Swivel Knives......

[Natalie O]

Hey everyone.

I used to use a normal metal swivel knife and just got a new ceramic one, thinking it might be better. However it doesnt seem to be very sharp. Do i polish it the same way as the metal one? With rouge? Or what?

Also im having trouble with cutting very fine lines. Like small corners or triangles. They are my personal nightmare. Cause after when i try to bevel them, the top of the leather gets wrinkly in the corners ir comes off. How do i deal with that? Would it be better if i just tooled these areas without cutting them first with the swivel knife? Any ideas?

Thank you!!!

[immiketoo]

Natalie, please see this link on sharpening ceramic blades by Shtoink. As for the carving, sometimes small areas can be beveled without cutting.

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=43296

Edited January 9, 2013 by immiketoo

[Cyberthrasher]

Cause after when i try to bevel them, the top of the leather gets wrinkly in the corners ir comes off. How do i deal with that? Would it be better if i just tooled these areas without cutting them first with the swivel knife? Any ideas?

Thank you!!!

A lot of times those really fine areas require more of an upright angle on your knife when cutting. You really have to find the fine-line there though so that the non-cutting edge of the blade doesn't contact the leather while turning. The more upright your knife, the tighter the corner it can make with ease. But, this is also easier to accomplish with an angled blade. Also, when you bevel it, you'll probably want to experiment with making 2 or 3 lighter passes instead of trying to hammer it all down at once. That said, I have a handfull of different sized smooth bevelers and a lot of them just don't like to cooperate in those tight corners, so I go back over it with a modeling spoon to smooth things out, or just start with it to begin with.

[Natalie O]

Thanks mike!

[Natalie O]

A lot of times those really fine areas require more of an upright angle on your knife when cutting. You really have to find the fine-line there though so that the non-cutting edge of the blade doesn't contact the leather while turning. The more upright your knife, the tighter the corner it can make with ease. But, this is also easier to accomplish with an angled blade. Also, when you bevel it, you'll probably want to experiment with making 2 or 3 lighter passes instead of trying to hammer it all down at once. That said, I have a handfull of different sized smooth bevelers and a lot of them just don't like to cooperate in those tight corners, so I go back over it with a modeling spoon to smooth things out, or just start with it to begin with.

Thank you for the tip. i ll try that next time....I was getting frustrated as i see all this fine tooling online, with very thin designs and just cant figure out how they do it! Not to mention my work looks ok after i ve dyed it....but theirs even prior to dying looks awesome. I know i still have a lot of practice to do but just couldnt figure out what they did for these fine lines.

[Cyberthrasher]

I know i still have a lot of practice to do but just couldnt figure out what they did for these fine lines.

I've been studying a lot of figure carving lately (ok, reading not doing) and most of it is modelers and figure bevelers. I have a lot of the figure bevelers that I picked up from a forum member - usedleathertools.com - because I do so much work in tight areas.