St8LineGunsmith Report post Posted October 18, 2012 well Iwas doing a little practice piece after being away from carving for over 25 years and found out real quick working a swivel knife is nothing like riding a bike, it is more like if you dont use it you loose it I would post a pic but it is a little embarrassing. I am going way out of the boundaries of the traced pattern, I can't even make an accent line any more good thing I went by TLF last week to pick up some scraps for practice before attempting to put the knife to any projects. pretty needless to say I will be spending a lot of time practicing and attending some classes at TLF to get back to the level I once was. my stamping technique is not up to par either but not nearly as in need of improvement as my knife work what is really bad I was trying to give horrik some pointers the other day on tooling and using the knife when his skill level far exceeds mine right now I am sure with a lot of practice and a lot more scrap than I currently have supply of I will eventually get my skill level back to where it once was so much for wishful thinking I can pick right back up up where I laid it down has any one else who has been out of leather working for a while experience the dilemma I an having with the swivel knife when coming back to the craft or am I the only one? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
immiketoo Report post Posted October 19, 2012 I have found that I use the leading edge of the blade as a guide to follow the line. On a curve, I leave the leading edge slightly outside the line. I do this because the trailing part of the edge cuts a smaller radius than the leading edge. For straight cuts, I lower the leading edge and line it right up with the guideline. Hope this helps. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Horrrk Report post Posted October 19, 2012 what is really bad I was trying to give horrik some pointers the other day on tooling and using the knife when his skill level far exceeds mine right now Ahh, no worries St8, my friend.. I was giving you advice on building a stitching pony the other day, when I've not even built one yet.!! I've just read lots..Haha! In fact come to think of it, I do it quite a lot on here..burnish your edges more, watch those stitches, etc.. Have I done any of that?!? Have I ekker's like..but I will soon..and when I do, I'll be the one visually ripping my own work to pieces..LOL Thing is..knowing what something should look like and being able to do it yourself can be two completely seperate things..if you get my drift.? Follow Mike's tips and with plenty of practise, we should see you cycling along happily, real soon.. LOLOL Regards Phil Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
St8LineGunsmith Report post Posted October 19, 2012 Ya I have been practicing my cuts by making circles and leaves with some improvement actually I am tracing out the circles and leaves with a stylus then going over the tracing with my knife. I think this way I can retain muscle memory of how I need to manipulate the swivel knife. I think until I get my knife skills back up to par I should probably draw out my accent lines with a stylus first then cut the lines in with the knife. as far as my stitching and lacing goes I have been able to retain those skills pretty well but there is a big difference of skill sets between stitching leather and tooling it I think by slowing down a little also helped the thing that bugs me so bad is I was once trusted enough to do tooling on high end saddles and handled a swivel knife and stamps like a pro but now it looks like I have never done it before but it is slowly getting better. I will get there in time it will just take a lot of practice. I suppose I can always stamp basket weave and borders LOL Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
St8LineGunsmith Report post Posted October 19, 2012 I have found that I use the leading edge of the blade as a guide to follow the line. On a curve, I leave the leading edge slightly outside the line. I do this because the trailing part of the edge cuts a smaller radius than the leading edge. For straight cuts, I lower the leading edge and line it right up with the guideline. Hope this helps. that is how i was making cuts my major malfunction is i am about 25 years out of practice LOL IIRC i was partial to a tapered blade for making curved,sweeping, wavy and circular cuts but all i have at the moment is the straight blade so i will have to make due with what i have for the time being.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
