Round Knife Recommendation?

[Maverick44]

Hello, I'm newish to leatherworking and just picked up my first round knife, and I'm not having any luck with it. It's an Osborne No. 70, and I cannot get a decent edge on it at all. Not even after going at it for over an hour on some pretty nice waterstones. It's sharper than it was when it came in the mail, but nowhere near sharp enough to soar through leather like I imagine a round knife should. It also has a slight bend where the blade meets the handle, so I'm just going to send it back. What would be a good round knife for me to replace it with? I'm not afraid to put down money on good quality tools, but I'm also not sure I'm quite ready to put down $250-$300 on a custom blade considering I have almost no experience with a round knife.

 

BTW, I'm mainly interested in making holsters and cartridge belts, if that makes a difference in what knife I should pick up. 

Thanks fellas, have a merry Christmas!

[chrisash]

Would it be any different if you had the best round knife in the world, They are different from flat edged knifes and need a new skill to get very sharp and also to use. Maybe a few more hours and watching some YouTube video's may help you learn the skills, Polishing it is the item you don't mention but gives that perfect edge

[Klara]

I dare say that an Osborne is already pretty good - certainly better than the cheapie I have (got a head knife for Euro 20 to see whether I like the style). I don't believe that any knife just "soars" through leather (the best I hope for is easy, smooth cutting) - and, btw, leather quality makes a difference as well.

As chrisash says, look further into sharpening and using a round knife and above all, make a strop for honing if you don't have one. It makes all the difference, as unbelievable as it sounds (personally I don't get how such a little thing makes such a big difference, but it does).

Merry Christmas to you!

 

 

[zuludog]

Besides a round knife, consider a head knife, which is similar but has only one point, which means it's a bit cheaper, and easier to use. Have a look at videos by JH Leather, she uses a head knife for most of her work

Yes, there are loads of videos on round knives and how to sharpen them; watch them to get better ideas. I have a George Barnsley head knife and sharpened it on a couple of grades of oilstones followed by wet & dry paper lubricated with water, working through grits from 1,000 to 7,000, then a strop. That initial sharpening took an afternoon, but now it just needs stropping occasionally as I use it

Or you could start with a simpler knife like a clicker knife to get experience of working with leather & sharpening, then you'll be in a better position to choose a round knife in the future

In fact an alternative combination would be a clicker knife for cutting and a Japanese leather knife or an English style paring knife for skiving........ or back to your original choice - get a good round knife and learn how to use it ......... welcome to the fun!

Edited December 24, 2021 by zuludog

[Maverick44]

It very well could be my inexperience sharpening round knives. I do have a strop, and I ended up putting a pretty good polish on the edge by the time I gave up sharpening/polishing. I'll watch a few more tutorials and give sharpening another wack. I'll still probably return this particular Osborne though. I don't know how much it would effect it's use, but the blade being bent to one side doesn't sit right with me considering the cost of the tool. I'll either pick up another one, or maybe some other knife. I do like the looks of some of George Barnsley's knives.

Thanks for the advice fellas!

[garypl]

I have a couple of knives from Terry Moore that are very nice and sharp.  Very well made and good looking to boot.  They are a little thicker than some of the other knives.  Pricing is very reasonable as well.

https://leatherworker.net/forum/profile/1667-t-moore-medicine-hat-saddlery/

[MikeRock]

Check out Bruce Johnson, who is on this site.  He sells used tools of high quality.

God bless

Merry CHRISTmas to all

[TomE]

After spending much of 2021 improving the edge on my Osborne round knife, I have some ideas.  The taper on the edge was too steep and I've removed a fair amount of material to achieve a ~20 deg angle.  I used coarse stones, but the smart way would be to use a sanding belt to get the shape before sharpening.  If you don't have a belt sander, I would ask a farrier or blacksmith or knife maker to help you out.  After fixing the blade profile, I sharpened with water stones and stropped with a buffing wheel and by hand.  The blade on my knife appears to be very hard and I am now happy with the edge.  I also cut a bit off the end of the handle to fit my hand.

[TargetRockLeather]

Even if you buy sharper, better knife, you'll still end up at the same place eventually. No knife will stay sharp indefinitely. If you can't achieve a satisfactory edge on the Osborn, then you'll eventually run into the same problem even on a higher quality knife. I have an Osborn and although it wasn't "great" out of the box, I was able to polish the edge to where I'm quite happy with it. It can be done. My advice would be to keep the Osborn and practice with it until you're happy with it. Also, you should strop it every time you use it to maintain the edge, rather than having to re-sharpen it when it becomes too dull.

[chuck123wapati]

i found early on that i was using to much downward pressure, trying to cut the mat too, so my knife felt dull. On big pieces especially i pick the leather up off the mat a bit and it cuts much easier. Is you knife really dull or......?

Edited December 24, 2021 by chuck123wapati

[AzShooter]

I have a cheapie round knife from Tandy Leather that as been woriking real well for me.  I've found that stropping it often helps. I also use a diamond fine stone when I think it's dull.

The sequence is to run the knife down stone 100 tunes on one edge, do the other side and then 99 times,98 ect.  When you get down to zero you should have a pretty sharp knife.  The strop  and you are good to go.

Before I starterd this system I could never sharpen a knife.