Blade advice/Identification

[TomE]

1 hour ago, zuludog said:

This might be interesting/useful. At the end there is a link for sharpening a JLK

 

Thanks for the video.  Good tips there that I will try with the square skiving knife.  Not sure if this grip and angle of work is possible on a 1 inch wide strap, but I'll try it.  I've found it easier to skive the narrow straps placed on the flesh side of a leather scrap instead of glass.  The small strap slides all over the glass, especially true for bridle leather.  I'm thinning both edges of 9 oz leather straps to about 3 oz then wet molding 2 skived straps together in a rounding block to create a swell.   

[zuludog]

TOME - Another possibility is a razor plane. Lay the strap along the edge of your bench or along a strip of wood to give clearance to tilt the plane. Rig up some sort of jig or clamp to hold the strap in position

Have a look at videos by JH Leather. She makes raised and padded dog collars using similar methods

Also, she uses a head knife for most of her work; it's like a round knife but it only has one point, which makes it cheaper and easier to use.

[TomE]

7 hours ago, zuludog said:

TOME - Another possibility is a razor plane. Lay the strap along the edge of your bench or along a strip of wood to give clearance to tilt the plane. Rig up some sort of jig or clamp to hold the strap in position

Have a look at videos by JH Leather. She makes raised and padded dog collars using similar methods

Also, she uses a head knife for most of her work; it's like a round knife but it only has one point, which makes it cheaper and easier to use.

Worked over my square Japanese style skiving knife according to HAKU video, and it is now skiving like a champ.  Needed to flatten the bevel and do a better job of following the bevel when skiving.  Thanks for the tips.  This is the cheap Chinese skiving knife on Amazon that Harry Potter has given a favorable review.  Not sure if it will hold an edge but for now it's great.  JH Leather's videos have been an excellent resource as well.  She's the real deal.  I am on a waiting list for a small head knife from a local maker.  

[zuludog]

I made my own Japanese Leather Knife from an old plane blade and it works well. 

Also more out of curiosity than need I tried one of those very cheap JLKs that crop up all over the Net, Amazon, etc.; it's quite well made for the money.

I scraped & sanded off the red paint and the handle is more comfortable, and you can see the grain, which is actually quite attractive

I ground back the cutting edge to remove the tiny secondary bevel and make one about 5mm long, on progressively finer grades of oilstone then a strop. As you, and others, have mentioned you can get a very sharp edge on it, and it's quite neat & handy to use

Hmmm ..... I really must learn how to post photographs.

Harry Potter? I think you've had a slip of the keyboard and meant Harry Rogers!

 

 

Edited June 28, 2022 by zuludog

[riy]

Thanks everyone for the excellent advice and resources. Gives me a lot to consider.

@fredkI don't own a skiver yet, but now I'm wondering if the replacement blades are just repackaged (and upcharged) injector razor blades.

@TomE I always forget to mention that I'm a southpaw when asking about edged tools. You just saved me from dropping $25 on a JLK I might have poor luck with. The Osborne 67 seems like a good option - surprisingly well-priced too.

[chuck123wapati]

i just got this great brain fart, cut the end off of an exacto knife and install it on a custom handle that actually fits your hand.

[Frodo]

20 minutes ago, chuck123wapati said:

i just got this great brain fart, cut the end off of an exacto knife and install it on a custom handle that actually fits your hand.

 

[zuludog]

RIY, and anyone else - 

JLKs are held so that when it's held vertically in your fist the bevel faces away from your palm and the trailing edge faces away from your wrist. You might think this is odd as then the angle of the bevel would result in a sloping edge to the cut; surely the flat vertical side should do the cutting? ..... not so, read on

Try holding something like a ruler or a screwdriver vertically in your clenched fist and extending your arm - you will find that it needs an effort and concentration to hold the tool perfectly vertically, if you relax your arm & wrist there is a tendency for your hand to turn such that the top of the tool moves outwards and the tool becomes slanted, not vertical

If you hold a JLK with the bevel facing away from your palm, this twisting action will bring the bevel to the vertical

Shop around, most JLKs are right handed  but you can also find left handed ones. 

Have a look at this video, also I think he is left handed

Leatherworking tools are usually sold with a basic finish, to keep the cost down, It is only the expensive custom made tools that you can use straight out of the box. So if you get a moderately priced round knife you will probably have to sharpen it - there are loads of YT videos. 

Edited June 28, 2022 by zuludog

[riy]

3 minutes ago, chuck123wapati said:

i just got this great brain fart, cut the end off of an exacto knife and install it on a custom handle that actually fits your hand.

You might be on to something there. Someone else recommended this pattern knife. I like the square handle of the design, but as a knife nut I can't bring myself to pay $65 for a little sliver of D2 tool steel.

Makes me wonder: (a) if there are any square Xacto/Excel style blade holders out there and (b) if any of these super steels (Magnacut, Cruwear, Maxamet, M390, S90V, etc) are going to make their way into the leather tool market any time soon. They're a real bear to sharpen compared to carbon steel, but the edge retention is excellent and leatherwork is not really an abusive task, maybe they'd never have to go on the stone.

 

[TomE]

2 hours ago, zuludog said:

Harry Potter? I think you've had a slip of the keyboard and meant Harry Rogers.

Indeed!  Thanks again.