Help needed - Choosing/finding a new/replacement round knife

[UKRay]

My trusty and exceptionally ancient Joseph Dixon round knife finally broke last night (and I was very lucky not to have cut my wrist when it happened!). This leaves me with a problem - how do you replace a 100+ year old tool that you have used regularly for more than 30 years?

I need a new knife urgently and already feel very vulnerable without my old friend. I'm sure plenty of folk will have experience of modern blades and I would appreciate some advice on choosing a replacement. Ideally I'd like something very similar to my old Dixon but I'll gladly listen to any suggestions or offers. Just remember that I need it very soon so waiting lists aren't an option. I still have a living to make!

If you have an old Joseph Dixon knife in good condition and would be prepared to sell it, I'll gladly pay a fair price (cash or PayPal as required). The same offer applies to a professional quality modern knife. I am very happy to beg and plead as appropriate...

Thanks guys,

Ray

edit: Instant cash or PayPal available depending on location.

Edited February 20, 2009 by UKRay

[TheTrooper]

Hi Ray,

good to hear that nothing serious happened to you. I dont´t have a Dixon knife, but maybe you can ask at "BearGallery" in Germany. They have a head knife from a german master knife maker for I think 65€.

Sadly they don´t have an english web site but you can contact Doris and René via email under email@beargallery.de

I got mine in about 2-3 days (but I am living also in Germany).

Here you also have a link to the knife makers webpage..

Wolf Borger knifes

I think Bear Gallery just have the "Kleiner Halbmond" in their program, because they think that this one works best. This knife is what a head knife should be, really really sharp btw. it comes also pre-sharpened.

Hope you will get a new or used knife pretty soon.

Cheers,

Marcel

Edited February 20, 2009 by adamant-leather

[Luke Hatley]

THAT COMPANY HAS SOME FINE ITEMS.

[Twosons]

Have you tried Dixon? I don't know anything about them, but saw that they have a website.

http://www.josephdixon.co.uk/

[tonyc1]

I can't believe that after doing leatherwork for so many years, you have only one roundknife! They seem to be an item whose number grows over the years, like splitters.

There must be lots of good old knives in UK that someone wants to get rid of, surely.

Tony.

[UKRay]

I can't believe that after doing leatherwork for so many years, you have only one roundknife! They seem to be an item whose number grows over the years, like splitters.

There must be lots of good old knives in UK that someone wants to get rid of, surely.

Tony.

I had a clearout and got rid of all my old knives a while back, Tony - obviously a foolish move but if we had the power of foresight we wouldn't make these mistakes now would we? LOL. I do have a tiny three inch round knife that I'm using at present but it won't really do. I'm going to buy myself a Stanley knife tomorrow!

I manage with a single splitter too...

Those German knives are gorgeous and I'm sorely tempted...

I'm going to see if i can get a new handle for the Dixon and mabe get it welded somehow - but it will always have a weak spot and I won't entirely trust it...

The new Dixon knifes are an obvious solution but does anyone know anything about the quality of the steel they are using these days?

[tonyc1]

If the quality of their knives is like the quality of their other tools these days, I don't reckon they'd be much good.

Tony.

[Luke Hatley]

RAY, DID THE METAL BREAK AT THE HANDLE ? A WELDER SHOULD BE ABLE TO WELD

IT AND IT WILL BE AS GOOD AS NEW,GOOD LUCK

[celticleather]

Ray

It's probably a bit unpatriotic for me to admit that the best round knife I've ever used is my old Osborne. The blade has a beautiful 'ping', and it holds its edge for ages. Abbey have a couple of sizes of Osbornes for £40.00+.

The new Dixon knives have a bit of a cheap-and-nasty look to them - which is perhaps why they're only priced at about £17.00.

If you need it in a hurry, and don't mind paying the price, I'd recommend the Osborne.

Terry

[Rawhide]

Ray,

May I suggest calling bob Douglas. He specializes in vintage leather tools. He's not in the uk but I'm sure he can ship to you. His info is on the suppliers link from the home page.

[OutBackP]

Just a thought if you get welded, would you not have to cover the cutting portion of the blade with something like clay so as not to loose the temper.

Can we see a picture of the knife. Just so we can mourn the passing of a once great tool, and hopefully see it come back to life.

[badger]

Ray,

Give me a call, I might be able to weld it for you, depends where the break is.

Karl

[UKRay]

Sadly, I had already taken the knife to be welded before I saw your post, Karl. I went round to see the guy this morning and he has made a terrible mess of it - huge blobs of weld and holes burned in it. To be honest it is completely ruined.

The good news is that I found another old Joseph Dixon knife this afternoon (in my local flea market) that is almost identical to my old one. It has a badly damaged handle and, like my old one is badly rusted at the tang but it is relatively sharp and with a bit of work and a new handle will do very nicely. Anyone know where I can get a new (or old) round knife handle from? Before you ask, the handle on the old one was what caused the problem when it split in two and allowed me to put undue pressure on the old rusty tang... so no, it won't do!

Sometimes living so close to Walsall has its advantages - second hand saddlery and harness making tools constantly appear in the junk markets round here. Today, I admit, I got lucky as I probably won't see another round knife for months!

[badger]

Ray,

Sorry to hear about the crappy welding. Send me a pic of what you got back..... you never know.

Try Dixon's for a new handle, I think they still make their tools on the premesis. They might see you a handle.

What does the tang look like on the new (old) knife?

Cheers,

Karl

[tonyc1]

I prefer the type of handle that is on the Osborne knives than Dixon use, I'm partial to the oval shape. I have 3 Dixon knives, one is pretty much original size, very little sharpening even though I've had it for 40 years, holds a great edge and it rings like a bell if you flick it with your finger. One other knife just says Dixon, not Dixon & Sons, which is real good and another knife I use a lot is made by Barnesly. I do have another Dixon knife which is only about 25 years old, it's a half headknife, with a pine coloured, round handle but it is not as good as steel as the older ones.

Tony.

[UKRay]

A bit of good news for a change. I contacted Joseph Dixon today and a very helpful guy told me they sell replacement round knife handles for £3.50 plus shipping but if I wanted to send my 'new' knife to them they would supply and fit a new handle for £5 including postage. My knife is now in the post!

I would like to draw your attention to the pictures of my 'new' knife below which clearly show the sort of rust that can eat away at a precious blade. My old knife's tang simply broke off where the rust meets clean metal as I was using it. It is evidently a weakness and one that IMHO is worth knowing about if you want to keep all your fingers!