Frustration with the round knife

[jbird]

thanks all for your input very helpfull, and chuck I use those punches all the tim in fact I made some out of pipe.

Josh

[TrooperChuck]

LOL... the old guy who taught me to make saddles used to say that the only thing my head seemed good for is a place to hold my hat! Fortunately, I found this forum and all the folks who post in it, and now my head is getting filled with all kinds of new ideas.

I love this place.

[Bree]

Josh...

I am usually not in a big hurry so I cut the leather in multiple passes. When I am down to the last pass or so my pressure on the round knife is very slight and the cutting board doesn't really matter. I have been using Novolene which I got from Weaver. It is a thick poly used for clicking. It is very tough, smooth and slippery so it provides little friction to the knife to catch. I like it better than my old poundo boards or the self healing mats that I have used over the years.

I am nowhere near the leatherworker that Bob is but I find it to be unsafe for me to lift the leather when using a round knife. I prefer the slick poly surface, going in multiple shallow cuts, and opening the cutting kerf a bit rather than lifting the leather off the cutting surface. That round knife is very dangerous if you lose control of it. I don't trust myself. Heck I sometimes want to wear Kevlar gloves when I cut with it. I don't but the thought has crossed my mind more than once.

[Todd]

I cover my table with a sheet of "puckboard" (same stuff used to line hockey boards) purchased at my builder supply store. It helps the blade glide nice even when i do cut through the leather. It is relatively cheap for a 4X8 sheet so I replace it when it does get cuts or tracks that the blade can grab.

[jbird]

Thanks all for your input and help.

Josh

[Go2Tex]

Ah yesss... the round knife cutting issue. First let me emphasize the already mentioned factor of sharpness. Whatever technique you use, a dull blade will be a problem. Been there done that. Until you can shave the back of your hand with it, it ain't sharp enough.

Really firm, thick skirting is about the hardest thing to cut with anything or any method. I just finished cutting some Hermann Oak parts and I tell ya, I was back to the sharpening bench a couple times and it still was a pain. I forgot my little trick I use on Wickett and Craig drum dyed which is to use candle wax. Also works on stitching awls. The knife was sharp but the leather seemed really dry and the cut line just wouldn't open up. The leather was really grabbing my knife blade.

On those tight curves I also use the strap end punch or hole punch but you can manage a good tight cut with the head knife if you drop the handle down almost to the leather and use the smallest part of the blade. Make several passes using your free hand thumb to apply the forward pressure. I do this most of the time on heavy skirting because it gives me the greatest control of the knife.

The problem with this method is that if you don't keep your knife perfectly vertical and perpendicular to the cut each pass, you will have a bit of a jagged edge on the bottom.

[readytogiveitup]

Some makers use thick poly butchers cutting surface. you can get the thin kitchen cutting boards just about anywhere. The big heavy thick commercial grade tops at a restaraunt or butcher suppy. Can be sanded on occasion to keep it smooth and clean. but I learned on a soft pine board.