Hijacked or no, JLS, I just got to read Tor, Chief, Art,John,et al, and their honest ideas about what a head knife will do. I never thought to ask what a wiggling utility knife will do, but now I know there's people who'll buff and strop those beautifully wiggly blades.I bet setting a utility blade in a custom handle could be the bee's knees, if you please! My takeaway is that one might effectively make one's own blades and have a better experience, or pay the cost of a head knife and have a better experience learning the leather, or use that Stanley and be the happiest leather guy on earth, which you may well be, but the head knife market certainly takes a hit when you enter the room! For my part, I got suckered in on the HALF PRICE fake Damascus steel pretty black wood handled Al/Tandy header a few years back, and was rapt with pleasurable sensations as I mutilated a number of pieces, and stropped my way across the workshop with it, UNTIL I got hijacked, read this thread, and realized I was only hallucinating the whole thing. Thanks Guys!