Whats a decent japanese edge beveler and french skiver?

[ToddW]

I am looking for a decent Japanese edge beveler and French Skiver without breaking the bank..  Lots of Chinese stuff out there and would prefer not rebuying later but also didn't want to spend a fortune.  Looking for a good balanced brand on price and quality.

 

Todd

[Hardrada]

Try goodsjapan.com

[zuludog]

I use Tandy Craftool Pro, and as I have been saving money thanks to The Lockdown I treated myself to Palosanto, which are rather expensive. However I have heard good reports of Kemovan, which are sold via Etsy, though I haven't used them myself. And Goods Japan sell good mid - priced tools such as Seiwa, Kyoshin Elle, and others 

KemovanCraft Leather Craft Tools Customized Leather Working Tools

Leathercraft Tools & Supplies | Goods Japan

Edited February 16, 2022 by zuludog

[Spyros]

anything from Kemovan or Kevin Lee is top notch.  They are Chinese by the way, in China.

[zuludog]

I've just remembered that Tandy sell Since tools, which are Chinese, under their name TandyPro, and I hear they're good, too

Shop TandyPro® Tools — Tandy Leather, Inc.

 

[DJole]

How about the Japanese-made (and style) Olfa skiver, sold here for 15 dollars:
https://www.rmleathersupply.com/search?type=product&q=olfa
It uses replaceable blades, also sold there. 

[MtlBiker]

On the recommendation of another member here, @Arturomex, I bought some Hidetsugu knives from Leather Craft Tools in Japan.  They arrived in less than a week and I'm super happy with them.  I bought them in 3 sizes and they were sharp enough to skive veg tan leather when I got them, but a bit more sharpening made them razor sharp.  I wish I'd also bought a smaller one, like 24mm (1")... I got 36, 42 and 48mm and so far I'm finding the 36 tho be the most useful.

 

[zuludog]

1 hour ago, MtlBiker said:

On the recommendation of another member here, @Arturomex, I bought some Hidetsugu knives from Leather Craft Tools in Japan.  They arrived in less than a week and I'm super happy with them.  I bought them in 3 sizes and they were sharp enough to skive veg tan leather when I got them, but a bit more sharpening made them razor sharp.  I wish I'd also bought a smaller one, like 24mm (1")... I got 36, 42 and 48mm and so far I'm finding the 36 tho be the most useful.

 

I think the most usual widths for JLKs are about 24, 32, & 36 mm. I've just measured mine and they are 33 & 35mm; I use them for both cutting & skiving 

If you don't use the wide ones you could try grinding or cutting off the trailing edge to make them narrower, or find someone who will do it for you. But be careful as it is easy to burn such thin hard steel, and you should go slowly with frequent quenching.

There are loads of YT videos about using & sharpening JLKs, watch as many as you have the stamina for.

[dans79]

9 hours ago, Spyros said:

anything from Kemovan or Kevin Lee is top notch.  They are Chinese by the way, in China.

I have a set (2,5,10 teeth) of 4mm round dent irons, and a V3 #1 edge beveler on the way to me from Kemovan based on recommendations i saw on the forum and other places around the web.

[ToddW]

Looks like one of the guys I follow on youtube has his own line of tools now..  The look pretty good..

 

https://littlekingsupplyco.com/collections/pricking-irons/products/edge-beveler

 

 

[dans79]

6 minutes ago, ToddW said:

Looks like one of the guys I follow on youtube has his own line of tools now..  The look pretty good..

 

https://littlekingsupplyco.com/collections/pricking-irons/products/edge-beveler

 

 

Most likely made by someone else and rebranded. I wonder who the original manufacture is. 

 





 

[ToddW]

3 minutes ago, dans79 said:

Most likely made by someone else and rebranded. I wonder who the original manufacture is. 

 

I don't know.. just saw he is posting them on his videos now..



 

 

[zuludog]

They could be Kemovan Craft - they have a brass end plate on the handle; the handles have a similar shape, as do the blades, which are un branded

Leather Edge Beveler "NEW Ver-3" D2 Steel Leather Craft Edge Tool by K – KemovanCraft

[Spyros]

20 minutes ago, dans79 said:

Most likely made by someone else and rebranded. I wonder who the original manufacture is. 

These all look like Kemovan's tools with a different logo and a higher price

https://kemovancraft.com/products/leather-scratch-awl-flat-diamond-awl-for-leathercraft

 

[ToddW]

1 hour ago, Spyros said:

These all look like Kemovan's tools with a different logo and a higher price

https://kemovancraft.com/products/leather-scratch-awl-flat-diamond-awl-for-leathercraft

 

Agreed.. nice catch..

[Spyros]

2 hours ago, ToddW said:

Agreed.. nice catch..

to be honest I don't mind Ryan doing this... he is some people's favourite leatherworker, these people want to buy tools that he uses and endorses, they'd like to support him and order from him and deal with him if something is wrong instead of ordering directly from China, and they're happy to pay a premium for all the above. 

Everybody's happy, all is good. 

[ToddW]

24 minutes ago, Spyros said:

to be honest I don't mind Ryan doing this... he is some people's favourite leatherworker, these people want to buy tools that he uses and endorses, they'd like to support him and order from him and deal with him if something is wrong instead of ordering directly from China, and they're happy to pay a premium for all the above. 

Everybody's happy, all is good. 

I definitely don't disagree.. I do follow his videos and love his work.  His photography is also great..  Would love to support him this way, but I need to maximize my budget right now..  Spending quite a bit on tools and machines right now and really need to make every dollar count.

[Spyros]

5 hours ago, ToddW said:

I definitely don't disagree.. I do follow his videos and love his work.  His photography is also great..  Would love to support him this way, but I need to maximize my budget right now..  Spending quite a bit on tools and machines right now and really need to make every dollar count.

of course, you also deserve a saving for doing your research and knowing where to buy the same thing cheaper

[AzShooter]

I just bought one from Tandy and I'm totally impressed with it.  I had a devil of a time trying to miter my new bag because the buffalo hide was very soft and my edgers just didn't want to cut it.  I bought my new knife from Tandy and it cut like butter.

I am making a new briefcase with 10 oz leather and wow was it easy to do the miter edges.

Not only was it the sharpest knife I bought but it's easy to maintain it's edge.