Any Campbell Keystone Splitter Owners?

[reddevil76]

Thanks Tor.. If you do get a powered splitter, I'd move to Norway so I can borrow it sometimes !

[reddevil76]

Just left the sharpening workshop. They do all these blades for plastic and paper cutting machines. Alot of these blades are 6 foot long! If only I can use them to split an entire side. Secretly took a pic ...

Anyway, they checked and found that the blade is not entirely flat on the underside. They will have to grind the flat side, which means I will lose the tool black and 2mm in thickness.

Usually they will work on the top bevel only. Unfortunately, due to the screw mounting areas protruding beyond the height of the bevel, they can't work the bevel using their machine.

Let's hope just flattening the base would work.

[reddevil76]

They took the flat side of a vernier caliper and placed it against the flat side of the blade. Then lifted it against the light. At certain cross sections of the blade, the light shone through. I hope that's correct.

[Trox]

Hi Dylan,

sorry for the late replay, I have been indisposed for a couple of days. Very impressive pictures from that sharpening shop, I have no doubt that they do good work there. I wish they did the same when I delivered my blade to the Norwegian company TROMAS AS. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=44696&hl=%2Bsplitter+%2Bblade read my post #5. Look at the pictures and you see how my eight inch # 86 blade came home to me.

TO ALL NORWEGIAN READERS OR VISITORS IN NORWAY, DO NOT DELIVER ANY WORK TO TROMAS AS. THEY ARE NOT TO BE TRUSTED.

I am sorry for the bold letters, I have a obligation to warn others from using this company unless they want to sharpen up a lawn cutter blade or something. I have a 75 $ band bench grinder and I managed to straiten up my blade in a couple of hours work on it. Tromas AS has equipment who's maybe worth a million $ and still do crappy work like that. I know I should been on them and complain some more, sometimes I feel to tired to do so. Let them go on and treat their customers like that, thats their Karma not mine. And like they say; whats goes around comes around.

Enough about that.

What I am trying to say is, splitting plastic and paper is one thing, leather a other thing. Whats real important on leather is to have a well polished blade, thats best obtained with a soft buffing wheel or a leather strop. I think you maybe have made your strop out of too thin leather, it will work on a swivel blade. It easier to accidental dull a blade with a hard surface strop than with a soft one.

On a splitter blade the bottom side has to be flat and the top bevel polished. I polish them both, but underneath after the top and mostly to remove any burrs. (First I polish the top well, then some flat strokes on the bottom. I finish up with one stroke top- bottom-top)

Your post # 23,

I use such caliper in both my sharpening and leather work (for measurements).

I am not sure I understand completely what you mean in this post.

Here is how I use such tool to check for roughness.

You hold it up to see if any part of the blade lets more light true that the rest. This to check for unevenness, a totally straight and even blade will let no light true at all (or a very thin even light gap).

Tor

[reddevil76]

They have done some good work on my Heritage blade so I trust these guys. For US$12 per sharpening with 3 days turnaround, I rather leave it with them.

After the owner showed me that the blade is bent slightly up in the middle, he asked me how old I'd this blade. When I told him I just bought thus tool, he shook his head. And I told him two things:

1. The blade was knocked out of position during shipping

2. When I was trying out the splitter, I was using a 2 inch strap, and it wasn't cutting. So I was pressing on the lever down hard with my body weight trying to get the initial bite. My theory is that with the strap (8 oz) thickness pushing upwards on the blade, it might have bent it. He then told me if that's the case, the blade material is poor.

[Trox]

Hi Dylan,

I do not think its possible to bend the blade this way. If you apply a hundred kg downward pressure on it it might happen, its depended of the core of the blade (do not try that). Some knife blades are hardened on the outside and have a soft steel core so it will break (and the soft core keep the edge very sharp too). I do not know what construction this blade has, (you got to ask Dan about it) if it is made out of two steel types to get a soft core or not. It was dull and would not cut, and needed to be polished.

However, if the blade was not straight I would have returned it. If it is not straight on the bottom it will give a uneven thickness on the split. I would still split, but the leather would come out with a bevel to one of the sides ( or both sides depended of where the unevenness are of course) You can still get the blade very sharp but never have a consistent split.

Tor

[reddevil76]

The shop is confident of flattening the bottom. Caveat is that I will lose 2mm thickness from the grinding.

I hope it'll solve the problem as I dread having to foot the cost of return shipping which means I have spent money and return to nothing. When Dan suggested that I return it, we didn't delve into details but from his email, it seems he won't be footing the entire bill.

[Trox]

The shop is confident of flattening the bottom. Caveat is that I will lose 2mm thickness from the grinding.

I hope it'll solve the problem as I dread having to foot the cost of return shipping which means I have spent money and return to nothing. When Dan suggested that I return it, we didn't delve into details but from his email, it seems he won't be footing the entire bill.

Hi,

2 mm off is not a problem. It has to be flat if you want to split evenly wide pieces (depended of which direction your blade was uneven). Flat or not, I do not think thats the reason it would not split. Unless it was uneven a cross the blade and not lengthwise. It would still split if it is sharp and polished, sharp alone is not enough. Unevenness a cross the blade would only create a different angle on the blade, and splitter blades comes in a variety of angles; they all split (more or less). Micro angle, hollow ground or a leather edge, all of them needs to be polished (to the best of my knowledge).

I just tried to split a 1/2" soft weg tan rein on my Osborn with newly sharped up blade, it was not possible without polishing the blade first. The blade was sharp enough to cut paper (sharp enough to start the polishing of it). It would not even initiate the cut, not a change.

Most people regard the pull true splitter as a bench tool, it takes about two to three minute's to take the blade off and maintain its polish.

(Of course the first time polishing will take longer). Then every time its dull again, a couple of strokes on the strop will ready it up again. Just like on every other leather knife.

I know Dan to be a fair man to do business with, I am sure he will take care of your requests/complains. The most important thing is that you will have your splitter up and working.

Even with cheap sharpening prices, you cannot run to that shop every time your blade needs a polish. If you are about to split something you must be able to give it a polish if needed, or else you will get a days unwanted delay in your work. The sharpening might be cheap but it still takes time. And you do not want to sharpen the blade to often, after all sharpening means loss of material. I never had to resharpen any of my tools, I just polish them. The strop and the buffing wheel are maybe the most important leather tools we have. I do not know what I would do without them.

Good luck

Tor

[reddevil76]

Hi Tor, you are right. It's not wise to keep running to the shop every time the blade is dull. It's better that I learn to strop it.

[Trox]

Hi Tor, you are right. It's not wise to keep running to the shop every time the blade is dull. It's better that I learn to strop it.

Thats much easier and its nothing to it.

Good luck

Tor