Which Round Knife

[RockyAussie]

On 2/13/2020 at 6:25 AM, Hardrada said:

Thanks for posting that link. I ordered one. Still waiting to hear from them about shipping costs, though.

I wanted one of these: https://www.ds-leder.de/borger-habmondmesser-mittel.html, but they never got back to me regarding shipping of a small parcel to Canada.

I think that ( The Solingen round knife) happens to be the brand of a couple of round knives I have been using for many years now. There is no writing on them I can see but they have the spade impression in the handle. You can see one of them in use in this video I made  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JAPRs6tx2w

 

[Hardrada]

They (Abbey) still haven't shipped mine!!

Edited March 1, 2020 by Hardrada

[philg9]

Ah the round knife, this is a thing that is close to my heart as it is oine of the back bone sof my daily life as a harness maker.  Without a round knife, my world would not be complete.  Over the years I've been through all sorts, learnt lessons and had my fingers burnt  ( and cut them  ! yes, the trick is to learn how not to cut yourself with these )

I do have my views on these but it all depends what you want a round knife to do and what leathers you are working with.  I only use my round kniives for skiving the ends of straps of various widths right up to 5-6 inches wide for certain parts of the harness I make. I never use them upright on the point to cut long strips or to cut out shapes. If I saw someone using one of my round knives for this I would ask them to put the knife down and never do that agin. A half head knife is there for that job.

 

What do I feel is the best and the worst. This has only formulated through 25 years of hard learnt experience.   First off. Modern made ones, me personally I would not entertain them in my workshop for the work I do. I only work with English oak bark tanned leathers from Bakers in Devon and work with anything from 2 MM shoulder through 4 and 5 -6  MM  heavy harness backs and bridle leathers.  ( I apologise to folk in the USA, I have no idea what the equivalent  MM is in OZ weight,  in the UK, we work in thickness not weight)     

I need a knife that is finer in weight, as in the thickness of the metal, this varies greatly and thicker metal blades do not do it for me, skiviong down heavier leather see's the kniofe kiond of jam or wedge when you start skiving, a thinner blade is much more condusive for a nice smooth action. Most modern blades for me are too thick. ~They tend to need a bigger bevel to gain an edge whereas a thin metal blade knife has much less of an angle, it is this one thing that makes a blade more condusive to cut like butter, with thick blade knives you have to push much more to get a noce skive going, a thick blade is going to be better for using upright on the points for cutting strips or shapes  if you wish to use one for that. 

For me personally, the only round knives I will entertain having for every day use is the old European makes, like 40-50 years plus in age.   The quality of the steel far excels any other round knife I have tried and used, and are better again than old Dixons or Barnsley's.    There were many European makers at one time but for me Blanchard stand out from the rest. Modern Vergez Blanchard are crap compared to the old originals.   My favourite and best knife I have for everyday use for quality, thickness of metal which is thi and is perfect for me and the ability to hold the best edge that really is razor is an old French Fries Bost.    If a knife is old, classed as antique, European made like French, German, Belgian, Swedish etc then you will have a best freind for life and you will never need to look for another one.   I cannot bring myself to recommend new modern knife makes to anyone as I have handled many over the years, various knives owned by various people or ones I've bought before I ended up with the ones I have. Everyones learning curve is to go through them until you find what works best for you and old is best for quality of steel, even what folk think is the best modern made knife, it still will not be a patch on old ones.  I do have a small modern Osbourne, it came woith another tool I was after, I wouldnt have bought the knife if it was on it's own, I'm  not being rude but it is the worst thing I've ever had a go with,   it has about the same very poor edge performance as stainless steel , in the fact  the steel is way too thick and it just does not keep an edge no matter how hard you try. it's not for me, I've almost threw it in the bin twice, I bet old Osbourne far excell modern ones, I havent used an old Osbourne.   Modern solingen knives, not for me,   the ability to hold and maintain an edge is almost non existant and when you do get one I find I have to keep stropping it every 2 minutes, I have a modern Soliongen half head knife and it is crap.   I also have a modern Don Carlos French pattern head knife, again, it is crap, it is good for hacking at rough stuff though.  I have an old Dixon and a modern one I got stuck with as just before Dixons closed they were offering really knock down prices to shift stock, the modern one needs melting and turning into cooking untensils as that's all its good for.  Yes I have a bit of a collection of round knives I've ended up with from over the years in the search to find what suits me best.  I also have a modern Barnsley, again hardly worth the steel it was made with, and again, an old original Barnsley is really good.  

Many folk I have discussed round knives with have all said that once they have found their way to old antique aged European ones they have mever gone back or looked for anything else.

I use 4 different width's of Old Blanchards from 4  3/4 inches across the tips up to 8 inch across the tips for skiving wide straps and the Bost round knife.  they do come up for sale of you keep your eye out and are priced differently according to the sellers idea of worth.  I have bought and kept the round knives I have that have passed the test for being a go to knife, anything from £40 for a lucky find up to £120 for a very old Blanchard that is in very good condition as in the blade hasnt been wrecked and re shaped or poorly sharpened over the years. 

The picture is an old Blanchard   4  3/4 across the tips

[philg9]

This old Blanchard is 7 inches across the tip's and for skiving down the ends of wide straps like plough back bands, as the metal is thin, its performance and keeping a keen edge is superb.

[philg9]

This is the above 7 inch pictured on the left against an old Blanchard 8 inch on the right.  The pics were taken as I bought them before I put them to the strop to bring them up to speed.  Me personally I much prefer the round profile on the front leadoing edge, some folk prefer a more flat profile. Metals used in modern made knives cannot come anywhere near to the performance of old knives and the only recommendation I can give folk is to save your money, be patient and keep your eye out for old ones at least 40 years plus and preferably pre 2nd world war or thereabouts, you wont regret it. In the USA for pricing equivalent, if you see an old Blanchard for $150  grab you self the best freind you'll ever likely to have.

Edited March 22, 2020 by philg9