Swive knife cuts

[dustin29]

How do you make a cirlce cut with a swivel knife? Do you make a complete circle cut or do you cut half of it and turn the leather and cut the other half?

[Rawhide]

How do you make a cirlce cut with a swivel knife? Do you make a complete circle cut or do you cut half of it and turn the leather and cut the other half?

One of two ways... you either cut half in one direction left side first and the other half on the right both starting at the top.

or you could turn the leather and cut half and half.

if you need an absolute perfect circle, use a coin or a circle template to follow.

[dustin29]

Thanks Marlon, I have been practicing the swivel knife excercises from LCSJ. I definately have alot of learning left to do. Do you or anybody else have any good practice tips that would improve my skill? Any helpful tips would be appreciated.

[Rawhide]

Thanks Marlon, I have been practicing the swivel knife excercises from LCSJ. I definately have alot of learning left to do. Do you or anybody else have any good practice tips that would improve my skill? Any helpful tips would be appreciated.

This is going to sound cliche, but the real answer is keep cutting.... the more you cut, the more cuts you do the more the more errors you'll see to improve on. If you're right handed, cut the left side of the project first, then the right. That way you can see what you cut on the left as you cut the right.

[dustin29]

This is going to sound cliche, but the real answer is keep cutting.... the more you cut, the more cuts you do the more the more errors you'll see to improve on. If you're right handed, cut the left side of the project first, then the right. That way you can see what you cut on the left as you cut the right.

Thanks for the advice Marlon. I guess its true what they say "practice makes perfect".

[TwinOaks]

well, perfect practice makes perfect. If you practice bad habits, you'll only reinforce them. The trick is knowing the difference, and having this incredible group of people to guide you will help you learn the right way.

[hidepounder]

Dustin,

I agree with Marlon, practice doing both. The more you learn to control your knife, the better your results will be. You will find that different situations will arise which will force you to cut in one direction or another. It is also important to learn how to bring two cuts together, so that the beginning and end don't show. You can't practice enough, even the pros need to practice from time to time.

Something to keep in mind is that practice does not make perfect! Only perfect practice makes perfect! What I mean is, just cutting for the sake of cutting is not going to be as fruitfull as trying to accomplish a specific cut and practicing until you get it right. To do this you need to work from a good example. In other words, don't practice making cuts by copying someone who is only average. Find the very best examples of cuts that you can find and work on copying one cut at a time until you have mastered it. Part of being a good at finger cutting is the ability combine several different cuts into a pleasant looking pattern, so as you begin mastering different cuts, practice putting them together into something that is pleasing to look at.

It takes a little while to master the use of the swivel knife, but it is the foundation of everything you carve.

I hope you find this useful.....

Bob

[Hilly]

<snip>

Part of being a good at finger cutting is the ability combine several different cuts into a pleasant looking pattern, so as you begin mastering different cuts, practice putting them together into something that is pleasing to look at.

<snip>

Bob

Words from a true master!