How To Skive Consistently With Super Skiver?

[pgivens]

I am having a lot of trouble with skiving with the Super Skiver. Any recommendations for a beginner on how to keep the depth consistent? I am constantly cutting too deep and ruining my edges :\ Thanks in advance!

[Logans Leather]

Never really liked the super skiver. Pretty safe advice is to practice a lot, and I mean A LOT. also, keep your blades very sharp. strop them often, or you will be spending a fortune on them using them in a disposable fasion. You may have more luck with a safety skiver. I prefered them when I was starting out.

Best plan is to get good skiving knives, learn how to sharpen them and keep them sharp, and use how to use the and practice a lot. Several of the Stohlan books give excellent tutorials on skiving. This book is indespensible: Leathercraft Tools, How To Use Them, How To Sharpen Them, by Al Stohman

http://springfieldleather.com/26963/Book%2CLeathercraft-Tools/

or

http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/home/department/books-patterns/61960-00.aspx

[footrat]

I use the Super Skiver, and a sharp blade is critical. Cleaning bits of leather out from between the blade and knife is important, too, otherwise you end up changing the blade angle against the leather, and it digs in harder than normal. For me, it's a two-handed motion, with my left hand (I'm left handed) pulling the handle, and the right hand holding down the piece and pushing on the head of the skiver. In this manner, I get more control, and can lift up out of the skiving where I want. I use saddle skirting, so have to skive almost everything at some point, mostly to make folds, or to make a piece of leather thinner in one spot so the layers don't add up so much.

[Invasion]

I have the super skiver. I am also new to all of this. I spent yesterday practicing on a 20x20 cm of veg tan and I am now a dab hand at it

I think it is just practice and developing your own technique. I can't put into words really how I do it. A key point is watch the cutting edge and adjust by tilting back and forth as you go if that makes sense ?

I got my 3mm veg tan down to 1.5ish and even and I am super fussy/critical

Hope this helps

[RiverCity]

Just a side note to replacing the blades. Use a pair of needle nose pliers, it will help set the blade in tight and keep you from cutting your fingers to ribbons.

Chuck

[lightingale]

I also struggle with this tool. I've ruined a lot of good strips because I accidentally skived to a feather edge. I've found that it's easier to skive wet leather. The best time is just after soaking it for casing, before you put it in the fridge to case overnight.

Not all the replacement blades come sharp. I struggled with a dull one for months, thinking that this was normal as it had always been that hard to use. There was a huge improvement when I replaced the blade again.

I've been eyeing some of the skiving knives on goodsjapan. Sounds like there's a bit of a learning curve there, but you'll get better and more consistent results with less frustration.

[Ferg]

I have two of the Super Skivers, would gladly give them away for a very good price.

Round knife works well especially the smaller ones. I have a straight blade skiving knife, it does a marginal job as well as several sizes of round knives. I have a one inch French Edger I use when not using my Skiving Machine.

ferg

[pgivens]

Thanks for the replies. For those who are skilled with the super skiver, do you focus more on keeping the left to right angle or on the height of the handle as you pull back? How often do you change blades? How do I know when it's time? Does everyone agree that skiving when wet is best?

[lightningad]

Round knife works well especially the smaller ones.

ferg

mind me asking, Ferg...how do you skive with a round knife? I tried with mine but it just seemed clumsy and highly dangerous for skiving!

adam

[Dangerous Beans]

mind me asking, Ferg...how do you skive with a round knife? I tried with mine but it just seemed clumsy and highly dangerous for skiving!

adam

Adam,

Have a nose at this, 3:24 in you see me skive the edge of the lid with a 6 inch round knife.

Nige

[Ferg]

I lay the leather on either a marble slab, nylon cutting board or a piece of wood/MDF, with the edge of the leather close to the edge of stone etc.

This gives you some much needed angling of the blade without cutting into your table top.

Knife of any type needs to be super sharp and stropped often.

ferg

[lightningad]

thanks chaps - now i get it. Think i'd better practice that a bit before using it on a real project...

[footrat]

Thanks for the replies. For those who are skilled with the super skiver, do you focus more on keeping the left to right angle or on the height of the handle as you pull back? How often do you change blades? How do I know when it's time? Does everyone agree that skiving when wet is best?

I don't just pull on the handle. I also push on the head. I'm a lefty, so my left hand controls the handle pitch and yaw, while the right thumb pushes on the head. The outside sides of my hands stay planted on the leather, keeping it still while the skiver moves. I skive my straps where they fold or have to double or triple up in thickness, so I want a nice, even skive across the width of the strap, with a "scooped" look to the skive down the length of the strap. I could never do that by using only one hand for control.

The handle of the skiver is often NOT in line with the direction of the cut, but angled just to the side. At the edges of the strap, this makes the blade contact as little leather as possible, reducing the drag and the force needed for the cut. There are several big problems I run into with the Super Skiver. Firstly, the blade ends up bent convexly. This makes a deeper cut in the center of the tool head than toward the outsides. Just something that has to be worked around if you want your skiving completely smooth across the piece, instead of cut concavely in the center. Secondly, the blade is angled very aggressively down from the head. This makes the blade bite harder into the leather, increasing drag, and often taking too deep a cut. It also leaves a gap between the head and the blade where little pieces of leather pack in and push the blade FURTHER from the head. I have to stop from time to time and clean that out.

I change blades when it's apparent that poor cutting is due to dullness, and not due to bad blade angle or crud between the blade and tool head. If I wanted to strop things, I wouldn't own a tool with disposable blades. I'd throw down on a good skiving knife that would last for decades. I don't want to strop things right now, so I stick with disposables.

I've never wet-skived. I've wet-edge-beveled, and I didn't like it as much as dry. I might have to try this. Remember, however, that if you wet a piece and then turn it grain-down on a cutting board so you can skive it, you're going to texture the grain side with the board, or whatever is down there.

Edited May 15, 2013 by footrat

[pgivens]

Thanks footrat! That was helpful. I practiced a bit last night with your two handed method, controlling the angle of the skiver with one hand and pushing the head along with the other. I did get better results, but it still feels like there is a lot of resistance. I guess I just need more practice. Sounds like the general consensus is to ditch the super skiver and get a real skiving knife :\