Inexpensive Splitter/skiver.

[billymac814]

I was pursuing eBay the other day and noticed Cowboy makes a pretty inexpensive splitter, similar to the Heritage type sold by Weavers. I sent Bob Kovar a message to find out if he sold these as well and he did and it was even 30.00 cheaper than the one on eBay. I bought one and it arrived today. So far it seems pretty decent for the price( about 170.00). I did spend a little time polishing the blade up on it. I don't recall ever seeing anyone mention these so I figured I'd post it. I haven't used it much as I've only had it an hour but it seems to work good. It should be a good alternative to those who are thinking of getting the cheap Tandy one.

I have a crank splitter so this one will primarily be used for lap skives.

[bruce johnson]

Billy is right. I got one of these in a trade and they are really nice for lap skives. It is a keeper for just the laps. Match one of these up with a precision fixed thickness splitter like a Krebs or Chase pattern pull through splitter or a crank splitter and you can pretty well do anything you'd need to. The cam action is smooth and they just want to roll over without a stick or bind.. They have a set screw to limit the depth for tapering out to a fixed depth. The down side is using them as a splitter, There is not a way to hold the fixed depth for level splitting without holding the handle forward against the stop with one hand while you pull the strap with the other. If you are doing narrow straps without a lot of drag, that isn't a huge deal. Wider straps and it sure can be a little tough to one-hand them through.

[billymac814]

Bruce,

I could be wrong as this is my first splitter of this type but it appears if I push the handle down the opposite way that it locks in place for fixed thicknesses. It seems to work doing it that way. The one thing I can't figure out is if I want an entire piece split how I would start it, it would seem you'd have to have it a little long to get some extra sticking out to have something to pull on.

[JLSleather]

I think that's what he just said?

[billymac814]

Looking at it again, it looks like if I push the handle away from me that the cam pushes up on the roller to do lap skives but if I pull it towards me the cam pushes against the base and in turn still pushes the roller up and against the set screw and basically locks in place for level splitting. Does that sound correct? There wasn't any instructions or anything so I can't say for sure what the proper operation is.

[billymac814]

I think that's what he just said?

Not entirely. He said you have to hold the handle down and pull through one handed. I'm saying I don't know how to start it even with two hands unless i start back sbout an inch. Once its started I'm able to pull it through.

[bruce johnson]

Start in the middle, pull it through, turn it around and pull the other way.

[billymac814]

Start in the middle, pull it through, turn it around and pull the other way.

Ahh. That's simple enough, I feel dumb for not thinking of that.

Also to clear things up, and this doesn't come as a big surprise but Bruce was right, you do have to pretty much hold the handle to do a flat split. When you put the handle the other way it does in fact stay without holding it but it does not allow the roller to roll and while it is possible to split something that way it doesn't pull through near as easy when the roller isn't rolling. That's not much of a concern for me as I wasn't really planning on doing many splits with it as the crank splitter works good enough for that.

[EricIsaiah]

Just snatched one of these up on eBay for $40 (new!). I'm pretty excited to see how well it works out. I've heard some good and bad things, but for $40, I thought it was worth a try.

Sounds like I'll have to get the blade sharpened before I do too much work.

[WScott]

I have the Tandy version and it is better than my hand skiving for sure.

I would love a crank splitter though.

Must ask, what does "lap skiving" mean????

Edited August 19, 2013 by WScott

[billymac814]

You got a heck of a deal on that for 40 bucks. I definitely would sharpen the blade first, mine was barely useable when I got it, they need to be really really sharp to work good, that applies to any splitter.

Lap skiving is just skiving thick to thin, like if you were going to skive the end of a strap, you start off at the thickness of the belt and taper it out. That is really all I use this cowboy splitter for, if I need to split anything I prefer the crank splitter. I'd like to get a wider one sometime soon

[veedub3]

I got one off ebay a few months back and I won the bid at $180 including shipping. (Wish I could have got it for $40 - that was a super deal) Oddly enough it is sitting in the corner still in the box. I will get around to testing it out at some point I imagine. Have been very busy with other projects. Glad you posted on this BIllyMac, as mine did not come with instructions either, but at least now I know how it is supposed to be used, and to sharpen the blade before using. Thanks!

Karina

[billymac814]

Yea I originally found them on eBay and they were in the 180+ range but I figured I'd ask bob to see if he had them since it was a Cowboy and he did and it was even a bit cheaper. They are very simple machines and it all comes down to how sharp it is, if its sharp it'll work great, if its not it won't. If you have to really yank on the work your blade isn't sharp.