The Quest For The Perfect Round / Head Knife

[FlHobbyist]

My Leather Wranglers Mini Lui came in today and here are my initial impressions. It is a beautiful knife with the custom Hawaian Koa wood handle. Not only did I think it was a beauty, more importantly my wife thought it was a beauty too. She really liked the look of it both because of the workmanship and the unique design.

The knife was a little smaller than I had mentally pictured it to be (see photo). I have a small Osbourne and I had expected it to be about the same size. The Mini Lui is about 3/4 the size of the Osbourne, however this suits me just fine because I think it will be easier to control as I continue to learn about leather crafting.

Now for the good part, and what everyone so far has commented on. I can't believe how sharp this knife is! My path with round knives has been somewhat torturous. In June I thought I got "lucky" and bought a Damascus blade from Tandy with a managers special for $65.00 (current price $40.00 and continuing to drop like a rock) At the same time I bought a small Al Stohlman round knife for $24.00. I learned how to sharpen round knives with that small Stohlman knife. I got it razor sharp, but as has been reported here many times, it simply won't hold its edge for more than a foot or so of cutting, which isn't too good if one wants to cut out a purse, much less a saddle.

I upgraded to a small Osbourne that was (I thought) pretty sharp. It had the advantage of keeping its edge. It and the small tandy blade were both sharpened to the same degree. They would move through 3/4 leather pretty easily except on corners, and they could be used on 8/9 leather but I had to bear down on them both a little.

However, with the Mini Lui going through the 8/9 leather was very similar to cutting through a cardboard box with a razor knife. When cutting through the thicker leather the Mini Lui even makes a satisfying sound similar to cardboard being cut with a razor knife, and it glides through without me having to put any muscle into it.

Even though I am an amateur, I do like nice things, and the Mini Lui was worth every penny it cost me. With a little luck, I'm going to buy a full size Deter sometime next year.

Bob

[BondoBobCustomSaddles]

No critique here, in my opinion, a real craftsman, appreciates quality materials and construction in whatever form it comes. The choice of materials here appear to be of the finest quality, and certainly the steel used has it's own attributes. Now it's a matter of how it meets you own individual needs. For me, all looks good except that back edge being sharp. Like someone else on this thread mentioned, Sometimes I like to reach up and push the knife through a curve with the thumb of the hand not holding the knife, I feel I get the best control on tight round and intricate cuts that way, (my personal preference). I am sure that during the course of making a saddle, I would loose the tip of my thumb! So for me the back edge needs to be rounded for comfortable use. In fact, when I ordered my latest knife from Kniperschield, I specifically requested that Terry round the back edges for that very reason. All that said, this appears to me to be a very nice tool that will be welcomed by those that use it. Bob