What kind of knife?

[Ajdsimon]

Hello,

I’m looking for a fixed blade knife that would be good for cutting leather along a straight edge. I’ve been using exacto knives, which work fine, but I’d prefer something a little more “long term”. 
I’ve used a rounding knife from Tandy, but I wasn’t a fan. What would y’all recommend? Thanks.

[Dwight]

The newer drywall knife . . . utility knife . . . is the greatest tool I've ever used.

Round knives simply scare me . . . 

Fixed blades need to be sharpened too often

This does exactly what is needed . . . pretty darn safe to use . . . flip the blade when the first half gets dull . . .  and not that expensive.

I just don't hardly ever use anything else . . . been that way for over 20 years . . . 

May God bless,

Dwight

Edited September 11, 2023 by Dwight

[Littlef]

+1 for straight cuts I use a utility knife, and I keep a large box of replacement blades.  As soon as I feel any kind of drag or pull from the leather, versus a clean easy slice, I replace (or flip) the blade.

[fredk]

similar, but I don't like a retractable blade and my main knife is a 'carpet fitters' version shape; the middle one

and for roughing out I use a hook blade in it;

[Double Daddy]

Several cutting tools stay on my bench. First, your historically (and not crazy expensive) handy utility knife like Mr. Dwight illustrated above (it gets used for long edge work, general cutting, etc). Next, I have a strap cutter for belts and any straps I might need AFTER I get a straight edge established with the piece of aluminum and aforementioned utility knife (hide is clamped to the work bench under the aluminum). Finally, I keep a large handle Xacto knife with #2 "pointy" blades (also not bad pricey when you get 'em on Amazon, etc) for "fine" corner work...I usually hold it upside down/sharp edge up (Sam Andrews style...look up his videos on YouTube for more details on this method).

Been cutting leather this way for a number of years now and see no reason to change canoes...I'm not one for fixin' things that ain't broken. Besides, those round knives make me a bit anxious as well. 

[tsunkasapa]

I used a utility knife in the building trades for about 45 years, and I have one hanging on the board in my work room. But I doubt it's been off the peg since I hung it up 8-9 years ago. The only thing I use is a round knife. The utility knife totally obstructs my view of what I'm cutting, Xacto knives are too flimsy, and neither of them come sharp enough for my tastes. If I have to stop and polish them, I might as well strop my round knife. I do use the rotary cutters on chrome tan, both straight and scalloped.

 

[DwightT]

I still use a round knife simply because that's what Grandpa taught me to use when I first started playing with leather some 50 years ago.  I learned to respect the knife and never really had a problem with it.  Put my tools away for about 35 years, then when I got them out again last year I found I was still OK with the round knife (after spending some time polishing the blade again), but after reading some of the comments in this forum I tried a carpet knife like @fredk suggested above.  I'll admit that I like it, especially for when I have to cut into inside corners, but I still like the round knife for longer cuts.

    /dwight

[BlackDragon]

For me it depends on the thickness and length of the cut.

For thick leathers where I have a long run and am just getting the leather down to manageable size I go with the electric rotary (I rarely use this)

For leathers above 5oz and precise cuts I generally go with a utility knife

Thin leathers I go with manual rotary or exacto blade

Scissors I use to trim off edges of lining

The round knife I'm still getting use to

[fredk]

6 hours ago, fredk said:

similar, but I don't like a retractable blade and my main knife is a 'carpet fitters' version shape; the middle one

Actually, I find I'm using a quality handle with 18mm snap-off blades much more

[SUP]

Stanley knife or for most leathers, round knife for curves and exacto knife for finer cuts. This is as a newbie with less than 1 year's experience.  I also sometimes use a rotary knife but feel that I cannot  get a cut  exactly where I like with it. So I use it for more general cutting.

The thickest leather I have cut to date is about 7-8oz. For thinner leathers, scissors work well for me.