help-cutting thick leather

[sheathmaker]

Badger,

I don't think anyone is bashing...I didn't read it that way...maybe some difficulty in understanding the resistance to learning to use a great tool...but not bashing! There is a reason that round/head knives have been produced exclusively for leatherworkers for the past 200 years. Most professionals use round/head knives for a variety of reasons...cutting shapes out of leather is just one of them. They are an excellent tool for cutting bevels on edges and are simply unsurpassed when it comes to lap skiving, especially on irregular shapes. Their design makes them incredibly easy to use to cut a staight line without the assistance of a straight edge, and you get to do all of this cutting away from your body, not toward it!!!!! It's really an all around knife!

I agree with you....a person should use what works best for them and I trully believe that! But if I'm asked, I am going to recomend learning to use a round/head knife because for me, it is the fastest, easiest and most efficient cutting instrament I own. Why recommend something you feel is inferior, right? I'll bet I have collected fifty different knives over the years, in nearly as many shapes and sizes, searching for that one knife that I can grab off the bench with confidence and a sense of gratification, knowing it is the best tool for the job! For me it's a head knife. It's one of the most important tools I own. I wish it hadn't taken me so many years to learn to use it, but it did, and now I tell anyone who asks, what a wonderful tool it is and why. There is a definite learning curve and I think people who have mastered that skill are enthusiastic about it and want everyone else to know what a joy that knife is to use use!

Anyway, that's my 2 cents...I'm not bashing...I'm just excited to share something that was difficult to learn!

Bob

Plus 1 for me, Bob. I agree with your post word for word. I have used the round knife for so long for 99% of ALL my cutting that I can hardly remember not using it, but having said that, I also agree that for others "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Use whatever you find to be the best for you....................but if you haven't been all the way around the learning curve with the round knife you just could be missing out on what I think is the easiest way.

Paul

[rbrooks]

For what it`s worth , I use a Stanley Utility Knife for cutting almost everything. I`m a saddle maker and have been using it for over thirty years. I can use head knives and round knives equally well, but like all tools its how you use them. With utility knives remember to keep them straight up and down , most important pull the blade through the leather by pulling

with your whole body. Do not try and pull just with your arm. I have a cutting table, 4 x 8, that I do all my cutting with. Just lay-out your leather and start your cut and lean back from your leather and pull the knife as you lean back. This gives you enough force to cut through almost any leather.

Just recently I found a serrated blade that Stanley has put out,and it seems to cut easier than the old blades. Learn how to use each knife that you have and don`t listen to anyone who says theres only one way to do things. We would still be in the stone age with that kind of logic.

Keep `em sharp!

[MedusaOblongata]

I was thinking of using a dremel and sanding drum to finish the edge but it just seamed to burn.

If your Dremel's burning your leather, then your bits are dull, or filled. Sharp, clean bits will grind or cut leather, but won't burn it.

I've used expensive scissors and rotary cutters, and they work pretty well, but what I usually use is the Benchmade that's in my pocket. A sharp enough knife will cut through anything easily and smoothly, and will give you the control you need. As said above, boxcutters and exacto knives, when brand new, are way too dull.

If you don't want to bother with knife sharpening (though you'll have to eventually), go with a scalpel like this: http://www.indigo.com/tools/gphtools/3-sca...n=22340 Replace the blades as necessary. Cuts leather very smoothly, and the handle is designed for precise control (after all, look at what they were designed for).

Edited May 19, 2009 by MedusaOblongata

[Bree]

I have tried a lot of different tools for cutting leather. I like using a powered rotary cutter but they don't do well with really thick leather. I usually end up using a round knife. It helps to have a slow speed wet sharpener like a Tormek to keep them razor sharp. The design of the blade makes it one of the best tools there is for breezing through saddle skirt or similar thick stuff.

That said, the round knife can be a very dangerous tool if used improperly. If it easily slices through saddle skirt, it just as easily will slice through human flesh. You push this knife. It is so very tempting to get that non-cutting hand or arm out in front of that knife. Don't do it! A single slip or mistake can have drastic consequences.

For that reason I often use an Osborne straight knife pulled toward me and do multiple cuts that are less deep and then clean the edge on my sander. It isn't as simple or precise as the round knife but it is often a good deal safer for me.

The band knife alternative is attractive but the blades are hard to obtain and they require mucho mucho care to avoid cutting yourself during routine operations such as installation or just folding the blade. Kevlar gloves are highly recommended when working with these blades.

Another option is to use a knife blade on a scroll saw. These are much smaller blades and can be much safer to use than a bandknife since you can position an effective guard over the cutting edge. Problem is that you have to make them yourself since I know of no company that manufactures them. There are fabric-cutting power knives that function similar to a scroll saw with that up-down motion but I have never used one.

[hidepounder]

There are fabric-cutting power knives that function similar to a scroll saw with that up-down motion but I have never used one.

I didn't even know such a tool was available.......I love this place!!!!!!!

[Bree]

I didn't even know such a tool was available.......I love this place!!!!!!!

Here is an example of what I am talking about:

http://shop.raphaelsewing.com/index.php?ma...2667399f9079940

Basically a portable scrollsaw/jigsaw with a knife blade sharp as a razor.

[hidepounder]

Here is an example of what I am talking about:

http://shop.raphaelsewing.com/index.php?ma...2667399f9079940

Basically a portable scrollsaw/jigsaw with a knife blade sharp as a razor.

That looks way more dangerous than a round knife!!!!!!! Think I'll leave well enough alone!

[Bree]

I hear ya which is why I don't have one! The electric rotary cutters are not as hairy as that thing... but the small ones stall in the real thick leather.