Can leather be thinned?

[Forty Rod]

Well, can it? 

I have some that's about twice as thick as I need and wondered if it can be scraped or sanded or pounded (it works for steaks and chicken breasts) or something to thin it.  It's only about 3" x 5".

[knucklehead]

http://www.tandyleather.com/products.asp?number=3025-00

http://www.tandyleather.com/products.asp?number=3001-00


the above links will show you the 2 tools that are designed for thining leather by hand.
by viewing the pictures you should be able to make your own.
you can also use a belt sander to get it to the right thickness. this way would be very time consuming and messy.

but yep you can thin down leather

[Marshal Will Wingam]

I have some that's about twice as thick as I need and wondered if it can be scraped or sanded or pounded (it works for steaks and chicken breasts) or something to thin it.  It's only about 3" x 5".

I've successfully thinned it a couple times on small pieces with a narrow, straight-bladed knife that I use for skiving (see the middle knife below). It takes a little care but you can do it if you're careful and the kniife is really sharp.

Pounding only works if you're going to eat it.

[Forty Rod]

Okay, I'm gonna try this.  Worst that can happen is I ruin a small piece of leather or cut a finger off, maybe poke an eye out.

Thanks again, fellas.

I really am learning some things.

[Marshal Will Wingam]

I suppose you could skin up a kitchen table nicely, too.

[Forty Rod]

Or maybe I'll slice a piece off of my hand that'll be the right thickness. 

owowowow

That hurts just to think about.

[Slowhand Bob]

HMMMM, been there, done that and it warnt fun, none of the times (I'm a slow learner).  For a piece of leather this size and no skiver, I would definitely use the belt sander.  Seen some who can do a pretty fair job on pieces, with a knife, as large as you describe but I would have it looking like the ocean during a storm by the time I finished!

[rickk]

You can get yourself some leather of any size from Zack White Leather... belt lenght, any width, most any thinckness, for a fair price...

Or a whole hide for in the $100 range

Beats hurting yourself with a belt sander.

[will ghormley]

Yew guys is funny.
Will

[Forty Rod]

Don't just stand there slappin' your knee an' gigglin', Will.  Gimme some ideas.

[will ghormley]

Well, I'm supposin' you want it to be uniform all the way across.  I'm also thinkin' you don't want to spend two hundred bucks on a little gizzmo to feed it through to skin it down.  Now, you could use a really well polished head knife or round knife, but unlessin' you are real good with it, all those funny things you guys was talkin' about, well, they wouldn't be so funny.

You can find a little tool, I think it's called a "French Skiver", but it's been so long since I got mine I don't rightly recall for sure.  They used to come in three sizes.  Anyway, that would probably do ya, no bigger than your leather is, and they are very handy to have around.

First, you have to sharpen and polish it, no blade comes ready to use in my world.  Then, wet the back of your leather.  Don't get it so damp it bleeds through to the surface.  If the surface gets damp it will leave marks from workin' on the back.  Just damp enough to not make leather dust is good enough.  Then, start slidin' the skiver across the back in nice straight rows, with just a little overlap.  Stop frequently to re-polish the blade.  Once you've worked your way all the way across, do it again lightly, only run the skiver down the overlap between the first sets of passes to make it as smooth as possible.  If it's not thin enough on the first pass, turn your leather 45 degrees and do the same thing over again.  Keep rotating it 45 degrees and repeating the process until it's thin enough.  When you are done, and your leather is still just a little damp, tap down the back of the leather lightly with a smooth faced hammer to level it all out.  Practice on scrap first.

If that don't work for ya', um, then...Will Wingam wrote this and blamed it on me!

Will

[Marshal Will Wingam]

That's a good method for you, 40. Not only that but you still get to pound it, to boot.

Will's right about nothing being sharp enough. I like to strop my blades every couple cuts no matter what I'm doing. I got one of those french skivvers and it came good enough to shave butter for a fancy meal.

[Travis Morgan]

Whatever ya do, Forty, DO NOT buy that POS skiver from The leather factory. For me, it either don't work at all, or takes out hunks that make it look like you were using an ax or a chainsaw while drunk.

[Forty Rod]

I gave up trying to be clever and went out and found some leather that was what I needed.

[Marshal Will Wingam]

I gave up trying to be clever and went out and found some leather that was what I needed.

Actually, this is the cleverest idea there is. Be sure to post pics, pard.