Ceramic Blades Vs. Others

[hidepounder]

Bob (hidepounder),

i admire your work and respect your experience. can you please explain your technique for sharpening your swivel knife blades to make them really sharp?

you also mentioned earlier that you like different size blades for different applications. can you explain more about how you select a blade size for a project?

thanks for any help.

ken

Ken,

Rather ran re-write the entire article I am going to refer you to Leather Wranglers site where Paul has done a very nice job of explaining sharpening of a swivel knife blade. He also deals with stropping the blade as well. I think those articles were included in Leatherworkers "Tips & Tricks" but I couldn't find them....they must not be up yet. Anyway here is a link that explains sharpening. http://www.leatherwranglers.com/tips.html

When it comes to selecting blades for different types of work, I think that is all about personal preference. The simple principles are that the longer a blade is the easier it is to use on long straight lines. I use a 5/8" long blade when cutting borders, etc. Conversely, the narrower a blade is the easier it is to use on small patterns with lots of tight turns. For those patterns I use a 1/4" angled blade. Most of my blades are hollow ground because I like them. For very thin leather I use a blade with a very flat ground angles which helps prevent cutting through the leather. For the most part, as you spend more and more time cutting, you will develope a feel for what you like to use in what situation.

Hope this helps.....

Bobby

[King's X]

I would recommend contacting Big Papa Leather. He usually sharpens my stuff initially using the GRS system that Hidepounder stated. He offers sharpening services for all leather related tools. You can mail it in and he will return it for a low cost.

I learned how to sharpen my blades from Chuck/Lana Smith and Big Papa using a 'big red' jig.

Paul's article is a great asset. I really like his knife. I re-angled my Leather Wrangler's blade and resharpened it with Paul's help.

Good luck

[swivelsphinx]

Hey Everyone!

I thought I'd post an update to this topic. Being a cheapskate who doesn't sleep as much as she should, I haunted Ebay in the wee hours for awhile until I hit gold. I found a NIP ceramic blade from Tandy that was *probably* from the late 70's or early 80's! I'll tell ya, while it *probably* could use a machinist's touch to grind it a little, I managed to strop it a bit with red and then white rouge. It works pretty sweet!

I still like my conventional metal blades too. I found a local tool sharpener who was able to handle these eeny weenie swivel blades at a *really* reasonable rate- 3.50 a piece. I can do my own stropping, I just have trouble holding an angle on a stone.