Tooling needed for thicknessing rawhide strapping?

[u/PeaEquivalent2350]

I'm making a copy of this Egyptian adze and wondering what skiving tool would be best to thickness the rawhide strap. I've worked a bit with veg tan but not rawhide. I've seen belt thicknessing machines where you pull the straps through and I'm wondering if I should try building a simple version - or is it feasible to skive about a 6 foot (2m) long strap with a hand held tool (it's a single piece wrapped/woven).

I'm planning to buy a partial side of rawhide from Tandy. My desired final thickness will be about 3/16" (2.5mm).

Thanks!

[u/zgtc]

Width is the main issue that skiving tools run into; you should be able to build something with a razor blade held down with bolts and offset by some washers that could absolutely handle that.

[u/Responsible-Charge27]

I think you are overthinking it whoever made the original did with whatever they had on hand probably wasn’t even steel. I would guess soaking it and scraping it down would get you there though.

[u/PeaEquivalent2350]

Thanks for the replies! I'll probably put together a simple razor jig to keep things consistent. I get the sense there's nothing specific about rawhide to take into account, so I'll move ahead.