CharlieR Report post Posted January 20, 2008 I have been looking at purchasing a leather splitter--have looked at the ebay auctions, at catalogs and at the suppliers. So what would be the advice you could give to direct me to buying this piece of equipment. I will use it mainly for splitting strings, rawhide in my braiding work. Have noticed the Osbornes are pricey, but have also seen the 'new high tech models. AM TOTALLY ignorant on this subject. A little help would be greatly appreciated. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bruce johnson Report post Posted January 20, 2008 Charlie, I am not a braider, but have had a few different splitters, and finally found the style I will die with. I have had the Osborne 86, Osborne 84 knockoff, a hand crank, have gotten the little TLF ones in tool sets, and they all work. Some are better than others. I really prefer the Chase pattern splitters for my work. There are two rollers that feed the piece into the blade, and so the piece would have a hard time riding up a blade and chopping like can happen with some of the pther styles. As far as for braiding strings, there are several made just for that. Wayne Jueschke makes one, I think they are still selling the Frank Hanson version, LaceMaster, and others. I think there is a thread going in the braider section on that. My advice would be to try a few different ones before you buy if you can. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rawhide1 Report post Posted January 20, 2008 Charlie I use a Osborne model 84 and i've been real tickled with it. If the blade is sharp and your rawhide is cased right it does a dandy of a job. With that said I have cut some strings in two when i've hit a hard spot. I haven't really been able to split rawhide paper thin so I just use calf when I need real thin strings. I think it'a more my fault than the splitters though with not having the patience to recase my strings after running them through the spltter 3 or 4 times. But I can take a piece roo and split it so thin theres nothing left but the grain left. The Osbornes also seem to hold their value really well. I'm not sure I would buy a knock off I dont think the blades are made nearly as well. It would be nice if ya could do as Mr. Johnson suggested and try out a few different splitters to find out what ya like. I think there's a Osborne 84 model on ebay right now and I wouldn't be suprised if it brought around $400.00 dollars.Sorry for rambling so much just my .02 cents worth.Mike Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rgerbitz Report post Posted January 21, 2008 Charlie, I haven't been at this very long and don't have anything to compare to. All I have split so far has been rawhide. I have the high tech model that tandy sells. It seems to work fine as long as I get my moisture right. Like Mike I seem to have some trouble getting the paper thin rawhide though not a big concern at this point cause I don't care to make anything that is requiring thin hide. The one that Bruce was talking about with the extra roller sounds nice. Good Luck, Rob Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CharlieR Report post Posted January 21, 2008 Hey guys--thanks for the input. It is never easy to lay out a sizable investment on equipment when you have NO idea of which direction to go. It is always nice to hear from the guys that actually use it. Your input is appreciated. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
solidspace Report post Posted January 23, 2008 I have only done a little braiding, and am starting as cheap as possible. One of Bruce Grant's books shows a guy using a wood plane, upside down. I bought a "antique" store plane for twelve dollars. It has a knob to adjust thickness. Took some work to get the blade real sharp, but it works for splitting lace. It takes a bit of attention to keep the lace feeding in evenly. solidspace Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
