charlescrawford Report post Posted January 22, 2014 Zack white has the Osborne knives for 49 and 65 ( have no blue what the difference is other then price) I originally was looking at hunting knives and this popped up and that's what got me talking to this guy that's a variation of a round knife. Just needs a handle. http://bit.ly/1ebWl66 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
camano ridge Report post Posted January 22, 2014 Charles, I understand what you are trying to do, basicaly get the best bang for your buck. However I will not tell you not to buy that knife it's not my place. However I will offer some advice and what you do with it is up to you. If you are thinking of buying that skinner and using it as a round knife there are some concerns to consider. First off the material. 1090 is a good knife steel, 4340 not so good. 4340 is carburized bearing steel. It has very little carbon and is hardened by carburizing. Not something that can easily be done in an atmospheric or blower type forge like many knife makers use. I would wonder about the accuracy of the RC rating. I have no verification of this yet however they look like they are possibly Pakastani. The shape of the blade is another consideration. I have a skinner blade in my shop almost the same shape it would not work well as a round knife. the heel of the blade would need to be further out away from the handle inorder to use the point for cutting. To show what I mean here is a picture of a round knife made by Leather Wranglers. You can see it is similar in shape however the point is out away from the handle giving the manuverability you would need. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
charlescrawford Report post Posted January 22, 2014 CamanoRidge Thanks for pointing that out. Sounds like the Osborne knives at Zackwhite are going to be my best options within my budget for right now. The discriptions on their site kind of suck though. Is one better quality? I spend a lot of time on you tube watching saddle makers and holster makers and I have never seen anyone of them ever use a Osborne combo knife is it just me or is that a good way for a guy like me to loose a digit??....lol http://www.zackwhite.com/Osborne-Head-Knife_p_812.html http://www.zackwhite.com/Osborne-Round-Head-Knife_p_811.html This was just on the round knife page. never seen anyone use it online so I am curious does anyone actually use these they look like a good way to end up in the ER! http://www.zackwhite.com/Osborne-Combination-Knife_p_810.html Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
camano ridge Report post Posted January 22, 2014 The Osborne combo is primarily a trim knife. The description says that it can be used to open seams and cut your carpet. I would not buy it as a head knife. As to the two round knives the difference apears to be primarly blade size. I have several round knives, one of them is pretty much the same as the second Osborne it works well. If you buy a new Osborne prepare to sharpen it. As to cutting a digit my recomendation is don't put anything infront of the blade you don't want to cut Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
charlescrawford Report post Posted January 22, 2014 I just thought if was odd that one knife came up on a round knife search. From doing some looking online Springfield leather seems to be the place to buy the white sharpening stones (fine grit). I think I saw they had them for 14 or maybe it was 21 bucks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
supercub Report post Posted January 22, 2014 I use both a head knife and a round knife. The head knife is bigger at around 5" across. The round knife is around 4" across. both of mine are now considerably smaller after years of sharpening. I use the smaller knife probably 85% of the time. I tend to use the larger knife with a deeper belly to taper and skive edges and backs. if i have a really thick tough hide, I'll grab whichever one is sharpest. I dont usually suggest that you do a search if the answer can be easily answered, but you are looking for a lot of info that has previously been covered. If you google head knife or round knife for leather, there is a lot of information including old videos from this siite.There are also a couple of videos on how to sharpen them as well. I'd recommend either the head or round knife - buy whichever one fits your hand and style of cutting. Remember- these knives are razor sharp for slicing, they are NOT used for chopping like the Eskimo ulu knife. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
charlescrawford Report post Posted January 23, 2014 Will do Supercub will check out the videos too thanks! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
