English trained bookbinders often use a modified spokeshave for long shallow bevels, spine paring, and beveling binder’s board. I’ve improved the design of my 151 style spokeshave modified for leather work. It now features a shaving collector, which I first saw James Brockman use 1990’s. He kindly shared the design with me and allowed me to reproduce it. He mentioned he first saw it while working at Roger Powell’s shop in the late 1960’s or early 1970’s. The shaving collector really speeds up work with the spokeshave, since you don’t have to stop and vacuum the stray shavings every couple of minutes. You can also save a lot of leather by avoiding the holes and tears these shavings can cause.

Other modifications include reducing the effective cutting angle by grinding the base, truing the adjustment knobs, rounding and lessening the surface area of the sole, opening the mouth a bit, flattening the blade bed by filing and filling with epoxy, and flattening the blade cap. It comes with a modified A2 blade, reground to a lower angle, sharpened, and the corners slightly rounded.

All of these aspects help eliminate chatter and made it easier to use, parallel or perpendicular to the edge of the leather. Even if you rough out the leather with a Scharffix or Brockman leather paring machine, this spokeshave helps you quickly and evenly reduce the unavoidable ridges between overlapping cuts or blade changes. A must for calf and tawed skin, English style full leather bindings, and rebacking. Anytime you need a long, gradual bevel. It can also be used to bevel binder's board. More information about spokeshaves for leather.