tgidry Report post Posted November 9, 2009 I'm just wondering about the large barrel swivel knives. My question to the crafters with large hands. What size is the barrel that you are using? I will be ordering a couple of swivel knives and just looking for opinions on what is comfortable for you. Thanks Tucker Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bruce johnson Report post Posted November 9, 2009 Tucker, I wear about an 8-1/2 glove for what that is worth. It makes a difference for me to have more control with a bigger barrel than the quicker action of the smaller barrel. I have one of the thinner ol Smoothies, 3/8" I think. It was alright until I had some hand injuries that made it hard to grip something that small. I slid one of those rubber pen sleeves over it and my Barry King. They work for me now, and are my first grabs. I have one of the biggest ol Smoothies, I think it is 5/8 with a 1/2" blade. I like it for running long straight lines. When you can bury a lot of blade edge into the leather and have that big barrel, it just wants to track truer for me. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hidepounder Report post Posted November 9, 2009 I wear an XL glove (I'm not sure what size that is) and I like the taller knives. I'm like Bruce...having a big long blade in a large barrel knife makes cutting long flowing lines and straight borders a breeze. In my opinion you have to fit the knife to the work. The smaller the pattern the smaller the blade I use and I like to keep my blades in barrels that are a similar size. I keep about 10 knives on the bench and they run from 3/8" barrels with micro blades to 5/8" barrels with 5/8" blades. I also agree with Bruce that having a larger diameter barrel is easier to control than a 3/8" barrel. That said I'm using the 3/8" barrels more than any of the others but that is due to the size of the pattens I have been tooling and it is not unusual for me to use two or three different swivel knives on one pattern. Hope this helps... Bobby Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
swinewerx Report post Posted November 10, 2009 If you need a thicker barrel take one of the slim ones and wrap it in the leather thickness of your choice, and possibly add a little design to it as you want. just make sure to stitch it smooth for your steering quality and make it very tight Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
