Skiving

[Pappy Hayes]

I need to skive down a strap to use for bullet loops. What is the best tool to get for this?

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

   Pappy, it would be much more cost effective to just buy some 3 to 4 or 4 to 5 ounce veg-tan leather, this way you won't have any gouges or miss cuts, if your just skiving the ends of your bullet loops, you can use a super skiver, a round or head knife or even a utility knife, if this is what you're talking about, but IMHO, I wouldn't try to reduce the thickness of the leather loop to make it thinner, just buy the thickness you need, they sell leather splitters but they're not cheap, and for your needs it would be over kill, unless you planned more uses for it and could justify the cost.

[amin ledbetter]

TW has you on the right path there Pappy! Just for the sake of askin though, what thickness leather is it your tryin to skive down?

[Springfield Slim]

Maybe I am all wet here but splitting and skiving aren't the same thing. If you are talking about rounding or softening the edges of the leather used for bullet loops, just hit it with a dremel tool, doesn't take much. If you mean taking a thicker piece of leather and making it thinner, just buy the right thickness like has been said above.

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

Maybe I am all wet here but splitting and skiving aren't the same thing. If you are talking about rounding or softening the edges of the leather used for bullet loops, just hit it with a dremel tool, doesn't take much. If you mean taking a thicker piece of leather and making it thinner, just buy the right thickness like has been said above.

   Slim, that's what we're trying to address, Pappy didn't say either way, so I tried to touch on both. Maybe he'll come back and enlighten us.

            tEN wOLVES

[Holden A. Grudge]

Not one to normaly take good advice and do the opposite but I did in this case.  Found this thread as I was already planning to take a strip and thin it to make cartridge loops. 

Already had the strip and then realized that it was just too darn thick to weave through the slots in the belt I was making. 

I had some scrap leather pieces that were the thickness I wanted and used them as a guide on either side of the strip I was skiving. 

It didn't work too bad.  Although not necessarily the most even thickness, working slowly I was able to take the strip down to a useable width.

Can't say I would use this method again though.  I definitely think TW has the right idea.  I was just pig headed enough to see if I could make what I had work.

I will try to get some pictues up of my current project so you can see how it turns out.

[Slowhand Bob]

I am not even sure if they are still in business but Hide Crafters offered actual boolit loop strips many years back.  It wasnt the most echo-nomical way to go but would, perhaps, save buying a much larger piece than one would have use for?  Then again, I like 4/5oz leather for my large pistol caliber cartridge loops and the same weight is very popular for many of my other projects.

[JD Alan]

I have a large piece that was marked 3/4 that is a solid 4, and I've been using that for 38. I also have a large piece of 4/5. Pappy, if you need a strip for a project you're working on, I'd be glad to send you a strip or two no charge.