Swivel Knives

[lomfs24]

I know this is a pretty basic question. I bought a small pack of tools from a local guy here off craigslist. Most of the tools look like entry level stamps etc... It also came with a swivel knife. I guess it's not bad, I don't know any better. So I bought, what I thought to be a good one, off amazon. Took forever to get and when I did I found out why, it came from China on the slow boat. I tried to use it and it just kinda chatters along the leather and doesn't really do a good cut. 

Soooo..... What have you found to be the best or at least usable swivel knife? Does the brand of the knife really make a difference or is it what blade is in it? 

What kind of blade? I know asking you what kind of blade you use is a loaded question. So what are the different blades for? Like there is a squared off blade, as slanted blade. I found a blade that looks kinda hollowed out along the axis of the shank so the blade is a little thinner in the middle than on the edges. 

Ceramic blades? Are ceramic blades better? Last longer? Stay sharp longer? Or are they more prone to breaking when you need them most? Do you still need to strop a ceramic blade? 

If this is all too much you can just point me to a Swivel knife 101 web page. 

Thank you so much. This site has been amazing. 

 

[Ferg]

First off....Strop the blade for about five minutes. lol 

Also, did you temper your piece of leather properly?

Some of those blades aren't too bad but quite often need sharpening before stropping.

I prefer metal. If you have the funds, buy an American Made professional swivel knife, it will be cheaper in the long run.

Ferg

[immiketoo]

Swivel knife 101.  The knife really doesn't matter as long as it swivels smoothly in 360 degrees.  Aside from that you could use a stick or a screwdriver.  What really matters is the polish on the blade.  If its not mirror smooth, you will get that described chatter.  Very few blades come from the factory in usable condition and you may have to finish the edge yourself.

its easy to do.  Get yourself some 400 and 600 grit wet dry sand paper and a strop with some red, green or black rouge.  I prefer green myself.  Find the angle of the blade and gently polish the blade with even strokes on each side, until you see even sanding marks.  Then switch to the 600 and repeat.  Go to 800 if you want, then do the same thing with the strop.  Once your bald has a mirror smooth polish, it will carve like butter.

How long it stays like this is dependent on the quality of the steel.  There are good and bad steel but they will all work.  You may just have to strop more than others.  Right now, the best blade steel is from Leather Wranglers.  It requires less stropping than any other blade out there that I know of.  The worst are the blades from China.  Tandy has a variety of good and bad blades, each in varying degrees of readiness.  The end result is mirror polish.  At that point, the blade doesn't really matter as far as smoothness.  However, you mentioned varying angles.  I stay away from anything thats very steep.  Straight or low angles are easier to control and give better results.  They also jive the user more confidence as you aren't fighting the geometry of the blade while cutting.

Now, ceramic blades are a hot button topic.  They work if polished properly, but they're brittle if you drop your knife (It happens), and I have yet to see one with an angle that's worth a shit.  I have spent a LOT of money on swivel knives and blades and I use most of them a little, but one is my go to blade.  I prefer steel as they are easier to maintain and replace, and they are generally less expensive.  

If you subscribe to the Leather Crafters and Saddlers Journal, I did an article on how to take a shit blade and make it useable.  Basically what's above with pictures.  Also, I have a website with videos that cover everything you could want to know about setting up your knife and blades.  check it out.  www.learnleather.com or find the banner at the top of the home page!

[billybopp]

1 hour ago, immiketoo said:

 Once your bald has a mirror smooth polish, it will carve like butter.

Hmm.   We used to accuse my HS principal of polishing his bald head.  Now I know why!  

 

Bill

[immiketoo]

1 hour ago, billybopp said:

Hmm.   We used to accuse my HS principal of polishing his bald head.  Now I know why!  

 

Bill

Shit.  BLADE!

 

[AZNightwolf]

I bought a ceramic blade for my first knife and dropped it the first night. Snapped right in half.

[lomfs24]

Thanks for the replies. I kinda forgot I posted this thread and for some reason it's not alerting me when there are replies. 

Anyway, looks like I'll be heading to the store to get some sand paper. What's the difference in rouge? Grit I suppose. I have white rouge, is that more course? Or too fine? 

[billybopp]

If you want to know about using sandpaper to sharpen, google "Scary Sharp Method" and / or check out this video from Paul Sellers.  Paul is a woodworker and sharpening chisels, but it's pretty much the same.   If you're comfy with freehand sharpening, go for it!  If not, you may want to get a swivel knife sharpening jig such as this one from Tandy.  There are other jigs out there as well.  

There are several types of roue / honing compound out there, and they aren't totally consistent between makers, BUT, generally black/brown are coarsest, white/green moderately fine - and either works fine for swivel knives, and red/blue are very fine.  White or green are the most common, but you can probably get by with red as well.  I mostly use white since it has one advantage:  If you accidentally leave a little bit on the blade, it's closest in color to veg tanned leather and blends in a bit!

Bill  

[immiketoo]

1 hour ago, billybopp said:

I mostly use white since it has one advantage:  If you accidentally leave a little bit on the blade, it's closest in color to veg tanned leather and blends in a bit!

Bill  

Never leave rouge on your blade when you carve.  I wipe it on a rag before I touch it to leather.  And buy the green.  Its the most versatile IMO