Using a dremel to skive leather?

[strathmoredesigns]

Hi all,

I'm totally new to leather working and have been having a little trouble skiving. I just made a veg tan camera strap that I inadvertently cut off a couple of inches from when I was trying to thin out an end that I wanted to wrap around a D-ring. Anyway, I came across this video on the internet and was wondering if anyone had ever tried skiving with a dremel or rotary tool, and if so, how it went, and what they recommended using in terms of tools/grit?

Any thoughts or advice are appreciated.

Thanks,

Courtney

 

 

Edited February 15, 2017 by strathmoredesigns

[bikermutt07]

I have a steel and I haven't really utilized it for leather yet. But I think I would try using it for skiving before sanding edges. Those little sanding heads are pretty aggressive.

I was lucky enough to find a weaver splitter cheap enough to skive with.

[strathmoredesigns]

Yeah, I started out trying to figure out how to attach a burnisher to a dremel and discovered this by chance. Provided you have an appropriate tool and can figure out the right setting, it seems like it could be a lot easier than my super skiver.

[bikermutt07]

Steel??? Spell correct. Sheesh!

Dremel

[Tugadude]

I would try various knives before a rotary tool, but that's me.  Skiving isn't easy.  It is an acquired skill and takes time to master.  I skive all of the time and still struggle on some leathers.  BTW, that is another factor.  Some leather is notoriously difficult to skive.  

[Jack142]

I bought some thick leather to practice on, ( really thick leather),   and have been skiving my heart out,   oh, I bought it cause it was cheap cheap cheap

  I'm going to give this a try and let you know.

[strathmoredesigns]

Thanks, I'm eager to hear how it goes!

[Brianm77]

I tried, with very poor results I might add, to skive.  Then I bought one of these from the Tandy store, as long as the blade is crazy sharp, it is supprising how easy it is to use, and get good results.  The blade will start getting a little dull and I run it across the strop and we are good to go for a little bit. 

 

--edit-- I forgot the link

 

https://www.amazon.com/Skiver-3025-00-Replacement-Blades-3002-00/dp/B00IVS92WK%3FSubscriptionId%3DAKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q%26tag%3Dduckduckgo-iphone-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB00IVS92WK

Edited February 17, 2017 by Brianm77
Forgot to post the link

[strathmoredesigns]

Hmm... that's the tool I have. Maybe I'm just not practiced enough, but I cut right through a strip I was trying to skive.

[Brianm77]

So if it is going all the way through try picking up the back of the tool just slightly.  And like someone else said it may be the kind of leather you are using.  Only project other than practice I have used it on was chrome tanned on half and a oily pull up on the other side.   I was able to get both sides down to about the thickness of about 20 sheets of paper, which is what I was after.  Hope that helps.

Brian

[strathmoredesigns]

Thanks, I've been practicing with my skiver too and getting a little bit better. I also just got a set of dremel accessories in the mail and gave it a whirl. It worked! I used a 240 grit 1/2 sanding drum on some veg tan remnants and was able to easily take off an ounce in just a couple of minutes. I started at the lowest setting and kept going up a little bit at a time. You definitely want to keep the drum moving on the leather. My results aren't perfect, but they're better than my skivving results and I've only had about 5 minutes of practice. Here are a couple of pics. Hopefully you can see that it's thinner and it didn't destroy the flesh side.

. 

  

[TheCyberwolfe]

I went down to Harbor Freight a while back and bought a buffing wheel and a set of sanding drums that range in size from about 1" up to 4" in diameter. They mount right on the arbor and use common sandpaper rolls for refills, so I can use any grit paper I need. It works well for thinning larger sections evenly without excessive tool marks, and the largest drum is pretty good for sanding edges prior to finishing.

For strap ends and other small bits I typically use a knife though, since it's right there on the bench vs. going out to the shed where my sander is. As with any leather knife, trick #1 is making sure the skiver is wicked sharp, and then you're better off going for multiple shallow passes rather than a complete skive in one pass.

[Brianm77]

+1 on the multiple shallow passes.  I was going to mention that, but it slipped my mind. 

[Mark842]

I have the best luck skiving with a head knife and japanese style skiving knife. I lay the leather flat on marble and use the marble to steady the angle of my knife. I find my head knife works better on veg tanned/latigo and the japanese style on thinner lighter leathers. Both knives need to be extremely sharp to get good results.