immiketoo

There is a decent one available at Rickert Werkzeuge from Germany. Check them out.

Here's the tool I use. It works until I can afford a bell skiver.

Lol...fine! I just deleted it for you. I thought you were just very excited

Here’s a knife I sharpened for a local sandal maker. He sharpened it with a square rasp and the sidewalk. I had a lot of work to do, but it was all done with a coarse oil stone, the sand paper in 500, 1000, and 2000 grit variants.

I am no expert, but I am a sharp enthusiast. I learned form Terry Knipshield, and he is the king of sharp. Once you see how sharp something can be, you can't go back. Agreed. I have one expensive Japanese stone that cost a small fortune, and I only use it for finishing on mirror polish, but Ive found that for most things, you can get just as good results from 8k grit honing tapes for a fraction of the cost.

Lumiere gold acrylic paint.

In addition to the above, using a photo editor to change the image to black and white, then adjust contrast and brightness levels to make sure all the details of the eyes and nose and the dark areas are visible helps tremendously.

I have a box of whet stones and they sit there. Sand paper is far easier, less expensive and I get pretty amazing results by starting at 400 and going up to 2000 grit before a final polish. Looks like a mirror and skives with ease. I lay the paper right on my stamping stone and go to work

Always!

Coming back? I didn't go anywhere

If you're on a budget, these knives by Rickert are very nice, although the blades need a little work out of the box. They are adjustable and there are a variety of blades available for them. NV, I don't want to start an argument, but this is generally not true. Only the tip of the blade goes into the leather and the hollow part rarely, if ever, gets into the leather. Maybe on a long straight border cut, but otherwise, its just the tip. Blade condition and preparation (Mirror and stropping) have far more effect on drag in leather than a hollow ground blade. Bobby Park and I had this discussion about Bob Beard's hollow ground blades and he generally feels its just a comfortable place to put your pinky finger. Yes. Blades of superior manufacture are generally the cost of an inexpensive knife WITH a blade. Leather Wranglers, Peter Main, Barry King and Bob Beard all offer blades of superior quality. The advantages are geometry that is better and better steel, plus a blade that is ready out of the box. Thanks, Munky! I prefer the low angle blade for many reasons, although its more on account of my carving style and the fact that I don't do a lot of floral. I still use regular blades for floral and deco cuts, and for other assorted carving projects.

Mad? Not hardly. I just wonder why someone would return a gift that was given out of appreciation due to a perceived lack of quality. Seems to me that it would be something worth holding on to as a thank you, but I am a more sentimental man than most. I still have the little trinkets children gave of out of appreciation when I was a police officer. They may not remember it, but I do. To each their own.

This won't even be a blip on the radar for Barry; he will gladly take it back for full price. And to be honest, its not a negative critique of the knife.

This can be done in a variety of ways. Airbrush, block dyeing or with a normal paintbrush. In all of them, lay down your light color first and then use progressively darker colors, blending in toward the center.

You can airbrush in either direction but I usually spray from inside to the border. I use only fibbing's pro dyes and I oil lightly between coats to help set the colors better. Water based stains can be used but they are more topical than spirit dyes and usually yield an inferior result in my experience. Here's a few fades I've done as examples.

Most people put those foam pencil cushions on their tools/knives. For me, its all about the height of the knife. I like mine at 71mm tall. That way my hand doesn't cramp and i have the most control. However, no knife will be comfortable as long as you're fighting a chattering, sticky blade. A new knife from a reputable maker will solve all of those problems, and it can be done relatively cheaply. If you're into carving, this is the best upgrade you can do in my opinion.

Here's a specific application that I made for someone here about a year back.

Some people use athletic tape. It's ugly but it works.

So wait...Someone sent you a knife as a gift and you want to send it back to Barry for a refund to the giver?

Welcome, Sim! I'll be at a nice leather craft show in Arnhem in October. If you have time, you should come check it out, maybe take a class or two. Its a great boost for a new leather worker! The show is ELWATS. http://leathercraftersjournal.com/store/productlist.cfm?category=84

The circle is an additional yoke for one of the knives, the tiny one is a pendant, although its functional and the bottom one was a joke from some friends of mine. You are correct. If you don't know how, best to spend on a finished blade, but if you do, you can make these (Or nearly any blade) work just fine.

I would never use paint AND antique. In fact, I rarely use antique at all. However, if you do use antique on paint, you'd be better off with using Fiebing's past antique after a good acrylic resist.

Good lord! You're not sand blasting I use 20 PSI max. Low pressure, high volume helps with saturation. Low and slow and build up to the color you like.

Just a few of the knives I've tried.

The biggest issue with swivel knives is a crappy blade. If its not a mirror polish, it will be sticky and choppy as you describe. I like a lot of different knives. One of the best blades on the market is made by Leather Wranglers. Their steel is the most resistant to the crud that builds up on the blade as you carve. My personal favorite is the Peter Main low angle blade. It suits my style of carving. Barry King also makes a great blade. If you're on a budget, take a look at Rickert Werkzeuge. They have a very reasonably priced knife thats really good. The blades need a little work, but they aren't bad once you polish them.