How to define head knife and round knife?

[chouinardragon]

Hi,

I'm kind of confused on defining head knife and round knife.

Anyone could tell me how to define them?

What kind of knife would you use on making leather project?

Thanks!

Chouinardragon

[TwinOaks]

The primary difference is that the back of the blade for the round knife stops at about 180 degrees, while the head knife tends to go a little beyond that. The effect is that the round knife, for me, is easier to make tighter corners/curves. The head knife has a little more "sweep" to the blade which puts more cutting surface in the leather. This really helps when cutting thick leather, as it allows the user to keep a better hand position when pushing the knife. For thicker leather, I need to tilt the handle away from the leather a bit more so that I achieve more blade in the leather. On longer cuts, it isn't as consistent as having a more swept blade.

I only have the round knife from Tandy (AS brand), and use an Olfa style knife, an exacto, and others. There are definitely some better head knives available, just be prepared for the price. One of the 'complaints' of the AS brand head knife is that the blade is too thick, but I think reprofiling the edge geometry should take care of it.

[Art]

The head knife is patterned on the oval, whereas the round knife is more a circle.

Art

Hi,

I'm kind of confused on defining head knife and round knife.

Anyone could tell me how to define them?

What kind of knife would you use on making leather project?

Thanks!

Chouinardragon

[barra]

head knife

http://www.leffler.com.au/saddlery/dixsinheakni.htm

Round knife

http://www.leffler.com.au/saddlery/dixroukni.htm

[chouinardragon]

Thanks,guys! It really helps a lot.