I don't do that a lot anymore, but I can.

Randall Krebs pattern - This is what I use for repeatable level splitting. I can dial it right back to where I was a week ago. I can also do some "spot" skiving. I can have it dialed in to the desired depth. I gradually let the roller fall back as I pull and then taper it back out as I get to the end of where I want to end the skive. This works pretty well for folding over a buckle or dee on the end of a doubled strap.

For my shorter lapskives I have a crank skiver. For long laps it varies depending on what other splitters I have on hand. I have used Spitler pattern splitters, #84s and #84 knockoffs, and really like the little Heritage brand for laps.

I could sure get by without a splitter or even with any one of these splitters and do some of these things by hand. That said, having the versatility of these makes it easier, more repeatable, and faster work than handwork and lets me use my heavier scrap up better.

[Mijo]

If I had the workspace / storage space I would buy leather in various thicknesses and forgo the need to split leather. As it is I purchase leather in 9-12oz sides and then split sections when I need thinner leather.

[King's X]

Since I am not in leather business, I usually will buy what I can at the time. Occasionally, if I have an odd shape or piece that I need that is thicker than I want. I use my small Tandy 4" bench skiver. Now, most people will knock this skiver down and I was ready to throw it away or sell it when a friend suggested that I sharpen the blade. I did and mounted it back on and now it work like a charm without much effort all the way up to skirting leather that I bought from a member on here. I probably do not use it as often as those who have already commented, but it works for me.

[billymac814]

Ok, that makes sense. I would like a better way of skiving the end of belts and straps, right now I usually just run it through the splitter and then back it back out and finish with a knife.

I was just curious if people were splitting a lot of their leather, it never really dawned on me to do so, I use the Landis to thin down leather soles occasionally and strap ends but I never really considered it for much else.

Bruce, is there any advantage to a chase splitter over my landis, other than the fact you could do belt ends better? I've never used the pull through type, it always seemed like it would be hard to pull a piece through but that's probably not the case.

[bruce johnson]

Billy,

Advantages of pull splitter vs. a crank splitter. You can pull through some softer leathers than a crank spliiters can sometimes split. Like I use one of my Chases for, you can start anywhere on a strap and level split all the way out. With a handled splitter like a Keystone or #84 you can also do lap skives. It can also be faster than a crank. I can pull something through faster than I can crank most of the time. In fact my first crank splitter was an American. The Americans and Champions both feed from the back instead of the landis system of feeding from the front. I'd start a strap on the American and when I could get a good hold on it, I'd pull it the rest of the way through and let the handle free wheel. I especially did that with latigo becuase it can sometimes wad up against the blade and split unevenly in a crank splitter. These are the biggest differences in use off the top of my head.

[Itch]

For us it is a matter of turning scrap pieces in to profit...There is no such thing as scrap pieces..We have large and we have small pieces of leather..Good luck.

[billymac814]

It makes sense for sure, I tried it tonight, I needed a piece of about 3-4 oz so I grabbed a scrap and split it down, it worked out but I could have just grabbed a scrap of 4 oz too. Ill pay more attention to my scraps from here on out, I usually throw all my scraps in a bin and set them out in my shop and sell them by the pound, if I need any I just go dig through it.

Bruce, when you say crank skiver are you talking about one with a really short blade like the type on a 5in1 or is there another type? That's too short to do a lap skive for a belt buckle but would be ok on smaller straps maybe.

Would it be possible to use a jig(like a shim looking thing) and run that under a strap on a crank splitter to do lap skives? I seen a tutorial of someone doing it with a pull through splitter, I guess you'd have to do it backwards on a crank splitter. I was going to experiment but figured someone may already have tried that.

[bruce johnson]

Yes, that is the type crank skiver but I have an American model B with a little wider blade. It is about 2-3/4" which works on most of the strapwork I do. I have tried the jigs for the pull splitters and they work OK. I am just a little handier doing the the push the handle/pull the strap on a handled splitter. The only problem I had was they are a little awkward and I would occasionally have the jig or strap slip on each other. I am not sure how they would do through a crank splitter.

[billymac814]

Thanks to this thread I was able to use up 2 large backs of English bridle leather that I've had for quite a while. It was 13oz and too heavy for most things, I was making belts out of it but I started getting belts pre cut and pre edged from weavers to sell in my shop because I didn't have the time to keep enough in stock. Anyway I got an order for 50 simple lens cases that hold a piece of welding glass and I was able to run this all through my splitter and use it up. It was a little extra work of course but it seemed worth it. I'm ordering a pull through type too to make lap skiving easier for when I make belts and straps. I do still make custom belts and my gun belts, the pre cut blanks are more my standard belts that I sell in my store for those that don't want to wait which is most of my local customers it seems.

Thanks

[Woodyrock]

The majority of my leather work is polishing belts for the lapidary trade, so, I split all the leather so I know it is all the same thickness. I belt not so done will bump, which is of course useless. I also make knife stropping wheels, which also have to be an even thickness, but not as critical as the lapidary belts.

Woody

[alyshae]

I have that little tandy splitter too, and was ready to chuck it until I got a $10 sharpening done on it. It still isn't great on anything ove two inches wide but I do mostly straps. It's very handy for skiving down the buckle end. What I love it for is the backs. I'll set a piece in the splitter, adjust to that thickness, then take out the piece and notch it a shade thinner. Run it through and fuzzies be gone! It makes for a nice clean back

[oltoot]

I have an Osborne 84 that was picked out of the trash in Miles City, Mt in 1920 then I picked it out of the trash in Alpine, Tx in 1963, new blade in 1990. I saw a reprint of an article from ~ 1885 which made the pull splitter akin to the end of the world for harness manufactured with it. When I read the article, I decided to keep mine instead of throwing it away again. But I understood why the oldest man in the shop would not use a pull splitter for harness parts, instead he would put the end in an alligator clamp and take the humps off with a spokeshve. With my trash treasure, I can use a lot of scraps that would otherwise be thrown away and I can make nice laps. We had a Randall (I think) 14" hand crank when I was learning the trade some 50 yrs ago and I have missed it a lot, enough to give serious thought to the Cowboy but then a friend got an Artisan so I'm over the separation anxiety for now. But here in Wyoming, it can be a pain to go out in the winter to use it so I still think about it every now and then. We would run a lot of cased stuff through the 14" and just take off a whisker in order to give it a 'curried' feel; compressed, especially the grain. Memories!

Edited April 10, 2013 by oltoot