Swivel Knife Dilemma

[mikebiz]

I just introduced myself this morning on the member gallery forum (http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=61360), so now it's time to start asking questions.

I've done a lot of research here and elsewhere regarding swivel knives. I don't own one yet and haven't handled one either, but I've read a ton of reviews, considered opinions, watched videos, etc. First off, I'm not one to shy away from buying quality tools. I'm a firm believer in you get what you pay for. That said I've considered the knives from what I would call the most highly regarded/frequently recommended manufacturers. I chose one model that I thought would suit my needs, be high quality and fit my "loose" budget. I will say that at this juncture I'm not up for spending over $100 for the knife. I have too many other tools and leather to buy.

From my research I was set on a 1/2" dia. barrel with a 3/8" straight blade. So, I contacted the manufacturer via email, gave him some info concerning my needs and asked for his recommendation. I won't mention the maker for obvious reasons, but his response puzzled me a bit. I don't know if he is an active leather worker or just builds leather working tools. Below is my initial email followed by his response:

My name is Mike and I'm new to leather crafting, so I have been thoroughly researching swivel knives on the internet. Your knives are highly regarded and I would like some information about them and how to select the best knife for my work. I have seen your website, so I know the basics features that are available, but if there is more I should know about selecting the "perfect" swivel knife please send that information along. I intend to tool leather on pieces as small as a key fob to those as large as a motorcycle seat. If you need any information from me that would help you tell me what to choose in a knife please let me know. I wear a size medium glove, so my hands aren't too large.

I look forward to hearing from you regarding the knife. Thanks for your time and assistance.

Hello Mike,

Thank you for your interest in the swivel kinves, From what you described I would reccomend a

3/8" dia. barrell X 2" long with a 1/4" angle thin blade.

Thanks again

So, I have some issues with his response given what I've read about swivel knives:

#1 I think a wider (3/8" to 1/2") blade will suit me better. I really want to learn good technique and I've read that bigger blades leave less room for error. I don't want to pick up bad habits as a novice. I'm leaning towards a 3/8" straight blade. I can always add a 1/4" later.

#2 The 3/8" barrel seems really small to me. That's about the diameter of a round Bic pen. Feels narrow between my fingers (which are kinda short and thick). I think 1/2" may suit me better. I took the cap off a standard Sharpie marker. It's 2" long (the length the maker suggested) and 1/2" dia. It feels more comfortable and rolls smoothly between my fingers. Several folks here suggest 1/2" or 5/8 to start.

The length on these knives is adjustable so I think the 2" will fit me fine.

I know this is long-winded, but I guess it boils down to the fact that I don't want to insult this guy by going away from his suggestions. In the end it's my choice, my preference and my money, so I shouldn't really care. But I do (for some reason). To be honest, I was just going to order the knife with my initial specs, but decided to ask for a suggestion. When I hit the send button I just knew I was going to get an opinion opposite of what I was considering. I must be psychic.

Let me know what you all think about this. I'm pretty set on this maker since I've read so many good reviews, but I do want to get the details right, so that the knife performs well for me. I will end in saying that I know ALL of this is personal preference and until I actually handle the knife I won't know if it's a proper fit. I also realize that no matter what knife I choose there is NO substitute for practice. Thanks for the help.

[TwinOaks]

The key to the suggestion of a 3/8" barrel is your mention of carving on key fobs. The same is true with the 1/4" angle blade. A smaller barrel will turn a little more than a larger barrel in the same amount of finger movement. Likewise, the angled blade will make the tighter radius cuts, and at only 1/4", there's less chance of blade drag anywhere along the arc. And, it will cut a straight line as well. A larger barrel with a 1/2" straight blade will track better on a long straight cut or on larger radius curves, but will require more tilting back of knife to handle smaller radius turns. The maker you contacted simply suggested a knife with the widest range of compatibility. As you learn more about the tools, you'll find a plethora of modifications that people do- One that came up recently is a blade that Peter Main calls his 'low angle blade'. It has a shallower angle bevel, and a slight angle to the blade. Oddly enough, I modified one of MY blades like this several years ago before really knowing who Peter is. The shallow bevel gives a wider cut, and the slight angle prevents blade drag. I've also got some 1/4", 3/8", 1/2" straight and angled blades, and even a 1/4" filagree blade all set in different knives. Being clever, I put the 1/2" straight blades in the knives that have the larger barrels and the LEAST smooth rotation - I use them for.....yep, straight cuts and long curves.

Leather Wranglers even offers a 1/8th" angled blade, that was designed to handle micro carving....and I believe Ed "The Bearman" also recently introduced a similar sized blade and with an itty bitty barrel for really tiny work.

This is why most of us have multiple knives - instead of swapping out blades, we just grab the one best suited.

My piece of advice on this, is to get what you feel will be the most comfortable knife in your hands, and don't worry about it - you will likely end up with several varieties of knife anyway.

[mikebiz]

Thanks, Mike. I had a feeling I was worrying a little too much about this. I feared that I may have swung the builders decision towards the smaller size with the mention of the key fob. Probably shouldn't have mentioned them to begin with. I think most of my carving would be on larger sized projects anyway. I appreciate the info and the suggestions. Yes, I'm a tool guy, so I have no doubt that I will acquire more knives someday.

[Troy Burch]

If you haven't used one much the 1/2 inch barrel will feel more comfortable for sure, but if you plan on doing any carving you'll want a smaller barrel because as you follow your lines you'll be needing to roll the barrel between your thumb and finger when on the curves. With the bigger barrel you'll be stopping to regrip because you can't rotate it as much as you'll need to. the quality of the work will be pretty much the same but you'll save lots of time not stopping to regrip or turning your leather constantly.

[Tramps Leatherworking]

Ultimately, it's a matter of what "feels good in your hand", mine is a 1/2" barrel BK and it is perfect...

[Calait]

Mike, I am new to leather craft as well, I appreciate your research in knives. However, I am needing to work on lighting and control of my swivel knife. Any suggestions. Working on adding thumbnails to my post.

[mikebiz]

Thanks for the responses. I think as a first swivel knife I'm going to go with a 1/2" barrel with a 3/8" straight blade and add a 1/4" angled blade as well. I plan to spend a lot of time perfecting my carving with the 3/8" blade.

I do have another question. The maker has both standard and saddle (round edge) yokes. I am leaning toward the saddle, as it looks more comfortable. Unfortunately, I have not had much luck finding why folks choose one over the other. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Mike, I am new to leather craft as well, I appreciate your research in knives. However, I am needing to work on lighting and control of my swivel knife. Any suggestions. Working on adding thumbnails to my post.

Howdy, Calait. Not sure if you were asking me or the other Mike (TwinOaks). As I said I haven't done any swivel knife work yet, so I don't have any suggestions for you. I'm sure someone will chime in. Good luck with your carving. Practice, practice, practice.

[CrazedLemming]

The standard vs rounded is probably personal preference. I have two cheapo knives* that I swap between; one with a 3/8" and one with 1/4"angle. One was the basic crappy tandy model and the other was a slightly nicer model with a rounded yoke. Luckily the yokes were interchangeable and I snap the rounded yoke onto whichever knife I'm using because it's a lot more comfortable in my hand. It makes the basic knife more beareable.

*Someday, I'll get good swivel knives. Until then the cheap ones at least get the job done and left more budget for other things.

[King's X]

For the cost, you cannot go wrong with a Barry King set up especially when someone is new to craft. I have even gone so far to suggest to those with other less quality swivel knives to just replace the blade with a higher quality blade and there is a big difference. Again, for the cost of Barry's set up.....you will have a good head start out of the gate. But just like anything else.........operating a swivel knife is a perishable skill, so expect to put some practice behind that blade.

Good luck

[Calait]

Howdy, Calait. Not sure if you were asking me or the other Mike (TwinOaks). As I said I haven't done any swivel knife work yet, so I don't have any suggestions for you. I'm sure someone will chime in. Good luck with your carving. Practice, practice, practice.

Sorry, Mike posted to wrong topic, however, thanks for posting your research on different knives.

[TwinOaks]

The flat yoke works well if you control where your finger is. If you kind of just drape your finger over the top of the yoke, you'll like the saddle yoke better- there's no edges. If you already have a flat yoke, you could just pad it with something.

[jmorton]

My suggestion is to buy the deluxe adjustable swivel knife sold by Tandy and others. It is still less than $20, I think. Use that for a while and then, love it or hate it, you will have a good idea what you want next. The upside is that you may like it fine, and if not, just dedicate that knife to tasks that you don't do very often.

All that said, in the end, you will wind up with several Swivel knifes eventually.

Also, the cleaner and the sharper you keep all your blades, the more you will like the rest of the swivel knife.

Happy Tooling!

John Morton

[Thor]

@Calait, here's what you might need.

The original Doodle page is currently for sale on ebay.com. If shipping to Germany wouldn't be so expensive I would just get them one at a time.

[NavyVet]

If you haven't used one much the 1/2 inch barrel will feel more comfortable for sure, but if you plan on doing any carving you'll want a smaller barrel because as you follow your lines you'll be needing to roll the barrel between your thumb and finger when on the curves

I agree, Tight curves are the bane of every leathercrafter. There is a rhythm that you will get into depending on the lines you are cutting. Don't be put off on having multiple swivel knives with different blades in them.