What is leather skiver? What are the uses and how to use it?


leather skiver

A leather skiver is a tool that is used to remove thin layers of leather material. Mostly they have sharp cutting blades. ” When the blade is drawn against the leather grain by applying pressure, the blade cuts through the leather as it moves, shaving off a thin layer. A leather skiver is very handy when creating projects that need folding or sewing leather.

Uses of the leather skiver

1. Make it easier to thin out the leather. Repeated use of the skiver will help reduce a piece of leather.

2. Used to make belts that are thin enough to be worn comfortably.

3. Skiver can also be applied to bag straps, saddlery, and any leatherwork that involves folding and joining thin pieces of leather.

Versions of the skiver

The Skiver is available in many versions, such as manual versions, machine versions, tabletop versions, electric leather skivers, etc.

Skiver usage method

  1. When you use the skiver, do not apply more pressure, so you can hold the leather still as you skive it with a few fingers. This is better because it lets you skive with both hands, which gives you a lot more control.
  2. Skiver can get stuck in the leather as you use it. Commonly, this will happen when you bury it so deep in the leather accidentally. So there are two things you can do at this time. The first thing is to take the skiver out and skive in the other direction. The second is to continue to pull but pull up and use both hands to gently rock it back and forth while tilting it upwards. This helps you to smooth out the mistake.
  • Always have the skiver at an angle for skiving the edge. Rest the back end of the skiver on the table and angle the blade so that the middle of the blade is on the edge of the leather. To maintain a consistent angle, rest the back part of the skiver on the table as you skive.

How to use the super skiver

  1. Super skivers have a natural tendency to bury themselves in the leather. Pull the skiver down into the leather to sink it to the desired depth, but then pull it up and towards you about 15% to prevent it from sinking any more.
  2. To achieve a flat surface, overlap your cuts. Remember that the blade is curved, with the lowest point in the middle. To skive more than just an edge, you will have to overlap your cuts by about 1/3 on either side to get a nice flat surface.
  3. Wipe the blade at the end. Bits of leather tend to become lodged between the blade and the tool in super skivers. That makes the cuts worse for two reasons: they will not be smooth or even. The second is that it pushes the blade far away from the tool, making your cuts deeper than normal.

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