Skiving the edge

Why skive.

Two layers of leather stacked on top of each other are too thick at the join. Skiving thins the very edge of each layer so they nest together — the seam sits flat, the fold doesn't bulge.

Machine skive vs hand skive.

Machines are consistent but blunt. A hand-skiver works with a straight blade and a marble slab. The result is subtler and, at the corners, cleaner.