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I blew a $40 batch of leather because I skipped the paring step
Last Tuesday I was working on a journal cover and thought I could save time by not paring the edges of my leather. Big mistake. The whole thing ended up bulky and wonky at the spine, totally unusable. I wasted a full afternoon and a piece of veg tan that cost me $20 alone. Now I'm back to using my trusty French paring knife every single time. Has anyone else tried to shortcut leather prep and regretted it?
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verar213mo ago
Holy crap, you paid $20 for a single piece of veg tan and then just chucked it? That hurts to even hear. Ive been there with a wallet shell that cost me nearly fifty bucks. Tried to thin it by sanding instead of proper skiving and it looked like a mangled dog toy. Made me sick to my stomach watching it hit the trash.
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michaelchen3mo ago
Same thing happened with a belt project last year. Tried to skip skiving the buckle fold area. Ended up with this thick mess that wouldn't bend right. Had to toss the whole thing after struggling for an hour.
French paring knife is the way to go. I use a shallow pass first, then go back for the real cut. Takes maybe 15 extra minutes but saves the piece every time.
Glad you went back to that technique. Veg tan is too expensive to gamble on shortcuts.
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skyler_smith853mo ago
Not sure I totally agree about the French knife being the only way. A good sharp round knife with a proper honing slip works just as well for me, sometimes better on longer cuts. Different tools for different hands, you know?
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