Swivel Knife

[Squid61]

43 minutes ago, chuck123wapati said:

i'm sure the story does and that is sad indeed.  You should have asked the barber lol. I'm over 60 my dad taught me to sharpen knives my granddad taught me to sharpen everything from a hoe to an axe. I guess i was lucky i came from a poor family that were alive back when people learned from each other, that's how it was here back in the day just like learning to cook or sew it was part of growing up.

I grew up in the city, if I asked for help sharpening a knife I would have been asked what I needed a knife for but no help.  I'm not sure I even made the connection between a barber's straight razor and a pocket knife back then, too bad he might have been very helpful.

[chuck123wapati]

10 minutes ago, Squid61 said:

To get back to the OP question; it does help to color the bevel of any knife with a marker pen before you start to sharpen.  As you sharpen you will wear away the ink and get immediate feedback on how much of the blade edge you are actually sharpening.  Adjust the blade angle until you get even coverage, if it's a typical secondary bevel you want even grinding from the blade edge to the top of the secondary bevel.  Try to avoid creating a convex edge for leather or wood knives.  The ink method works well for honing and stropping as well.

great info friend i use that method a lot. you brought up another fuzzy part of the problem beginners have how about explaining that blade angle for those unaware why a swivel knife has such a flat angle but other knives don't? also I don't think a swivel knife has a secondary bevel so that info could be confusing to some.

[Squid61]

True, it's a very obtuse flat grind but it should be obvious as soon as the ink starts to wear away.

[YinTx]

On 9/18/2021 at 5:58 PM, Squid61 said:

No intent to single anyone out, just a personal comment that applies to all crafts be it leather, wood, welding or whatever.  I would have loved to have had the internet back in the 50's, what a great resource for learning.

Understand, and agree 100%.

YinTx

[Klara]

But back in the day before the internet we had so much more time... I used some of that to read a magazine article about sharpening which is how I learned, more or less. I only encountered stropping when I got into leatherwork, and it's incredible what a difference it makes.

Still waitingfor the swivel knife to arrive, I'm curious what state it'll be in (got a cheap one).

I agree with @chuck123wapati on his rant, I can't understand either why so many people just accept that cutting instruments become dull and unuseable. Even if nobody taught them - the information is easy enough to find nowadays. But I've heard there's people who don't know how to sew on a button...

[YinTx]

6 hours ago, Klara said:

But I've heard there's people who don't know how to sew on a button..

You can do that?  Also... whats a button?   

[chuck123wapati]

i scanned two pages from the Leather work Manual by Stohlman, Patten & Wilson

THey are over the limit so i'll post twice.

swivelsharp1.pdf

Just now, chuck123wapati said:

i scanned two pages from the Leather work Manual by Stohlman, Patten & Wilson

THey are over the limit so i'll post twice.

swivelsharp1.pdf 916.41 kB · 1 download

 

swivelsharp2.pdf

[PastorBob]

2 minutes ago, chuck123wapati said:

i scanned two pages from the Leather work Manual by Stohlman, Patten & Wilson

THey are over the limit so i'll post twice.

swivelsharp1.pdf 916.41 kB · 1 download

 

swivelsharp2.pdf 1.12 MB · 1 download

Thanks, as always, Chuck.  Great, simple instructions.  

[chuck123wapati]

5 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

i scanned two pages from the Leather work Manual by Stohlman, Patten & Wilson

THey are over the limit so i'll post twice.

swivelsharp1.pdf 916.41 kB · 1 download

so I have three swivel knife blades i measured the total angle of each to see if they were close to Stohlmans  instructions which say to sharpen the edge at about 30 degrees which is 60 total degrees. My three blades were all different angles  55, 65 and 75 degrees and i haven't changed any of the angles from factory. Two are tandy one is ?   The 55 being my favorite to use. Also noticed the point angle on my two 1/4" filigree was different also.

[Klara]

I'm not sure I could see whether a blade is 55, 60, or 65 degrees - 30 degrees per side is good enough for me (I never neither the too nor the intention to measure precisely).

What surprises me is another point of these instructions, and several videos: In the article from long ago the author insisted that sharpening is done in one direction only, namely as if one wanted to cut thin slices off the stone. My knife-making friend does the same thing, but it seems that's not all that important after all?

 

[YinTx]

8 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

My three blades were all different angles  55, 65 and 75 degrees and i haven't changed any of the angles from factory.

I think even Paul Burnett had an article about decreasing and increasing the angle of the bevel to get different effects.  WIde angles helped with beveling, narrow angles for tight spaces and decorative cuts... I'd leave em like that and use them where they work best!

YinTx