Skiving without skiver

[Shorts]

I'm putting together a belt for a friend (birthday gift due on the 9th!). I am using 7/8oz veg tan Herman Oak as it is what I have available. I would like to glue two pieces together for a smooth inside and outside, and have a good reason to stitch it. It is for a fashion belt rather than a gun belt. So I need to half my leather but I have no skiver or splitter.

What can I use (tool wise) in order to thin down the straps? I have those thin bladed exactos but they wear very quick and keeping the blade straight in order to split a strap is kind of tedious. Is that just what I'm going to have to work with in order to get this done?

Suggestions?

Or should I just go for a single layer belt without stitches? I'm afraid if I go no stitches that the belt will get all stretched and floppy much sooner than if it were stitched. Am I being irrational here?

Edited December 28, 2008 by Shorts

[Ian]

Boy, I wouldnt even attempt to split with an exacto. Do you have any other thinner leather you can put on the back? And, you don't need a liner to edge stitch your belt, you can stitch a single layer too.

[Rawhide]

You can use a head knife or a french edger. (lot of work for the french edger though)

[TwinOaks]

It sounds like you're wanting to split the belt leather, not skive it. If there's a way to make a jig for the head knife I guess that might work, but you really need a splitter for this - how's your wood working skills?

I think you should just smooth the flesh, and stitch up a single thickness.

[barra]

A workable home made splitter can be made by cutting a tapered notch in a block of wood. The notch needs to be wider than what you intend to split. Mount a blade that is wider than the notch on top. by sliding the blade along the notch from the shallowest to deepest end you can adjust the thickness of your split. You then need to work out how to screw/clamp your blade at various positions along the tapered block. Crude but it works.

Barra

[Shorts]

Yup, trying to split. Sorry for the incorrect terminology there.

Stitching a single layer feels like a waste to me. I mean, I can do it, it just feels odd not stitching one piece to another

Barra, thanks for the idea. The hardware store across the street stocks lots of tools for woodworking (we're in Japan). I may be able to find a tool that works. I know they've got plenty of blades and such, I've gone through there often for various projects.

Edited December 28, 2008 by Shorts

[Bree]

If you are really intent on doing this and can't lay your hands on a splitter, you could take some sandpaper on a drill press sanding drum and sand it off. Best to have a nice gum rubber sandpaper cleaner because you will block up the paper doing that much removal. Plus make sure that you have a good dust collection system because you will kick up a lot of leather dust. But you could certainly take the blanks down to size with a drum sander.

Best thing is to ask someone of they will split the blanks for you with a real splitter. Otherwise you can get all the goodies you need at Harbor Freight on the cheap.

[Shorts]

Thanks Bree. I don't have a drum sander or HF (I'm in Japan right now). But the idea is sound and I can get my hands on some hand held sanders (they might work). I totally hear you on the dust. I keep masks on hand Sanding dry leather is crazy!

Instead of 'the black lung' (from 'Zoolander' movie) I'm going to get 'the brown lung'

[HorsehairBraider]

If there is a hardware store across the street, see if they have a hand planer. You could turn one of those upside down and it might work for splitting. In case of any confusion, I mean one like on this page, 4th one down.

[Shorts]

Ohh yes - excellent! They do have hand planes there, I've him-hawed about buying one before as a backup tool for something but never did since "I didn't need it". Well, now I can need it!