French Edge Skiver - is this going to be a problem?

[Alaisiagae]

Hi, I'm still a newbie to leathercraft. I bought a French Edge Skiver, and I noticed the blade seems to be sharpened unevenly. As you can see in the photo of the tip of the skiver, the line slants upward from left to right. I tested it out on some scrap leather and it seems to cut okay, no areas along the blade that won't cut. I'd appreciate some advice: what's your take on the situation? The seller offered to send me a replacement if the tool didn't cut correctly, should I take him up on that? 

[jcuk]

Should not be a problem just make sure you keep it nice and sharp and keep your free hand behind the cutting edge many saddlers/leatherworker have a healthy respect for this tool.

These are my Skirt Shaves/French Edger take a close look at the edges one has chip out of it works fine the older two are Dixon adjustable Skirt Shaves never seen them before so brought them didn't realise they are for right handed people me being a leftie, can get them to work but it looks and feels odd they are great for setting the depth of the amount leather you want to skive. 

 

Hope this helps

JCUK

[Hardrada]

Eventually you'll have to sharpen it, and then you can fix that issue with your stone.

[Alaisiagae]

Thank you both. Do you have any tips for using this tool? I practiced on some scrap belly after watching the Tandy how-to video for this tool. The guy makes it look easy! I found it very easy to plough right through the whiole thickness of the leather rather than skiving. Maybe I should have gotten that Safety Beveler for skiving... 

I'm not sure I've ever sharpened my tools, I've only stopped them on a leather strop with Tandy's economy jeweler's rouge. I also have wet-dry sandpaper 1000, 1500, 2000, and 2500 grits. What kinds of tools would I need to sharpen something? I have access to a dremel tool.

[mike02130]

It looks like the bevel is on the top?  Mine are on the bottom.  Send it back.  I strongly recommend Ron's tools or Barry King.  It has quite the learning curve.  It's a lot of wrist finesse.  Hmm, I'm curious, where are you in MA?  I'm in Boston.

[DJole]

I wouldn't recommend using a Dremel tool (or equivalent) for sharpening -- they go so fast that it's too easy to remove a lot more metal than you want, especially if you're a beginner.
A set of sharpening stones in progressively finer grits would do what you need-- and  you can use them to sharpen any other knives, too!
If you're really concerned about that bevel, then  you can take a flat wooden stick (same width as the cutting edge) and glue some of your fine grit sandpaper to it and then carefully shape it. 
I also have a stropping stick which has a strip of leather the same width as my French edge skiver which I use to strop it. 
 

Edited July 22, 2020 by DJole

[Alaisiagae]

Yeah, it's a Tandy French edge skiver, I know that's not top-of-the-line, but it also doesn't bust my wallet at $5.40 (got it on sale). Mike, I'm about 40-50 minutes (25 mi) west and a bit north of Boston.

I don't have any other skiving tools, and I liked the wood handle more than the metal Safety Beveler. It figures I'd end up picking something too difficult for my current skill level...  I seem to get in over my head rather easily. I still have some scrap belly pieces I can practice with.

DJole, thank you for the advice about sharpening stones. I've seen a few sharpening sticks on Amazon, but nothing with a brand name. The tool cuts quite well - but I've never used a French skiver before, so I have no idea if it's pulling to the left or to the right or if I just need more practice using it.

[OLESKIVER]

ALAISIAGAE, THEY ACTUALLY COME IN 8 SIZES. AS WITH ANYTHING IN THIS HOBBIE/CRAFT, PRACTICE IS THE NAME OF THE GAME. YOU HAVE TO DO THIS WITH EACH ONE OF YOUR TOOLS, AT LEAST AT FIRST TILL YOU GET FAMILIAR WITH IT. THEN THE REST OF THEM{ IE THE BASIC 7] will be somewhat familiar to you even if they are a little bigger or smaller. I can give you a web site to go to so you can look at the different sizes and different leather working tools,..osborneleathertools.com  they are not cheap in price or quality but if you compare to other leather shops, they usually cost less. but this is probably a little farther down the road for you, just don't get discouraged . try adjusting your pressure you are using on the tool, and or vary your angle, plus it needs to be really sharp. but like the other guy said be careful where your other hand is. osborne also makes sharpening stones for the french edge tools and the edge bevelers. and I would stick with the tandy stuff till you get better and more comfortable with the tool and you can afford to up grade. remember! there is no race on.  hope this helps you some.  oh, the stohlman books from Tandy will help a lot. especially at this time his book on leather tools and how to use them and sharpen them. happy tooling.

 

[jcuk]

These may help 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbQZt_VduEI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dej8BH1DFgs

Hope this helps

JCUK

[zuludog]

I haven't got a French Edge Skiver, and I haven't used one, but I wouldn't have thought it would be too difficult to sharpen it

You might want to correct the angle and the bevel of the cutting edge with a needle file first, then -

For the bottom/outside edge just use a fine stone or fine grit abrasive paper, followed by a strop. 

For the inside, make up a few sharpening 'stones' from strips of wood that fit inside, with progressively finer abrasive paper glued or pinned to them. If you're really keen you could go to finer grits like 5,000 and 7,000. Then make up a strop in a similar way

You may well find that if the cutting edge is correctly adjusted and very sharp you will be able to get more control, and thus not have to force the tool and cut too deep. Try Searching YouTube foe 'sharpening an edge beveller' ; yes, it's a different tool, but it uses similar methods to sharpen it

I wouldn't use a Dremel, it would be all to easy to damage things beyond repair. It will take a while to get things right, and sharp at first, but once you get there you should only need a quick sharpen on a strop 

Search YT for 'sharpening'; there are loads of videos and you'll soon see how things are done

Are you using the French Edger for general skiving? Search YT for 'skiving leather' for various methods

Edited July 25, 2020 by zuludog