EXPENSIVE high end Swivel Knives???

[anvilcustoms]

I am looking for a REALLY good swivel knife. Any of you know where to find a really high end knife or are they even made anymore. I've seen Stohlman's leather handled knife, but I'd like to see more.

Also, where can I find RUBY tips?

[whinewine]

Henley knives. I'm waiting for mine to come- supposedly top of the line- puts stohlman to shame.

I'm NOT impressed with the stolhman barrels sold by tandy, at this point- i have one of their barrels- (a narrow barrel-) it's 'ok', but not spectacular. I also have regular tandy barrels & I put them in pretty much the same category: 'ok'. When I get my Henley, I'll be more critical of the differences.

I'm not talking about blades... personally, I favor ruby blades, for various leathers (but, for others, steel blades work better). Other people love the ceramic blades- I feel they have too much drag, for my own personal taste, but others will certainly disagree & that's fine with me.

Others love only steel blades...

If you want a Henley, contact Cathy Schlim at cschlim@yahoo.com.

[CitizenKate]

Here's the contact information to order from Henley direct:

http://gemosphere.tripod.com/GEMOSPHERE/Swivel_Knivesx.html

Kate

[Rawhide]

Henley's are fantastic in my book, I have several Al Stohlmans, knurled barrels and stacked leather barrels. Henley blows them away. I have a narrow Henley that i bought from Peter Main with his specially designed blade, and I ordered a large barrel that I should be receiving shortly, and I can't wait.

I have heard that Bob Beard's and Chuck Smith's knives are top of the line as well.

Marlon

[Leerwerker]

I don't believe paying too much for a swivel knife is worth it - In my opinion the barrel has to be thick so that my hand does not cramp up too much - and a nice length is good.

But ball bearings in the swivel of the yoke and all that - a bit of a joke - while you cut, there is no need for the yoke to spin at 20,000 per second like the makers always demonstrate!

What most people seem to forget is the very crucial working end of the knife -the blade! THAT has to be a nice hard steel or ceramic, but unless you keep it stropped, even a $1,000 blade will help you nothing ... Have your rouge handy next to you when you cut, and even the $12.00 Swivel knife will give excellent results!

[Rawhide]

I don't believe paying too much for a swivel knife is worth it - In my opinion the barrel has to be thick so that my hand does not cramp up too much - and a nice length is good.

But ball bearings in the swivel of the yoke and all that - a bit of a joke - while you cut, there is no need for the yoke to spin at 20,000 per second like the makers always demonstrate!

What most people seem to forget is the very crucial working end of the knife -the blade! THAT has to be a nice hard steel or ceramic, but unless you keep it stropped, even a $1,000 blade will help you nothing ... Have your rouge handy next to you when you cut, and even the $12.00 Swivel knife will give excellent results!

I agree and disagree with you a bit. If you've never had a swivel knife that's considered high end, then there's no room to compare. The ball bearing is not intended to just spin the yoke and look pretty. It's designed to do just what you want the large barrel to do for you, keep your hands from cramping. This is especially helpful when carving a Sheridan design. The Henley's, while not as expensive as some maker's, but more than the knurled Al Stohlman knives, don't spin forever, but they provide the smoothest spin I've yet to encounter. Again I can carve for a much longer time without cramping with my Henley, than I can with any of my Tandy (Al Stohlman) knives.

I do agree with you that a $12 swivel knife can give you great results, and a $1000 blade is no good if it isn't sharp and polished. But I have a couple of craftool swivel knives that I use for specific things, i.e. beader blades.

But if you carve a lot, do yourself a favor and invest in a good swivel knife. If you are a builder and you use Harbor Freight type nailers, you'll buy more of them than you would if you buy one good Palsode or Porter-Cable.

You get what you pay for, this holds true for leather tools, leather and anything else.

Just my view.

[David]

I don't believe paying too much for a swivel knife is worth it - In my opinion the barrel has to be thick so that my hand does not cramp up too much - and a nice length is good.

But ball bearings in the swivel of the yoke and all that - a bit of a joke - while you cut, there is no need for the yoke to spin at 20,000 per second like the makers always demonstrate!

What most people seem to forget is the very crucial working end of the knife -the blade! THAT has to be a nice hard steel or ceramic, but unless you keep it stropped, even a $1,000 blade will help you nothing ... Have your rouge handy next to you when you cut, and even the $12.00 Swivel knife will give excellent results!

I could not agree more!! Thick barrel is the most important for me. So far I use a leather Stollman. I don't like the feel of the knurling on most new knives. Just makes blisters. A fellow in our Tandy workgroup has an antique swivel knife that I suspect is home made. It is solid brass with very fine knurling....you can't feel it when cutting. It is THICK, over 5/8"++ ....great movement in the cast brass saddle for your finger; it is a very deep saddle.... Not a real long knife, it was perfect for me..I loved it. Keeping my eyes open as he wouldn't sell it.....

David Theobald

http://theobaldleather.com

Edited April 10, 2008 by David

[David Genadek]

It all depends on what type and what volumn of work you are doing. I have 14 knives I use on a regular basis some are cheap tandy knives that I have set up with edge guides and they work fine for that. Generaly I reach for my high end swival knives. If you do a lot of carving (beyond what most hobbists can imagine) the ball bearings do come it to play. In the end though it all ends up being a matter of your artistic vision more than a matter of what tool you use. Bob Brown did some pretty amazing work with a sharpend screwdriver

David Genadek

[Regis]

It all depends on what type and what volumn of work you are doing. I have 14 knives I use on a regular basis some are cheap tandy knives that I have set up with edge guides and they work fine for that. Generaly I reach for my high end swival knives. If you do a lot of carving (beyond what most hobbists can imagine) the ball bearings do come it to play. In the end though it all ends up being a matter of your artistic vision more than a matter of what tool you use. Bob Brown did some pretty amazing work with a sharpend screwdriver

David Genadek

Even though I'm only a few years into carving, I have invested in a lot more knives than I use. For me any tandy knife set up with straight blade is good for those long straight lines. I'm one of the Henley fans but, more so because, with it, I learned what "sharp" really means. Now that I know how sharp to get the blade (and keep it sharp) other knives work pretty good. Larger barrel for these aging hands is a bit more comfortable though.

I wish I could have attended a show or guild event to try a lot of knives as I beleive that is the absolute best way to get the right knife for you. $100 knife that fits you is cheaper than 10 knives at $20-$40 each that sit in a box!!

Edited April 10, 2008 by Regis

[yaklady]

If you want a really good knife, stay away from the Al Stohlman knives. That brand is made to look great, but aren't as functional as you would expect them to be. Chuck Smith and Bob Beard have excellent knives. Henley isn't bad, but I like the other two better. The blade makes the big difference in your carving. Ceramic blades work well, but my very favorite blade is one from Chuck Smith. The only ruby blades I've seen are from way back. My Chuck Smith is much better.

Every person has their own opinion on swivel knives. What works for one is horrible for another. The best thing to do is go to Sheridan and check out the knives there yourself. That's the best place to play with them, since there are so many suppliers there.

Good luck on finding the right one.

Kathy