Looking For The Right Swivel Knife?

[theoldcoyote]

I'm new to leatherwork. I'm a carpenter by trade and know the importance of a quality tool versus a piece of crap. That said I don't want to drop alot of bread on the wrong tool. Would y'all recommend I buy a cheap Tandy swivel to figure out what feels good in my hand or just pull the trigger and buy a Barry King? I have average size hand but fat figures due to alot of broken knuckle over the years. Barry's swivels come in 3/8" up to 5/8" and I'm clueless where I'd be. Also, should I start off with a straight blade or angle? 1/4" or 3/8"?

Thank ya kindly,

Caleb

[Cyberthrasher]

In terms of swivel knives, the BK isn't too expensive. I was asking the same questions when it was time to upgrade and found that a lot of the seasoned pros recommend a 5/8 barrel and 3/8 straight blade. This will be similar in size to a Tandy, but they are a LOT more comfortable to my big hands. I would also start with the "thick" blade since it will be more of a all around cut. You can always get the other blades later as you need them.

[lightingale]

I'd say go for the BK knife. It's miles better than the Tandy one. It won't break your bank and you can order something that fits you comfortably. (I have small hands so the extra small barrel he sent me was a godsend). If you decide leathercraft isn't for you, you can sell it easily enough.

In my opinion, the swivel knife is one of the most important (if not THE most important) tool in leathercraft tooling. The knifework is the foundation for the rest of the carving.

[theoldcoyote]

Thanks y'all. On another note, I was thinking of ordering one of Barry's round mauls as well. What size would you recommend?

[pete]

Thanks y'all. On another note, I was thinking of ordering one of Barry's round mauls as well. What size would you recommend?

I would say the 16 or 20oz. would be the best for almost anything that you will need- I would also recommend an angled blade. Easier to learn with as you need to tip the blade anyway when you carve.

I asked the same question after many years of carving and most of the responses were to "upgrade " to a straight blade. I didn't like it for anything but straight lines! Apparently the "old masters" only used straight blades and I think that the tradition stayed.

pete

[Cyberthrasher]

I asked the same question after many years of carving and most of the responses were to "upgrade " to a straight blade. I didn't like it for anything but straight lines! Apparently the "old masters" only used straight blades and I think that the tradition stayed.

pete

I've always wanted to try an angled blade for some of the really small and tight curves I end up making, but practice has made me pretty proficient with the straight blade in places that I just couldn't fathom doing it before. But, I did just get a ceramic angled blade in a tool purchase, so I'm going to have some fun pushing my limits on that tiny stuff. I still recommend the straight blade though. Just seems a lot more versatile to me.

[hidepounder]

I definitely recommend starting with a professional knife and blade! Henley, Chuck Smith, Bob Beard, Leather Wranglers and Barry King all make excellent products. I use Beard, Henley and LW the most, but any of those would be a good choice! I feel strongly that a beginner should start out with a 1/2" barrel and a 3/8" straight blade. I prefer the hollow ground blades. If you will learn to use that set-up, it makes it easy to go to a specialty knife later on. However, if you start out with a 1/4" angled blade, which I consider a specialty blade, you are apt to pick up a lot of bad habits with regard to proper knife technique and your cutting will suffer!

Wayne Jueske, Barry King and Ed LaBarre all make excellent mauls. I prefer the LaBarre mauls (Bear Man) because I like their balance and handle design. The face material in the Jueske and LaBarre mauls will not flake onto your leather, but they cost more than Barry's maul, so you have to weigh the trade off there. All are good serviceable mauls. I prefer to tool with a 16 oz maul, however, a 20 oz maul might be more versatile for a first maul when it comes to performing tasks other than tooling.

Hope this helps!!

Bobby

[Cyberthrasher]

However, if you start out with a 1/4" angled blade, which I consider a specialty blade, you are apt to pick up a lot of bad habits with regard to proper knife technique and your cutting will suffer!

That's why I stuck with it on the straight blade, and actually realized it was the cheap blade giving me the most problems and not the style and angle of it.

[theoldcoyote]

Man y'all are really helpin' a brother out, much obliged. Do you think it's worth the bread to start off with a professional maul? My wife is a leatherworker, but she only uses deer and elk, so she has a handful of rawhide mallets. Could I get by with one of those for a while or is it better to start with a good one?

[hidepounder]

Man y'all are really helpin' a brother out, much obliged. Do you think it's worth the bread to start off with a professional maul? My wife is a leatherworker, but she only uses deer and elk, so she has a handful of rawhide mallets. Could I get by with one of those for a while or is it better to start with a good one?

Depending on the size of the mallet, you can definitely get by with one. Many of us started out with mallets before mauls were available. If you decide you want to pursue the craft, then you can look at upgrading to a maul.

Hope this helps!

Bobby

[theoldcoyote]

I definitely recommend starting with a professional knife and blade! Henley, Chuck Smith, Bob Beard, Leather Wranglers and Barry King all make excellent products. I use Beard, Henley and LW the most, but any of those would be a good choice! I feel strongly that a beginner should start out with a 1/2" barrel and a 3/8" straight blade. I prefer the hollow ground blades. If you will learn to use that set-up, it makes it easy to go to a specialty knife later on.

Hey Bobby, would you recommend a 3/8" thick or thin as my starter? Also thinking of ordering a 1/4" angle as well so I can try out both.

[hidepounder]

Hey Bobby, would you recommend a 3/8" thick or thin as my starter? Also thinking of ordering a 1/4" angle as well so I can try out both.

My answer might have been different a couple of years ago, however, I'm not sure that blade thickness concerns me as much now. I think the answer depends a lot on what you will be tooling. If you are cutting skirting leather, I would opt for the thicker blade. However, when cutting in thinner leather the blade thickness has less impact. Here's the thing. Both blades will make the exact same width cut, up to the thickness of the thinner blade. So if you are going to cut deeper that the thickness of the thinner blade you might want a thicker one. But if you are cutting in 5 oz leather, you will never bury your blade deep enough into the leather to benefit by the thicker blade. There has definitely been a trend toward thinner blades, largely due to the more refined patterns we are tooling now. All that said, the thicker blade may be a more versatile one, but the thinner blades are definitely easier to cut with. You may benefit by learning more proper technique starting out with the thicker blade, but I wouldn't criticize anyone for using the thinner one.

Sounds like a complicated answer....sorry, but I hope it helps!

Bobby

[theoldcoyote]

Thanks again Bobby. I ordered a Barry King with a 5/8" barrel, 3/8" straight thin and 1/4" angle. Looking forward to learning. Any good books you'd recommend?

[St8LineGunsmith]

If I was going to drop a lot of money on a swivel knife I would get a tangle boss