What Is The Point Of A Head/round Knife?

[JLSleather]

You have to use a "round" knife for them round strap ends.

[Tannin]

... I'll probably bind the plastic handle in linen thread to get a better grip. If I feel keen I might remove the plastic handle altogether and fit a fatter wooden handle

You could wrap the handle with thin leather. That's what I did that with my all-metal English paring knife, after seeing other examples of similarly covered English & Japanese paring knives and have been pleased with both the appearance (leather is such a forgiving medium - just what I need!) and the feel. Making a wooden handle would allow you to make a handle to fit your hand/needs though. I suspect that it will not be "full tang" - in which case you might want to try a technique suggest by knife blade maker Nic Westermann, drill the handle for a dowel, fit the blade to the dowel & then just glue the dowel into the handle, he describes it better here: http://nicwestermann.co.uk/knife-handle-dowel/

[Tannin]

This is a really cool round knife trick. It gets to the point of a round knife. I don't think you can do this faster any other way,

https://youtu.be/J5GqItjXtRI

...

Excellent videos - thanks When I first saw that, I thought "I wouldn't put my thumb that close to the sharp end of a round knife" but when I watched it again, he doesn't actually move the knife at all, he simply moves the leather around the blade, which is braced against the edge of the bench. I doubt it such a technique would have occurred to me if I had not seen that. His knife is very sharp - worth watching his sharpening video to see how he achieved that.

re. the original post/question, from my limited experience (& reading this thread) you don't need a round knife to do leatherwork, even as an experienced professional, there are many cheaper, simpler, effective options. But they are surprisingly versatile once mastered and might have advantages if you cut a lot of big, thick, hides and when cutting multiple layers (e,g, some of my sheaths are 15mm thick) - and they can be used for smaller jobs too. Also, LeProvo sell traditional English-made round knives for £24 - not cheap but reasonable & importantly: within the reach of many/most leatherworkers I would think (& look the same as the one used in the above videos).

Edited October 10, 2015 by Tannin

[zuludog]

TANNIN - Thanks for the advice on knife handles

The knife I intend using as a clicker knife is a good quality Sabatier style chef's knife. 8"/19cm overall length, 3,75"/10cm blade length

It has a full tang, so the easiest would be to bind or wrap the handle somehow. I think a combination of slightly damp wet forming and sewing on the leather should do the job

If I remove the handle I'll have to carve a new one and pack out the overlap where the new scales are wider than the tang. That would be a bit of a fiddle, so binding or wrapping should be OK, as the handle is almost big enough as it is

I followed the link, and it looks interesting. I'll try that next time I make a narrow tang knife

[Tannin]

Yes, I have heard of Sabatier, French I think, supposed to be top notch kitchen knives. I often buy old kitchen knives, we have quite a collection now :D.

Edited October 17, 2015 by Tannin

[zuludog]

Be careful with the description 'Sabatier knives'

The term was established a long time ago before trade marks, registration and similar laws were established, so just about anyone can make a knife and call it a sabatier. In practice most manufacturers do the decent thing and produce good quality items as it is in all their interests to establish and maintain trust with the consumer, but this still allows quite a variation in quality

Buying from a reputable French company helps, and price is a good guide. there is a list of approved or recognised manufacturers

Look up 'Sabatier' in Google & Wikipedia for more information

There are videos on choice, and restoration of old sabatier knives on YouTube

Edited October 17, 2015 by zuludog

[Jimmy McLaughlin]

I just purchased a knife from Terry Knipschield, it arrived today. If you held this knife in your hand for just a minute,you would fall in love. I feel it is much safer then a straight knife. You don't have to apply hardly any pressure to slice through 9 oz leather.  This knife is like no other tool I have ever used for cutting leather. I don't know much about leather tools, I can tell you this. I can't imagine a knife that can work any better then this one. 

[gmace99]

 

[flerg777]

I am happier with a round knife, because it cuts curves better and easier than my box cutter, it cuts straight lines through thick leather much, much easier, and it holds an edge longer.  These, and the push cut (rather than the pull), makes this blade safer to use, in my opinion.

This last point goes to your post, Windrider.  A sharp blade is safer than a dull blade.  When working with a dull blade, or a blade that dulls quickly, frustration can set in, and the idea to just pull through that last cut can overcome common sense. When that last cut involves a pull or tug toward you, the danger appears to increase.

It's easy to get the basic use of a round knife, just keep your hand behind the blade. I have cut myself accidentally with a box cutter, but never with a round knife.

(Now, I'm no doctor, nor statistician, as a disclaimer.) 

Last -- how much do a pack of razors cost?  If you've used 100?  Now, consider Ferg's great answer, a 60 year-old knife.  How many razors in that time?  So, there's a calculation that would be unique to your age and amount of use, but it may well be that a good round knife is an investment that pays off at some time.

So, to answer your question -- why would anyone buy one?  Ease of cuts, versatility in thicker leathers, longer time staying sharp,

To answer JLSLeather's question (which was not the original question, but one he read into it):  What can a round knife do that a box cutter can't do?  Nothing.  What can it do more easily, probably more cheaply over time, and probably more safely?  Most everything.

[JLSleather]

On 9/11/2015 at 0:37 AM, JLSleather said:

And it seems were here again. Round knives. Head knives. French edgers. More videos (like we need more videos ). I actually prefer to see the LEATHER. Same type of thing .... look at the leather, and tell me what it was cut with. If you can't tell, then perhaps it doesn't matter.

Are we still on this?@!@!

What project would someone make with a round knife (or head knife) that you wouldn't do with something else?  An actual answer to that question should answer the original question

 

[JLSleather]

OR, to ask the same question another way ...

What hammer was this tooled with?

 

 

 

 

OR, yet another version of the same thing....

What machine was this sewn on?

[TonyRV2]

7 minutes ago, JLSleather said:

Are we still on this?@!@!

What project would someone make with a round knife (or head knife) that you wouldn't do with something else?  An actual answer to that question should answer the original question

 

What project could you do with an open end wrench that you couldn't also do with a crescent wrench?  I suppose if you wanted to, you could simply cut leather with a butcher knife...a blade is a blade is a blade, as long as its sharp.  I just recently purchased my first head knife..putting it off for quite some time because I thought as you did...exactos and utility blades are cheap and they do the job.  It seemed to me that head knives and round knives were overpriced and unnecessary.  What I've discovered is that the head knife is more versatile.  I can make short straight cuts easier and straighter by 'rolling' the knife through the cut.  I can also use the head knife to skive.  And skiving an edge is very easy with a head knife.  Cutting around curves is also well suited for a head knife when keeping the pointed end facing downward.   Another advantage that I find is in the way the head knife is used.  The user pushes the knife away from them as opposed to toward them as you would do with a utility knife.  As rare as they might be, this cuts down on accidents.  Since I bought this knife, I haven't touched a utility knife for cutting leather, I like it that much.  So I suppose it really boils down to personal preference.  Some are going to like it, and some can't be bothered.  But don't knock it until you've tried it.

[TonyRV2]

3 minutes ago, JLSleather said:

OR, to ask the same question another way ...

What hammer was this tooled with?

 

 

 

 

OR, yet another version of the same thing....

What machine was this sewn on?

Trick question....that was tooled with a mall. 

[JLSleather]

I didn't say I've never used a round knife, actually  I just said I don't own one.  And by the way, I don't own a maul either....

 

 

[TonyRV2]

Just now, JLSleather said:

I didn't say I've never used a round knife, actually  I just said I don't own one.  And by the way, I don't own a maul either....

 

 

Dang....I'd have sworn it was a maul.  

[TinkerTailor]

Sometimes we do things a certain way, even though it is wrong and inefficient just because its fun. Sometimes i look at things cause its fun. Fun stuff to look at is good for inspiration. Round knives are more fun to look at than a clicky yellow olfa

Conclusion? Round knives are funner.

[TonyRV2]

19 minutes ago, TinkerTailor said:

Sometimes we do things a certain way, even though it is wrong and inefficient just because its fun. Sometimes i look at things cause its fun. Fun stuff to look at is good for inspiration. Round knives are more fun to look at than a clicky yellow olfa

Conclusion? Round knives are funner.

This is true....I failed to point out the funner factor.  

[Windrider30]

Thanks all for the great replys the main point of my question at the time was simply what is the reasoning behind it, I do not think I will own a head knife any time soon damn thing scares me to be perfectly honest as my hand has this nasty habit of simply letting go of what ever I am holding with no warning, with the excto knife that I use it has WAY smaller blade so that way I do not end up cutting myself as much as I think I would with a head knife!!

[Jimmy McLaughlin]

By the way, the Round Knife that I posted above from Terry Knipschleid is his French blade. If you notice, one side of the blade is longer then the other. It is like having two knifes in one. The longer side is great for stright cuts, the shorter side for cutting out patterns. If anyone is interested contact Terry, he is very informative, great guy, will tell you everything you need to know. He has a large selection of knives, all kinds.

 

Jim