A stroke of idiocy

[Matt S]

I have one of them 6" Cowboy pull skivers. With the blade well stropped I can usually split 4" without stretching, so long as the leather is on the firm side. That's enough for the occasional few wallets but if making more I find it better to buy it the right thickness to start with, or send it out to be split.

[RockyAussie]

12 hours ago, bikermutt07 said:

Thanks. A grand is pretty rich for a hobby. I think I should have said splitter instead of skiver.

Sacrilege!!!! how many bikes cost less than a Grand(that are worth having)? You can use the bell knife skiver to split with as well by doing several passes and a lot of fancy shaping as well if look into it. Other than a good sewing machine (cylinder) this would be my next most important purchase. Its not like a lot of tools where you are not likely to get your money back either.

[bikermutt07]

32 minutes ago, RockyAussie said:

Sacrilege!!!! how many bikes cost less than a Grand(that are worth having)? You can use the bell knife skiver to split with as well by doing several passes and a lot of fancy shaping as well if look into it. Other than a good sewing machine (cylinder) this would be my next most important purchase. Its not like a lot of tools where you are not likely to get your money back either.

I haven't ever seen one in person so I don't have a clue as to their capabilities(outside of skiving an edge).

I'll check them out to see what one could do. But we aren't in that tax bracket anymore. I can see the argument of why the mechanical tools in this trade are expensive. I even believe it. But as a part time hobby a 1000.00 is not justifiable for my "wants".

[TheCyberwolfe]

I think I'm with Matt S on this one - while it's nice to be able to make use of the leather you have on-hand, you may be better off just buying the thickness you need for the project rather than trying to split down thicker stock.

[TinkerTailor]

1 hour ago, TheCyberwolfe said:

I think I'm with Matt S on this one - while it's nice to be able to make use of the leather you have on-hand, you may be better off just buying the thickness you need for the project rather than trying to split down thicker stock.

I agree with this, however sometimes and in some areas of the world, ordering the right leather can be cost prohibitive. In addition sometimes a project requires thinner matching leather for just a specific use. On the bags i make, I am frequently making the body out of 4-5oz. Things like interior pocket flaps, rolled handles, and piping/binding i like thinner. For these tasks a pull type skiver would be nice to have, however i am saving my dollars for a fortuna type skiver. I currently roll edges full weight in 4-5oz. Requires wet forming and hammering and swearing. I would use the crap out of a bell skiver. Here is where i would use it:

I should mention, that is the backside of the stitch too. I had to do it that way so the stitching on the turnover matched the topstitching on the outside of the bag.

 

Edited September 22, 2016 by TinkerTailor

[Harry Marinakis]

I use a belt sander as my skiver

It's perfect

[bikermutt07]

The only belt sander I have is a hand held. I know some of the table models are affordable though.

[MADMAX22]

If your looking at belt sanders dont forget craigslist. Its actually a good source for those things. People are always getting a bunch of wood working stuff then for one reason or another dont use it or stop using it and unload everything. 

[TinkerTailor]

9 hours ago, MADMAX22 said:

If your looking at belt sanders dont forget craigslist. Its actually a good source for those things. People are always getting a bunch of wood working stuff then for one reason or another dont use it or stop using it and unload everything. 

Or probably a lot of the time, grandpa bought all the good toys/tools for himself for a retirement hobby after the kids flew the koop, and then kicked the bucket with a garage full.

[bikermutt07]

Grandpa didn't have such modern things. He was a real carpenter. Not a power tool monkey like me.