Swivel knife..............Hmmmmmm..................what length?

[Chris623]

I'd like to try my hand at learning to use a swivel knife.  Doubt I'll be doing a ton of work with it, but I want a decent one.  I'm the kind of person who'd rather buy something once and not end  up with a drawer full of "all the ones I've bought up until now", if you know what I mean.  I've been looking at the 'Ol Smoothie from Chuck Smith.  I've read several people's comments about it that are pretty positive.  The only thing is, he offers 4 different lengths and not having ever used one, I have no idea what size to order.  Holding a pencil as if it's a swivel knife, I think the 2 1/2" would work, but what do I know??

Number one, is the 'Ol Smoothie a good one to start with.....................and most likely to continue with rather than having to upgrade?  Or would I be way in over my head with that one?  Number two, is there a less expensive one that would most likely serve for what I'm looking for?   I don't intend to do saddles, belts or anything else that requires a lot of swivel knife work.  At most, I'll probably just do an occasional leaf or feather on a sheath or something of that nature.

I'm not in any kind of rush.................just ponderin' this leather working stuff.

[Rhale]

Chuck Smith swivel knives are great! I have 2 of them 2 1/2” length I use a 3/8” barrel with 1/4” straight blade.  Barry King knives are good and about half the price of the Smith’s.  You might consider it, a.lot of people use them and no more than you use it it seems to be. A good option!

[Arturomex]

I have a selection of swivel knives ranging from a "no name" (which isn't that bad, actually) to the cheapest Tandy, a Tandy "ergonomic" and a couple of Barry Kings. The Barry Kings are the ones I like best and use most.

Something to consider is that shank sizes are not the same on all blades. For example, the Tandy blades won't fit the BK knives and the BK blades won't fit the Tandy or the "no name." IMO the quality of the BK blades is superior to the ones Tandy sells. Also worth noting that BK and Leather Wranglers sell blades that will fit Tandy knives which, I believe, are a 7/32" shank.

I'd recommend getting something above the low end knives. It makes work easier, a lot more pleasurable and you won't be wasting money upgrading to a knife you'll wish you'd bought in the first place.

Regards,

Arturo

[Chris623]

Your last two sentences are of great importance to me, Arturo.  It almost makes me sick to buy a tool and find I need to upgrade and then have wasted my money on the original piece of junk.  This is why I ask so many questions on forums of people who have more experience than I about such things.

Keeping in mind what you've said, would a Henley swivel knife fit into that "something above" suggestion?

[YinTx]

I have managed to acquire a lot of swivel knives over time, including one Robert Beard.  Which I've heard is great, but mine needs a sharpening because it won't cut a thing.  So it hasn't been used.  And I have several cheap ol Tandy swivel knives that get regular use.  They have been sharpened properly, and are stropped to a mirror shine.  They cut fantastic.  I sold one for $25 recently.  If you were willing to put in the time to sharpen and strop yourself you can find them easily for $10 or less.  They work great.  If you don't believe me, see Jim Linnell.  He is a master carver, has over 100 swivel knives, and his go to is a Tandy knife.  Lengths are adjustable so you see what you like.  If you decide to upgrade later, you are only out $10-$25.  Some of which you could recoup if you decided to sell it.  If you are not carving on a regular basis, it doesn't make sense to me to drop $100's on a knife.  I get the desire to have a really nice knife, that is how I ended up with the Beard.  If I find a Henley or Chuck Smith I like, I may get it.  

But then I just carved 43 coasters and ornaments using the $10 knife.  I mean if ya have $$ to burn, go for the fancy one, but just something to ponder.

YinTx

[Chris623]

Good point.  Thanks.

[Sturme]

https://leatherwranglers.com

they have great swivel knives

[Chris623]

Indeed they do.............................at about twice the price I'm willing to spend as a beginner.

[Chris623]

Well, I went ahead and spent the $15 for the low-end Tandy.  I can tell just by looking at the bevels this thing isn't anywhere near  ready to use.  That's okay, sharpening and stropping is "my thing".  Now to get to work on and with it.

[Chris623]

You know me, or should by now..................I have another question.    Just got my new swivel knife blade properly sharpened.  Fine, that's behind me.   I'd appreciated it if someone would take the time to share with me the benefits of wide blades, narrow blades, thick blades, thin blades, hollow ground blades and angled blades.  I'm sure they have purpose other than "personal preference".

[battlemunky]

Wide and narrow are for bigger projects and filligree, respectively. Thick and thin is for depth control. If you search "Cut less, bevel more" Mike explains this in pretty decent detail. Some folks like to cut to the core and some folks don't. Its an aesthetics thing as well as a structural thing depending on the thickness of the leather.

I have a Barry King, a Tandy cheap jobber, and a no name and like them all pretty much equally. As long as they swivel freely, I'm pretty happy I reckon.

Edited November 20, 2020 by battlemunky

[Chris623]

Thanks, battlemunky, I'll check it out.

Edit:

Thanks again.  I watched the video and it was very helpful.  I teach wood carving at the local Vo-Tech, and one of the things I teach is low relief..........which it looks as if he does a lot of.  I'm not sure what that "swivel bevel" tool is really called.  Very effective, though. 

I've tons to learn, but I'm a sponge, so I'll get there.

Edited November 21, 2020 by Chris623

[YinTx]

If I may make another recommendation on your basic swivel knife:  Take the top off (it just pulls straight up if it looks like the one in the photo) and polish the nib that the yoke rides on. ( The pointy bit in my photo) Make sure it is shiny too, this is what lets the knife swivel smoothly.  I used various grits of sand paper, then jeweler's rouge.  Add a drop of oil into the barrel under the yoke, and reinsert the nib.  You will find it swivels very smoothly now compared to before.  A rough swivel tends to make life more difficult when carving!

 

Here's what the blade looks like.  Kinda difficult to photograph, but fairly mirror polished:

These are some the knifes that were neglected in favor of the cheapo above.   The ones on the right are Craftool Pro, and the Craftool Ergo version.  Knife in the middle is the Robert Beard.  If anyone knows who the makers are for the ones on the left, I'd be interested to know!  They do appear to have Tandy's Ruby blades in them.

 

YinTx

[Chris623]

Thanks, YinTx.  I must have lucked out because my swivel mechanism is as smooth as butter............but I'll still take your recommendation.  You say it just "pops" off?  Hmmmmm.   As I mentioned previously, my "thing" is sharpening and polishing.  I make knives.  But I also make a lot of wood carving knives.  I teach wood carving and if a knife isn't scalpel sharp it's a waste of time to use.  So the bevels on my new swivel knife are absolute mirrors. 

I've a lot of practice ahead of me. 

[YinTx]

4 hours ago, Chris623 said:

You say it just "pops" off? 

If it is like the one in the photo, yes.  If it is already smooth, maybe you don't need to work it over?

4 hours ago, Chris623 said:

So the bevels on my new swivel knife are absolute mirrors.

Awesome, then it is going to cut just fine and no one will have any clue whether you cut with a $15 knife or a $250 knife.  Just strop every once in a while when you are cutting to get the leather buildup off the blade, and you are off to the races.

Get different sized blades when you are ready to experiment.  When you have it all dialed in and you are ready for a big $$$$ tool, you'll know what you want.  Or you may decide meh, money better spent elsewhere!  If you make knives, you may even decide to make your own!  They are pretty straightforward, I'd think.  

YinTx

[Rhale]

Hey YenTx are you wanting to sell the Robert Beard swivel knife? Thanks 

[Chris623]

7 hours ago, YinTx said:

If it is like the one in the photo, yes.  If it is already smooth, maybe you don't need to work it over?

Well, mine is the Tandy Leather Comfort..........bottom of the line.  Don't know if that's the same one you showed.

[YinTx]

4 hours ago, Chris623 said:

Well, mine is the Tandy Leather Comfort..........bottom of the line.  Don't know if that's the same one you showed.

The one I showed is probably from the 60's or 70's, no idea how old the blade is.  Could be newer or older.  But the design looks similar to the one you have.

4 hours ago, Rhale said:

Hey YenTx are you wanting to sell the Robert Beard swivel knife? Thanks 

That one is a recent acquisition, so I hope to sharpen it up and use it.  But I don't know the correct profile for the edge.  I'm guessing just a simple V wedge profile, but it could be a convex bevel?  Anyhow, I have several swivel's I'd sell, but the Beard is not one of them.  

YinTx

[Chris623]

I pulled the finger cradle off and the top of mine was flat...............but I polished and oiled it anyway.  Works great.

[Rhale]

YinTex , what swivels are you selling? And prices please! Thanks 

[YinTx]

@Rhale, Message incoming.

YinTx

[Retswerb]

@YinTx, once @Rhale has a look I’d be interested as well, just DM’ed you.

Edited November 24, 2020 by Retswerb