Skiving stretchy leather

[SheltathaLore]

I have had one heck of a time skiving some regrettably stretchy pig lining.  Aside from making sure my knives are as sharp as possible, are there any other tricks?  Can I stabilize the leather in some fashion while I'm working on it?  I tried putting some masking tape on the back, but it wasn't grippy enough, and I ended up with a lump skating right ahead of my knife that inevitably got cut into.

[bikermutt07]

How thick is it? Most lining things I have seen weren't thick enough to need skiving.

Maybe try a one sided layer of contact cement on a scrap piece? Just an idea.

[SheltathaLore]

Relatively thick, for lining.  It's also part of a turned edge, so reducing the bulk is good for getting a really crisp corner.

 

You mean sticking it down to the glass?  Sounds reasonable; I'll give it a try.

[bikermutt07]

Yeah, just try a scrap and see if you can get it off the leather after it does or doesn't work.

Maybe try rubber cement instead. Heck, I don't really know, just trying to put another set of eyes on it for ya.

Merry Christmas

[SheltathaLore]

No harm in giving it a try!

[flerg777]

Let me know if that works!  I'm like bikermutt07, I don't know, but I have an idea: I use a small 45 degree cut piece of wood for skiving the ends of pieces for box stitching.  You set the piece on top of the leather, back just a bit, and bring your knife down against the wood, which forces it into a 45 degree cut. 

Regardless, good luck!

[SheltathaLore]

I'll definitely keep you posted!  I'm taking today off to let my fingers heal after I kept stabbing them with the needle yesterday, though >_>

[bikermutt07]

14 hours ago, SheltathaLore said:

I'll definitely keep you posted!  I'm taking today off to let my fingers heal after I kept stabbing them with the needle yesterday, though >_>

Any success?

As for poking yourself.... I use a wine cork to back up the leather when stitching. That was the awl goes into the cork, not me. I'm not a fan of spilling my sissy juice.

[Wedgetail]

Well I suck at skiving. Straight up...

but one thing I have learned as I blunder through it myself, is it is as much about a sharp knife as it is about technique. Particularly when it comes to thin/stretchy leather, you want the knife to do the work for you; not your muscles... If you're the kind of person who pushes the knife along, then thin/stretchy leather is going to bunch up real easy and is going to tear out.

Instead try just a gentle pressure and use the slicing motion of your knife to do the cutting for you. Always the slicing down and away so it cuts on the stretch and doesn't bunch up. If it stretches a lot, use less pressure, or try using a block of wood or a bone folder to weigh down the edge you're working toward (anything will do, just don't want to slice your fingers if you happen to slip!)

Think a bit like cutting a soft tomato. If you just push your knife into it, it will cut it but it will also crush down. If you slide your knife forward as you gently push down, it will slice cleanly.

also try to do it on a hard smooth surface. I don't have a good marble slab, so do my skiving on a smooth glass cutting board someone gave me as a Christmas gift in a cheese knife set... Can get one just like it for $5 at the shops.

if you are doing all of that and it still won't work? *shrugs* I got nuthin'!

Edited December 29, 2017 by Wedgetail
Block of bond folder? Stupid autocorrect.

[SheltathaLore]

I only just got my first real knives and I'm still learning to sharpen them, so it really sounds like I might be missing something there.   I guess it's time to go absorb another few hours of youtube videos on sharpening.

[MY63]

I share your pain I also struggle with skiving.

One thing I found useful was to strop both sides of my knife, I used to strop only the front of the blade after sharpening and paid very little attention to the back of my blade.

Now that the back of my blade is polished by stropping it slides easily over the leather.

Unfortunately I am still useless at skiving but at least I can no longer blame my knives. 

[Big Sioux Saddlery]

I use a round knife for most of my skiving, on a big piece of glass from a 4020 tractor cab window. It works great!  I've heard of people using a curved piece of glass and I would really like to try that, but that can be tough to find in a size that will fit on a bench.  Wedgetail has it right, a slicing motion helps a lot.  I also use one of those "potato peeler" skivers, and put a new blade in for tough skiving, like the stretchy stuffy the OP was referring to. 

[Firewalker]

On 12/29/2017 at 7:16 AM, bikermutt07 said:

 I'm not a fan of spilling my sissy juice.

Hahahaha!  That's good stuff

[bikermutt07]

On 12/31/2017 at 10:12 AM, Big Sioux Saddlery said:

I use a round knife for most of my skiving, on a big piece of glass from a 4020 tractor cab window. It works great!  I've heard of people using a curved piece of glass and I would really like to try that, but that can be tough to find in a size that will fit on a bench.  Wedgetail has it right, a slicing motion helps a lot.  I also use one of those "potato peeler" skivers, and put a new blade in for tough skiving, like the stretchy stuffy the OP was referring to. 

I hadn't heard of the round glass before??? Maybe a large bottle or jug fitted to the bench in some way could work? Ooooooo or even a ceramic like a butter churn. These new ideas are endless.

[bikermutt07]

25 minutes ago, Firewalker said:

Hahahaha!  That's good stuff

Glad you liked it. I came up with it about 15 years ago. My dad's friend and I were "making knives" (putting handles on premade blanks). It was my first and so far only knife I did. Bob made sure I kept the cardboard sleeve on my blade as I shaped the red oak handle. But, he didn't need that cardboard in his way. Next thing I knew there was sissy juice all over the shop.

Edited January 3, 2018 by bikermutt07

[Firewalker]

Oh I am sure we could swap war stories for several hours on sissy juice on the shop floor!  I had a dandy when I convinced myself I could just hold a disc of rough cut  sheet metal in place while I drilled a hole in it on the drill press.  "Just right quick" right?  No stitches on that one but it took some direct pressure and time.  :D  Lesson number 19,801 learned the hard way.

[Big Sioux Saddlery]

5 minutes ago, bikermutt07 said:

I hadn't heard of the round glass before??? Maybe a large bottle or jug fitted to the bench in some way could work? Ooooooo or even a ceramic like a butter churn. These new ideas are endless.

I kind of forgot about it, but I have used an upside down dinner plate to skive on.  Sometimes I bring work home with me at night, and while I bring a few necessary tools with, it's impossible to bring everything I might need.  I can't even remember what I was working on for sure, but it was soft, stretchy, tough-to-skive leather, and it needed skiving before gluing and of course I don't bring my skiving glass home with me. When I work at home, it's usually my on kitchen island, and I probably had supper dishes still on the countertop.  Not wanting to stall out on the project until the next morning nor go back to the shop that evening, I thought, "Hmm, I wonder how it would work if I turned one of these upside down?"  I have to say it worked pretty well!  My dinner plates are Corelle Wear and perfectly smooth (no rim) on the bottom.  Stoneware would not work so well, I wouldn't think.  Try it, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.  It's funny, but I only use them when I'm working in my house, but it works well enough that I should go try to find a few cheap Corelle Wear plates at a thrift store to keep in the shop.

[Big Sioux Saddlery]

23 minutes ago, Firewalker said:

Oh I am sure we could swap war stories for several hours on sissy juice on the shop floor!  I had a dandy when I convinced myself I could just hold a disc of rough cut  sheet metal in place while I drilled a hole in it on the drill press.  "Just right quick" right?  No stitches on that one but it took some direct pressure and time.  :D  Lesson number 19,801 learned the hard way.

I did the same thing a few months ago.  The stupid thing was that I totally knew better, but didn't want to take the time to look for a vise grip that was not where it was supposed to be and thought maybe I could hold it with my pliers.  I was wrong about that.  I was drilling thinnish stainless steel strapping and of course it grabbed when the bit came through.  I was afraid to look at my hand.  I bled all over the place and got kind of weak and had to sit down.  I also avoided stitches, but needed some super glue and was wrapped up for a week. I couldn't work for a couple days;  it really saved a lot of time by not looking for that vise grip!

[Firewalker]

4 minutes ago, Big Sioux Saddlery said:

 it really saved a lot of time by not looking for that vise grip!

Yep!  That's what I meant about "just right quick"  

[bruce johnson]

One of the best guys I have seen skive used a home made blade on a turned over glass bowl. You know those honking big colored glass bowls that Grandma put potato salad in for the family reunion? His was the green color with white insides. He had cut the blade out an old saw. He was skiving boot top inlays at a cowboy trade show and fascinating to watch him work. A guy needed a mulehide horn wrap skived the length of the edges. This guy just held his blade flat so the bowl curve made the gap,  stuck out two fingers out as a guide and as fast as he could pull it through, he was skiving the edges. I mean he was ripping it through there like it was on fire with an even skive just peeling off. It wasn't his first rodeo so to speak. I didn't ask if he would sell the bowl but I did ask him about a blade. Took $20 and a while later I got it in the mail. He put a handle on mine -  duct tape. 

[Firewalker]

That is an interesting story.  I saw a home grown sliver not long ago that was basically a block of wood 4x4?  There was a blade clamped in a groove with a c clamp and the guide was very crude.  I think it was a ruler fastened down as a guide edge and a credit card to stabilize the leather as it was being pulled through.  He was beveling long strips that were probably 3/8" and stretchy. 

I am not sure if anyone is following me in the design.  I will try to find it again. 

BTW:  sorry for the thread hijack earlier.  

Scott

[Rockoboy]

On ‎29‎/‎12‎/‎2017 at 8:16 PM, bikermutt07 said:

As for poking yourself.... I use a wine cork to back up the leather when stitching. That was the awl goes into the cork, not me. I'm not a fan of spilling my sissy juice.

I thought a wine cork was not big enough to stop the needle from letting in daylight (aka letting out sissy-juice), so I use a cork sanding block that is a lot bigger. Then again ... accumulating the wine corks is a lot more enjoyable than buying a sanding block.

Edited January 5, 2018 by Rockoboy
check grammar

[SheltathaLore]

Turns out that getting my knives sharper than sharp makes skiving stretchy leather feel like cutting through air.  Now, *keeping* them that sharp through the entire process is something I'm still learning, but anyway, sharp knives really seem to be the key.

[Brianm77]

https://www.amazon.com/Tandy-Leather-Super-Skiver-3025-00/dp/B0036KZ9KC?SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&tag=duckduckgo-iphone-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B0036KZ9KC

 

i have used one of these, mine has a little curve to the blade though, with a little luck on some pretty stretchy leather.  I chose this style cause I felt like it would be wiser to control.  I have not used a push style or a round knife.  On the stretchy part I got some pretty diecent results with some practice and stroping. Not near as easy or as pretty as veg tan.  It did make a pretty good rolled edge I believe.  It did take a while though. 

[awnova]

While I haven't tried it on such stretchy leather as you are using, I have used adhesive drawer liner to stabilize tooling leather.  Maybe it would work for stretchy leather?