Clean Cuts

[Cyberthrasher]

Yeah, I think corners are a whole different story. I haven't been able to afford a round knife yet, so maybe at that point my technique will change drastically.

For me, the best sander is a piece of sand paper in my hand, but again, that's because I'm pretty cheap for the time being until I start getting some cash flow.

[Jimbob]

I second some of these replies....get a good round or head knife and learn how to use it!! Not hard if you try...been doing my cuts up to 15oz for many years with a shoe makers blade...works great!

Then I made a commitment that if I call myself a leather worker I will use a traditional knife to cut....a round knife!! And guess what, I love it and it is the only knife I use for 90% of my work!!

Keep it extremly sharp, learn how to sharpen any knife in ur shop.....then use it like a pinstriper would do...( I dabble a bit in pinstriping..) look ahead of the actual cut...feel where u cut and get used to the "slide" when cutting ...so you wont over cut or put to much pressure on the tip....practice, practice and then some more...!

A good blade has good steel, u will know the difference when sharpen and when u cut....good knives dont come cheap, but your grandkids will fight over them...haha...

A good used older brandname head knife can be found at leather shop sales, ebay and sometimes at estate sales.

Lets go cut some leather....

Aloha

[NoName]

I cut out my pieces 1/4 inch or so oversized. I case the leather (not soggy, just cased throughout). I then trace the exact shape and cut it out. A polished Hyde knife goes through cased leather like butter.

[niftycurly]

I'm partial to a rotary cutter and a good straight edge myself. Stand up and cut confidently = nice clean cuts.

[Chief31794]

X2 on the round knife and also on dampening the leather, I haven't tried it with the leather competely cased but dampened it tends cut smoother. Use the tip of the round knife for going around curves and a little more blade when going straight. One thing I do and I'm not sure others would agree but here goes. If I have lots of tight curves and a little more intricate cuts I precut them with a swivel knife, that provides a nice guide to follow with the round knife and for lack of a better term chamfers the edge and gives it a more finished look even before sanding and burnishing. Just my way of doing it, may not be the recommended way.

Ken

[reddevil76]

Haven't used a round knife before myself. I use a cheap utility knife (with neon green plastic body *gasp*) But I only work with 6-7 oz max.

1. I use the smallest size knife, those used for craft paper. The small size tip is easier to go round corners.

2. I break off dull blade tips often. They are too cheap to bother with stropping.

3. I stand up, and try to keep my knife straight up. I also give it 2-3 passes if thick.

4. The thing I keep in mind most is, when my project has a round corner, I do not cut a rectangle, then round the corners. I cut the straight lines with the aid of a metal ruler, stop before the corner, then go a little more and when reaching the corner, I turn the leather while keeping my knife straight up and almost stationary. I found it impossible to get a nice corner when manipulating the knife as the wrist is a limitation. I manipulate the leather through the knife. With this, I found round corners a breeze. Especially with a cutting mat below.

5. I don't think I am alone in doing this. 0.34 of the video

Edit: I'm not saying a round knife is not the answer as I haven't tried it myself. But since you already have a utility knife, and you've got the leather, it's easy to just try this out and see if it improves your cuts while you decide on a better cutting tool.

Edited June 12, 2012 by reddevil76