Knipper

The folks at Sheridan leather sell them, and they're good ones! I bought one myself at the last show. Horsehide and green chrome compound...can't go wrong with that combination. Knipper

I'm no pro, but I've learned a few things about them when experimenting making blades for them. One thing I found out about the draw gauge is that unless the blade is parallel with the "guide" on the handle to the right of the leather, one of two things will happen...either the leather will feel like its binding when pulling the strap through, or you will get an uneven cut. (I'm assuming you've got a sharp blade installed!) Test the alignment by using a plain old metal ruler, and put it between the blade and the guide. Then, move the blade against the ruler as tight as you can and make sure its also making contact with the guide on the right. If there is no "gap" between the blade or guide and the ruler on the top side, or the blade or guide and the ruler on the bottom, your draw gauge is in alignment. If you see a gap at the top, you'll experience binding, as its funneling in a greater width of leather at the top and squeezing it into a smaller width at the bottom. If you see a gap at the bottom, you'll experience uneven straps, as you're starting with a smaller width at the top and the extra space at the bottom allows the leather to 'wander' through the tool. My new draw gauge came to me out of alignment, but I didn't know enough to check for that. My leather was very hard to pull through the tool. When I finally figured it out, I made new "shims" for the tool to align the blade parallel to the guide and it then worked perfectly! I don't know if your unit came with those two "shims" that fit between the "ruler" bar that holds the blade and the grip (top and bottom) but the ones that came with mine were bent, causing the problem. I just made new ones and kept them square and that solved the problem. Another thing you might check for, especially if you bought an old one, is to make sure the bar with the inch markings is straight. Hold a straight edge (that steel ruler will do) against the bar and look down the length of it. Any warping or bends will show up right away. (Don't know how you'd fix that easily, though). Knipper

Bruce, Thanks for the update! This is good news. As long as you think it cuts well (time and use should prove good edge retention, too...) I'm happy. That you think it looks good too, well, I can't make a knife with the attitude that "this looks good enough". It should be pleasing to the eye and feel good in the hand in addition to performing well. I think I'll make up a few more after I get a template made up, just to have on hand should anyone want one. I don't expect demand to be great on these, but they're interesting knives and this one was just plain fun to make. Terry

Hi Trox! Though the photo doesn't show it very well, I did use solid, yellow brass for the bolsters and pins. I didn't color correct the photo before I posted it. As to making more, I'm kind of waiting for a report from Bruce to see how he thinks it works. He should receive it by the end of this week. If all goes okay, I would consider making more if there is a demand for them. Thanks for the kind words! Terry

Thanks, Bruce... I can't wait to get a "cutting" report on the blade's performance! Terry

Thanks to Bruce Johnson, I had the opportunity to make him a replacement plough gauge blade. He sent me one of the Dixon units and also the French one. I'd never seen or used one before, so this was a welcome introduction to yet another leather cutting tool. I used CPM154CM steel, and heat treated it to a Rockwell hardness of around 60. After resharpening one of the old Dixon blades and cutting with it, I tried the one I made and I think it may cut better, but someone with more experience using them than I will have to render that opinion. This first one went slowly, as I didn't have the correct thickness of stock on hand, so I had to surface grind a thicker piece to the right dimension (3/32"). Milling the mounting slot took a while too. I have a mill, but I'm definitely NOT a machinist. All in all, I think it turned out pretty good. Can't wait to hear Bruce's opinion! If there is room for improvement, he'll let me know, and the next one will be better. Knipper

Thanks Ferg! I appreciate the kind words! Terry

Yes, we plan on making Wichita Falls an annual trip. Had a great time there last Oct. and the people were terrific. I always seem to run out of time when a show comes up and it never fails that I make too little of one knife or another. Maybe some day I'll get it right..

Finally winding down getting ready for the Wickenberg AZ show. I've never done that one before so its an unknown, but Dave puts on a good show. I have no idea what to expect, but will be bringing lots of head knives (31), trim knives and some draw gauge blades. It will be a new geographic area for my work so I'm pretty nervous. Anyway, if you're in the neighborhood, stop by the booth and introduce yourself. Its always nice to put a face with a name... One nice thing...I get to drive out West again! It always feels good when I'm heading out West! Knipper

I don't make swivel knife blades, but I was always curious about the "hollow grind" designation. For the ones I've seen, the 'hollow' is actually ground perpendicular to the edge, as opposed to parallel with it, as in a hunting knife. So, the hollow grind isn't really a factor affecting the edge at all (I think!...)which I believe is what Bob is referring to. The hollow ground blades I've seen still have a flat bevel along the edge like the traditional flat grinds do. I'm guessing the benefit of a hollow grind done that way lies in other areas, such as sharpening (a bit less material to remove) and perhaps slightly less drag through the leather. I'm under the impression that when swivel knives are used, the entire flat portion of the edge is not put onto the leather, but rather the blade is tilted a bit, having the effect of cutting with the corner of the blade. I would think that if the whole blade surface was presented into the leather, the leading edge tip would tend to get hung up. Pablo (Paul Zalesak) might have some good input on this, since he makes some beautiful swivel knives... Paul, do you notice any difference in making the cut with one or the other? Help educate an ignorant enthusiast! (me!) Knipper

Mlapaglia... I'm sure by "cutlery", they mean tableware, not sharp knives used to cut. Only .15% carbon...tsk tsk. Knipper This is what they sent me. It's the material data sheet for 410. This says its applicably for cutlery. But it doenst say GOOD cutlery. http://www.suppliersonline.com/propertypages/410.asp

Well, that's what I thought. I just plain would not buy ANY knife made out of 410...unless it was a butter knife. You know, 440C can't be that much more expensive. Even if it was, they could raise their prices a bit to make up the additional cost, do some decent heat treating and have a product for their customers that would work well. Bill Buchmann used 440C and his knives were VERY good, and prized by most of their owners. I will continue to scratch my head concerning U.S. manufacturers/distributors who deliver poor products regardless of the price. It doesn't have to be that way.

I posted this before, but as I recall, the steel they are using is a 410 series stainless. Although this is still magnetic, it contains very little carbon so you can't get it very hard during heat treating. That translates into a blade that will not hold an edge very long and you will be honing it often. If they are using different steel for this particular knife, then I'd have to know what it was before I could comment. I just know that the "SUS410" they use for their Stohlman "damascus" head knives is not intended to be used for cutlery of any kind. If this is a regular carbon steel blade, and not stainless, try to find out if there is at least .75% or better carbon content in the steel. At least that will hold an edge for a while, provided it's heat treated properly. Knipper

The larger ones like this one are $250. Knipper

One of my customers sent me this fine old Gomph round knife and asked if I would make a new one like it. First of all, I was pretty amazed to see an old Gomph with this much steel left on it. I think he said he bought it from Bob Douglas. Anyway, here's my interpretation. Its a larger knife, measuring just a tad over 5 1/2" from point to point, as did the original. I didn't offer a blade this big in my line...I do now! I like this pattern so much I'm gonna make more. Knipper

Well stated, Paul! Paul makes innovative and top quality head knives, skiving knives and swivel blade knives. Having seen his work and in talking with him, I can tell you he is not only passionate about his work, but also delivers superior performance with his blades. His points about "objective" results vs. subjective "opinions" are well taken. Performance CAN be measured and evaluated without prejudice. (and Paul, you NEVER babble!) I suspect some opinions about quality have been based on personal experience. Denster, if you at one time purchased a premium priced knife that did not deliver the performance you were expecting, I am sorry...but it's not your fault. The custom knife world is not immune from overstated claims and marketing hype. I've seen it all too often, and it reflects poorly on all of us. Worse yet, I know of several cases where the customer complained to the maker about it, only to be told that it must be their (the buyer's) fault because they didn't know what they were doing, or they weren't using it correctly. The maker refused to refund the customers' money. That would put a bad taste in my mouth as well. But rest assured, there are still reputable makers out there who want nothing more than to put a smile on their customer's face every time their knives are used. I need to say that I do not intend to come across as being heavy handed about all this. My goal is to educate and maybe dispel some myths out there so potential customers are better informed about steel, edge geometry, knife maintenance, etc. Educated customers keep you on your toes, and make you do better work! Terry

I saw this thread a few days ago and was hesitant to respond for fear of my reply looking like an attempt to hawk my own product. You'll have to trust me that this is NOT the case. I don't agree that all round/head knives priced over an arbitrary amount are just prettier and are not better performers. It would be similar to saying "Don't buy any saddle over $500, because the higher priced ones just look nicer but won't give you any better performance". Any saddle makers want to chime in on that one? The commercially made knives I've seen at around the $50 - $75 price point come dull from the factory, which means you'll have to spend several hours to get them close to cutting passably well. What is your shop rate? Do you try to get at least say, $30 an hour for your labor? If so, those 3 to 4 hours spent on sharpening the knife added $90 to $120 to the cost of the knife. What kind of steel and heat treating do the commercial knives offer? Last I checked, a well known commercial mfgr used 1065 steel. 1065 steel means that there is only .65% of carbon used in the alloy, and that means that you can't heat treat the knife hard enough so that the edge will last as long. Custom makers who care about their work will use steel that has .75% (a minimum, in my opinion) to a full 1% carbon content or more in the alloy. This makes for better edge retention and less frequent honing for the knife. That applies to both stainless and non stainless steels. So, will that harder alloy be harder to sharpen? Well that depends on what you're using to sharpen the knife. If you use an "Arkansas" stone, you'll be at it a while, as they simply don't grind away material from the edge very quickly. A fine grit diamond hone will work faster, followed by finer grits and judicious stropping or buffing. But the fact is, even a knife that has a hardness of RC60, will sharpen reasonably easy provided the right techniques are employed. I've tested the hardness of some commercial knives, and they are in the low to mid 50's on the Rockwell scale. They simply cannot hold their edge when cutting leather very long (...more frequent honing!). The question is, would you rather have to hone your blade 4 to 5 times per project, or once for ever 4 or 5 projects? Also, premium quality knives individually made, one at a time, have a maker behind them that probably tests every blade prior to shipping to the customer. If the blade doesn't meet the maker's standards, it doesn't get shipped until it does. I doubt whether the commercial manufacturers individually test every blade coming off the line. Any serious knife maker puts the performance of the blade FIRST over anything else. I guess the bottom line is, if you pay a premium price for a knife, you should expect premium PERFORMANCE. The fact that it may look a bit nicer, is just the maker's pride of workmanship. You get that as a bonus. Hand-made or not, these are WORKING knives we're talking about, not wall hangers or something locked up in some collector's safe. Working knives, or any quality tools, have to earn their keep. They are a means to an end (your finished project). They should make cutting easier, more precise, and require less upkeep than a lower quality mass produced tool. Using them should not result in tired, sore or cramped hands at the end of the day. In some cases, (obviously not all) the old phrase "You get what you pay for" still holds true. Now, if you're a hobbyist who only uses a head knife infrequently, and if your time (sharpening, for example) invested in a project is not an issue, then maybe that less expensive knife will do just fine. However those doing leather work for a living have much higher standards and expectations for their tools, and they should! Providing /making a premium quality knife costs more because of the makers time, expertise, use of superior materials, better techniques, and yes, significantly better performance from the tool. If you don't get all of these for your money, I wouldn't hesitate to ask for a refund. The higher price isn't worth it unless you get higher value! Terry Knipschield (One of my favorite quotes: "The most expensive thing in the world is a cheap paint job")

Excellent advice there, from TexasJack...to make this a "using" knife again, replace the handle. The products TexasJack mentioned are all good quality items. It sounded to me by your posts that you wanted to keep the original handle. But for better strength (and better looks) do as he suggests. Knipper quote name='TexasJack' timestamp='1318821313' post='217264'] First, if you replace the handle, it's no longer an "antique". On the other hand, if you FIX the handle, it's still not an antique (or at least no longer has value). That handle is pretty badly messed up. Chances are it will not hold up. It especially won't hold up if you use the superglue or JB Weld that has been suggested. Only epoxy is any good for holding together a knife and JBWeld is about the worst epoxy there is. When wood cracks like that, it has been subject to dampness and the inside area will not be tight. The rust on the blade would indicate the same issue. The wood can be treated with acrylic resin to keep it from getting worse, but I wouldn't recommend it. At a minimum, the tang of the blade needs to be cleaned and then degreased. Adhesives (glues) are NOT designed to fill in space. For that you need to have material mixed with it. Fiberglass or even sawdust can be used. Gun shops or Brownells sell an epoxy kit for glass bedding rifles that will work. It's a gel epoxy with powdered fiberglass to add to the mix. Best would be a new wood handle, epoxy for the adhesive, and drill the whole thing through for a small pin to hold the tang tight in the handle.

Well, any of the aforementioned techniques will work for you. Epoxy, super glue etc. I would suggest a few things however. First, get the rust off the tang of the blade before you reassemble it. Why put it back together only to have that small, narrow tang rust away and have the blade just fall out eventually. Use sandpaper or a scotch brite wheel to get back down to bare metal. Also, in addition to filling the cracks on the handle, make sure you ladle in plenty of epoxy (not super glue here...you need to fill big gaps) in the hole where the tang is. Then insert the blade. Make sure you put the retaining ring/bolster on before you snug things up. Make sure the blade is straight in the handle. Then fill in the cracks with epoxy. Since its cracked in several places, the blade will be loose unless you clamp it tight while the epoxy is setting up. I'd cut a few thin straps of leather to use as a "buffer" and then use one or more vise grips on the handle to really pull it tight against the tang. the leather will prevent vise grip marks on the wooden handle. When you get the cracks closed with the vise grips. don't touch it for a day or two...let the epoxy really set up. Then you can sand everything flush and add more epoxy to the deeper areas of the cracks later, and sand again. I don't see a retaining pin there or any holes in the tang, so this was just driven in when it was first made. Again, the manufacturers didn't foresee any one using this knife a hundred years after the fact! I hope the knife performs well for you after going to all this trouble! Knipper

Here I am trying to educate myself again. I'd love to see any pics of knives that are made with the boot maker in mind. I know that one could use the same knives as saddle makers, but I have the feeling there might be some particular shapes that are preferred. I'm interested in making anything that cuts, so all suggestions will be welcome! Thanks Knipper

Hi Kman... If we're looking at the same one, I believe that's the Chan Geer bench knife. I sell those for $235. Terry

Thanks for the feedback Steve. Hearing back from customers is important to me as it lets me know if I'm really providing a quality tool to another craftsman. The fact that you can notice a big difference in performance tells me I'm on the right track! I appreciate the info and am glad you like the knife. Knipper

Do you have the knife apart yet? It would help to see some photos of the parts (handle and blade) so I could see how it was put together. That would go a long way in determining the right course of action. Restoring vs replacing parts is a legitimate concern. But sometimes, if you truly want an item to perform well, old worn out parts need to be replaced to bring back the true function of the tool. If you want to resell it as an antique, then preserving the original with all its parts takes precedence. If the original can truly be restored with minimum alteration, then you can have it both ways. Knipper

Hi Philip.. Sure, I welcome visitors. But my shop is really a mess right now, after getting ready for the show. As soon as I fill some orders, I'm going to really do a makeover and get it in shape. The coffee is always on though, so give me a call before you drop in, and we can get together. (cell is 507-358-9194) Terry