1/4 Head Knife

[zuludog]

Have a look at these YT videos and you'll see the sort of thing I mean -

How to hold and use a Round Knife by UK Saddlery

How to polish a Leather Round Knife by Leathercraft Masterclass

How to sharpen your Head Knife for Leather Work by J H Leather

Also have a look on Vergez - Blanchard and George Barnsley and Sons' websites. But note that as a traditional manufacturer Barnsley only give you a basic cutting edge and you are expected to do the final sharpening & polishing yourself as that keeps the cost down, and you can adjust it to suit yourself 

I have a Barnsley Head Knife and it does take a while to do that, but once you've got the edge right, it's excellent

To add a bit of interest you can compare UK Saddlery's Scottish/Glaswegian accent with J H Leather's middle class English accent

Edited September 18, 2020 by zuludog

[Chris623]

I teach a wood carving class at one of our local Vo-Tech schools.  I make and sell wood carving knives.  Sharpening knives is something I do for a living, so doubt I'll have any trouble making and sharpening a Round Knife.  I don't know of any commercial blade manufacturer who ships a blade sharp enough to use, so I'm used to that.

With all that braggart stuff behind , I'll look at any video I can watch to learn as much as I can.  Thanks for the suggestions.

[zuludog]

I've wondered if a large wood carving knife could be used or modified for fine leather cutting

And you shouldn't have much difficulty making a skiving knife; an English style leather paring knife; a kiridashi; or a Japanese style leather knife; some of them are similar anyway - as if you didn't have enough to do!

And have a look at Vergez - Blanchard's L'indispensible knife, both on their website and YT; you could probably make something similar, but with a fixed instead of an interchangeable blade

I made a Japanese style leather knife from an old box plane blade, and once you've got used to the asymmetric/offset blade it's easy enough to use; look for those on YT as well     

[chuck123wapati]

1 hour ago, Chris623 said:

Does anyone have any thoughts on what bevel to use on a head knife?  I know Leather Wranglers offers a full distal taper (like a fine chef's knife) and a shorter, steeper sunburst grind like a rugged camp knife. 

i would use a flat grind or at least a partial flat grind of at the least 3/4 inch from the edge. a full distal taper , tapered from tip to haft and spine to edge will be basically just a full flat grind as the handle and blade are shaped differently than a regular knife but it sure sounds cool lol. Round knives rarely cut over 1/4 inch thick materials so what you do past that point doesn't mean much not so with knives built for other purposes. Here is a nice skiver i made a while back chisel grind for right hand use. I find myself making more tools than leather projects if I'm not careful lol.

Edited September 18, 2020 by chuck123wapati

[Chris623]

That's a beautiful skiving tool, Chuck.  I like the file work.  I'd have to make a jig to allow the blade to pivot from the point where the handle starts so I could present it to my 2x72 belt grinder to get a full distal taper all the way around the radius.  Would pose it's own difficulties.

[chuck123wapati]

13 minutes ago, Chris623 said:

That's a beautiful skiving tool, Chuck.  I like the file work.  I'd have to make a jig to allow the blade to pivot from the point where the handle starts so I could present it to my 2x72 belt grinder to get a full distal taper all the way around the radius.  Would pose it's own difficulties.

thanks! yes it would, but you will want a long gradual taper anyway no matter how far up the blade you carry it so chalk it up to a good piece to practice on. Knowledge gained is never a waste of time.