Wikipedia says that Skiving is the process used in leather crafting to reduce the thickness of leather, especially in areas that are to be bent or folded and which must be pliable without becoming weakened. It is usually performed on the "flesh" side of a piece of leather rather than the "finished" side.
Skiving is also used when two edges of leather are to be joined, so as to keep the overlapping area from becoming unnecessarily bulky.
The technique is useful for joining long strips of leather together to form belts or watchbands.
Tips for a Skiver:
1. Using a skiver doesn’t take much force, so you can hold the leather still as you push the tool with just a few fingers. This is great because it lets you skive using both hands.
2. Additionally, skivers can get kind of stuck in the leather as you use it. Usually this happens when you push it too deep into the leather. When this happens, you have two options
• Take the skiver out and skive the opposite direction.
• Or continue to pull but pull up as you do it. If you decide to continue the skive and pull up, having both hands to gently rock it back and forth while tilting it upwards really helps to smooth out the mistake.
3. When skiving an edge, always have the tool at an angle. 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. Resting the back part of the skiver on the table as you skive will help maintain a consistent angle.