Very New... with Questions :)

[Zonker1972]

Hello all,

I have just started looking into doing some leather work, mostly tooling. I am from Denver and love to work with my hands: wood working, metal working, airbrushing and working on both cars and motorcycles. 

I do have a quick question. While looking into leather work i came across a post, on this site, stating that when looking to buy a swivel knife, you should really hold the knife because they are very personal. I understand this comment fully. I had the same need to hold various airbrushes when i started that hobby. In fact i bought an Iwata airbrush and had to see it because i didn't like the way it felt in my hand.

Now my question is, are there any places around Denver besides Tandy leather where i could touch and cut with various swivel knives? I don't believe that Tandy would have any other swivel knife manufacturers swivel knives like henley, barry king,  leather wranglers or bob beard. Is that true or do they actually have other knives besides craftool?

thanks from a real beginner,

Zonker

[Northmount]

@Zonker1972 first pointer is to not hit submit more than once.  Slow server or slow internet connections result in multiple posts.  I have deleted the extra post.

Tom

[chrisash]

Maybe start with a Tandy version and get use to tooling and then after you have used it for a while you will be in a better position to try out the others to feel any benifits they offer or not, in many cases you need experience to be able to make judgements of fine differences and seperate the hype from the reality

[Dwight]

I'm not really sure who told you that about the swivel knife, . . . but I'll challenge the statement.

Swivel knives, unlike ratchets or welders or handguns, . . . are pretty darn near the same the world over except for one distinguishing part:  sharpness.

A cheap, pot metal and plastic swivel knife with a good blade that is SHARP, . . . let me say again SHARP, . . . will do anything you want it to do especially for the first 4 or 5 years as a hobby leather worker.

The only difference you will find is that a regular blade will have two cutting points, . . . and an angled blade will only have that one point as it has a 45 degree (?) angled cutting blade when you look at it being held perpendicular.  You will need to get two knives (best choice) or at least both blades.

Make a stropping block by contact cementing a piece of 7/8 oz leather to a nice flat 1 X 6 about 18 to 24 inches long, . . . rub it real good with white rouge, . . . and take a piece of 1/4 inch steel about 4 or 5 inches long, . . . rub it the length of your stropping block, . . . look for the black places it leaves on the block, . . . that is where the rouge is working, . . . get it so that about 75% of the board looks grey or black.  Then sharpen a couple knives on it (might make your wife happy).

When you get your knife from Tandy or wherever, . . . it will only be kinda sorta sharp, . . . I have a 200/400/600 grit block I got from Harbor Freight that I use on my knives, etc. . . . to get me started, . . . but that stropping block is THE KEY to final sharp.  You want that edge to be like a mirror, . . . work out all the little machining grooves etc.

THEN, . . . you will have a knife that you can use.

May God bless,

Dwight

[JLSleather]

Lengths are easily adjusted -- really the only consideration as far as "holding one" is teh diameter of the shaft.  You can try varying amounts of knurl on the barrel, some more course than others, but the main thing you'll want to consider is how big it is around, which you should be able to tell right there at Tandy.  Ask em to show you a 3/8" diameter and a 1/2" diameter.  There IS a bit of difference, much like your airbrush example.  I tried the 1/2" and didn't care for it -- maybe Im just used to the narrower one, don't know.

Beyond that, you WILL have people trying to sell you the most wonderfullest cooliest most bestest knife ever made that your great grandchildren will be proud of you for having the vast wonderful insight to choose.  But it won't likely cut better than the others.

Go to the tandy, ask em git out a couple different ones, and a piece of leather damp on a table.  Most of them have this for various "classes" they have. 

[Hildebrand]

You have 2 terrific Tandy stores in your area.  I have been to both the north and south ones.  I have not been to the one just off I-70 but the one in Westminster is great, they have been more than willing to help me and answer questions.

[Northmount]

For me, the larger diameter barrel fits my hand better.  But after watching people show how to make fancy curves, tight curves, I think a smaller diameter barrel is what I should be experimenting with even though I don't like the fit.  So really, the only way is to try each and see what their performance (and yours) is like with a bunch of practice.  Cheap handle, good blade would do you well for a couple years.  Then you can get the fancy handles, ball bearing swivel and the whole works.

Tom

[fredk]

8 hours ago, Dwight said:

Swivel knives, unlike ratchets or welders or handguns, . . . are pretty darn near the same the world over except for one distinguishing part:  sharpness.

No, they are not.

When I started LW I paid good money for a near top of the range s/k. It put me off using it and doing any work where it was needed. The bearing is rough, when turning it is also jerky and sticks. One just cannot do a smooth long cut with any curves. Recently I bought a cheap one out of China for about £3.50 [approx $5]. It is far superior to the expensive one, the bearing rotates with that slight whisper one gets from a well oiled bearing, the barrel and saddle are more comfortable

[seabee]

I have a few sk, even a BK knife.  All from yard sales, less than $20 total.  Each has a different blade.

No need to pay big $ for knifes, Buy good blades.

Seabee

[ScoobyNewbie]

What is sk and bk?  I think I know the last one, but we all know how “just knowing” works, right?

[Rhale]

Buy a good swivel knife to start with,  you can buy a Barry King for about the same price as a craftool pro from tandy and. Barry’s blade will be sharp to start with, just strop once in awhile.  I have numerous brands and sizes I have used for years including King, Henley, Beard, Smith, Miller, Stolman and others, they are all very good knives.  Practice, practice, then practice some more. I prefer a 1/4” straight blade with a 3/8” barrel, that is probably the most popular combination.  Hope this helps!

[seabee]

Swivel Knifes and Barry King

Seabee

[Zonker1972]

thank you to everyone who replied to this tread. I will be dropping into Tandy this weekend and trying a few knives.

zonker

[immiketoo]

As a man who has tried nearly everything out there swivel knife wise, I will say this.  You can buy a good swivel knife at Tandy.  Their pro version is as good as anything else out there apart from aesthetics.  Rickert Werkzuege sells a phenomenal knife for cheap.  Problem with these two are the blades.  They all need work to cut smoothly.  Geometry is terrible for some types of carving and passable at others.  You can learn to use it, but if you experiment with blades, you can fine tune your carving pretty quickly.  Everyone has a preference.  I like a thin barrel and a low angle blade.  As you can see, I've tried nearly all of them