Lookin for a new swivel knife BLADE

[craftsman827]

I'm lookingto buy a new swivel knife BLADE.

I'm sure this has been discussed before, on the forum.

But maby some of you could leed me in the right direction.

I have a couple of OLD blades from Tandy, & a ceramic blade, also from tandy.

The ceramic blade has to be stropped very often.

So it's time to invest in a good blade. HELP PLEASE !!!!!

Edited October 11, 2009 by craftsman827

[electrathon]

Henley

[Vikti]

Berry King makes a great blade

[ClayB]

Can't leave out Paul Zalesak or Bob Beard. If you aren't going to get a new knife with the blade, make sure you find out if the blade will fit your swivel knife.

[RWB]

I'm lookingto buy a new swivel knife BLADE.

I'm sure this has been discussed before, on the forum.

But maby some of you could leed me in the right direction.

I have a couple of OLD blades from Tandy, & a ceramic blade, also from tandy.

The ceramic blade has to be stropped very often.

So it's time to invest in a good blade. HELP PLEASE !!!!!

I notice that you put your emphasis on blade. The unfortunate thing is that most swivel knife makers don't make universal or interchangeable blades. So what you probably looking at, (and what I would recommend if all your using is a Tandy swivel knife) is buying a whole new swivel knife. Someone else has mention Paul Zalesak an Bob Beard I personally have no experience with these two tool makers. However I have heard that they make nice tools, and are worth a shot. Barry King form my experience make the best affordable tool out there. I your interested in Sheridan Style Stamping I would suggest that you start by looking athis web site. He carries nice stamping tools as well as good hand tools. A swivel knife from Barry is going to run $45.00 and a Blade$15.00. They come fairly sharp and with a little honing are great. www.barrykingtools.com

Another one I would recommend is Chuck Smith. He makes a really great swivel knife, probably the smoothest spinning knife out there. His blades get and stay sharp easily. But you are going to be looking at paying about $120.00 for a knife and blade, if I'm not mistaken. I couldn't find a web site so maybe someone else can jump in for you with that information. Hope that helps.

Ross Brunk

Edited October 11, 2009 by RWB

[Tina]

I'm with Clay on Pauls blade (I have never tried BB's)

If I'm not totally wrong I think Paul can adapt the blade to fit other brands too. This is by far the best blade/knife I have tried and I'm a proud owner of one too...Just my 2 cents:-)

[whinewine]

Henleys are great blades- I have 3 of them, in addition to a few old ruby blades.

[TimKleffner]

Howdy

I own several Lancer swivel knife bodies. They are knock offs of Henley swivel knives and blades. I own 1 Henley knife body and blade and am REAL pleased with it. I am going to call Henley Monday and order a 3/8 body and a 1/4 angle bade. I LIKE 'EM and the price is the same as everyone else. Give Henley a try ... I don't think you'll be unhappy with the quality OR price.

Happy tooling

Tim

[Vikti]

Hey Tim,

I've been looking at the Lancers that Hidecrafters sells, do you think that they're worth it? I'm looking at either those or the Berry King swivel knife.

Damon

[hidepounder]

I own and use Beards, Henleys, Smiths, Hide Crafters and Leather Wranglers. I probably use Beards blades the most...they are made of tool steel and are very nicely milled, but in all fairness I probably use his because I had him make just what I wanted. I have a variety of styles shapes and sizes and use each for a specific purpose. I do most of my decorative cuts with the LW knife...it is all aluminum with a very high tech steel blade. I have several Henley blades and they are excellent. I probably use Henley barrels more than any other because I like the way they feel. Smith's and Beard's probably have the best yoke and bearing system. With that said the quality of many of these knives have far exceeded the practical needs of the tool. I also use some Henley knock-offs that came from Hide Crafters and with the exception that the yokes will only spin for 20 or 30 seconds instead of 90....I can't see or feel the difference between the two. Those knives have Henley and Beard blades in them. Henley offers a couple of different knurling and yoke styles and a variety of blades designs. Smith and LW both offer a large variety also. I have not used Barry's blades or knives because he makes brass knives and am not a fan of brass, however, eveyone that I know who has a King likes their knife very much. I think that as long as you buy a quality knife and blade from any of the custom makers you will probably be satisfied, but because a swivel knife is such a personal tool I highly recommend attending one of the shows to try them all out. And remember....no matter whose blade you decide on, they all require proper sharpening and polishing to maintain they're ability to cut.

Hope this helps....

Bobby

[Rawhide]

I have sevral blades from the likes of Tandy, Henley, and Chuck smith. The one I reach for now, is Paul Zalesak's Leather wrangler knife. The blade stays sharp longer than any other combo I have. His blades are $35 and he can make them to fit a Tandy knife if you like. I can get any one of my blades sharp and polished well, but none of them cut as long as Paul's between stroppings. I can't comment on Bob Beard's but with the quality of his other tools, I'm sure you'll be super satisfied. (you'll just have to wait a while for it )