Swivel Knife with Blade that Swivels?

[dprezgay]

I was recently in Tandy and saw a signature  made in leather on a project.  I asked the artist how they made it and they showed me a swivel knife that had a blade that swivels instead of the barrel.  In all the swivel knives I've seen, the blade is fixed to the barrel and to make a curve you rotated the barrel with your thumb and middle finger.  This one had a barrel that didn't swivel.  The blade did.  She explained that using it was more like writing with a pen.  Whichever way you pushed or pulled, the blade turned in that direction.  What kind of swivel knife is that?

 

Thanks,

Dale

[Retswerb]

I believe these function the way you’re describing, but I’ve never tried one.  Someone a while back on here had a vintage example of something similar too. https://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-133140-1001-Fingertip-Swivel-Knife/dp/B001IDYT6Y

[dprezgay]

1 minute ago, Retswerb said:

I believe these function the way you’re describing, but I’ve never tried one.  Someone a while back on here had a vintage example of something similar too. https://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-133140-1001-Fingertip-Swivel-Knife/dp/B001IDYT6Y

Yeah,  I was just searching and found an Excel Swivel Knife.  It has the same kind of blade.  The one I saw looked exactly like a regular swivel knife for leather but had the rotating blade.

[Retswerb]

I poked around a little but can’t find the old thread. My recollection is that it was an old knife and the owner had its original box in the pics as well.

[Rhale]

Duane Watts makes a nice one!  I think there’s a utube video one it!

[Tugadude]

https://www.etsy.com/shop/DWLeatherworks

 

 

[JLSleather]

I wouldn't consider that a good investment.  This type of knife (google FRISKET KNIFE - LOTS of styles and variations with differnt type blades) will have a slower response to turns you will surrender some control which will be more obvious the more detailed the design is.  You're DRAGGING the blade instead of actually STEERING the blade.

Could you use this in leather?  Sure - with some practice you could use a butter knife you sharpened. 

Not for me.  I use a much skinnier knife for making .... stuff, if you want the short version.  Mine has replaceable blades, very fine and always sharp.  And the barrel is much smaller diameter.. more like an x-acto handle (cept, it's not).  Much better visibility.

 

[dprezgay]

I wanted to find out more about this kind of Swivel Knife and Blade because of the very elegant signature on an art piece I saw.  I like to know about what's tools are out there, both new and old, so I can decide what tools i would use.  I do mostly stamping with Scouts and not much knife work.  But who knows, one day I might make something worth signing my name to and this kind of tool would be handy.  I'll just add it to the list of stuff I want to get and if I run across a good deal on ebay or something I might pick one up.  

Thanks for all the input.

Dale

[BigSiouxSaddlery]

Duane Watts is currently making the only swivel knife with the swiveling blade.  He was not the first one to make them.  I have one of Watt's and I am seriously unimpressed.  The blade quality is very poor, and the quality of the overall knife lacking, considering the cost.  I know some people really like them, others hate them.  It seems that people who have used a standard style knife for years are not happy with them. For the $100+ that they cost, you can get a better quality knife.

[bruce johnson]

I've had a couple versions including Duane's. His is smoother to me than a previous one. I had an injury several years ago and pile of orders. I borrowed one of the old Tandy swivel tip cutters which works on the same principle. It saved me, but was glad to get back to a regular swivel knife. The rotating blades are more like leaving tracks with back trailer tires than the front edge of the blade. You have to learn to make wider swings to get the same effect with a traditional knife. I found for really tight work, that was a plus. I can do a lot cleaner 1/8" circle with a pivoting blade than a traditional swivel knife. I never did a lot of that really tight work but that was a minor advantage. People with normal hand strength and no limitations, traditional gives you more choices in my experience. If you have a dislocated thumb in a splint - I'd have killed for Duane Watts back then. 

[lonesome dove]

I recently purchased one of Duane's SK2 knives like the one pictured in the Youtube video above. While I found the construction to be perfectly acceptable, I too found the blade to be difficult to use. It seemed to to drag in whatever type of leather I tried. The sharpening was good.  I stropped and polished it until I decided that was not the problem. I finally ordered a custom replacement blade from Henley Mfg. in Shreveport, La. I have yet to find another blade material that performs as well in any kind of leather I have ever used. Be advised however that the blade shaft of the Watt's knife is non-standard so any other blade will not fit into the barrel without machining the blade shaft to the diameter dimensions of 0.186 inches. Age and arthritis has taken some of my manual dexterity so I also have found the ability of tighter control has been helpful in several projects.