'Splain me about swivel knife blades

C

Chris 54326

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Sep 13, 2017
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Bought my first swivel knife today. (entry level Tandy) Not planning on doing a lot of swivel work, but might need it from time to time. Knife came with standard 3/8" wide, thick blade. Bevels were completely unusable and was like dragging a bastard file through the leather..............but since sharpening and polishing are my "thing", they are now perfect mirrors. Okay, that's behind me. Messed with it a little bit and it cuts like a hot knife through room temp butter.

But I need some educating and can't seem to find what I'm looking for. What are the individual purposes of narrower blades, thinner blades, angled blades and hollow ground blades? I'm sure it has to do with more than just personal preference.
 
I bought the Pro swivel knife and it cuts great. It just felt so much nicer in my hand than the cheaper one. I just strop the blade before I use it and after I am finished using it. I guess the smaller and narrower blades are just for more delicate work. The larger blades will make a wider cut. But I am not an expert.
 
There are lots of carving styles and designs so there are a lot of different blades. The hollow ground blades (generally wide) are simply to ease sharpening. The blade you got is best for long straight lines or sweeping curves. The width factors into how wide the cut will open which affects both appearance and ease of beveling. Smaller figures or more detailed figures (such as animal leg or eyes)s need to have thinner blades tp permit the fine cuts needed to successfully carve and bevel very small, fine details. The angled blades make it a bit simpler to cut tight arcs although it can be done with straight blades with practice. They can also be used for filigree along with the vary narrow blades.
Randy
 
Yes the different blades make different cuts. We have two Barry King ones. One with a smaller 1/4" blade and the other with a 3/8" blade. The bigger blade cuts well....bigger and bolder and deeper. The smaller blade is better for tighter curves and more finesse. I will use both doing oak carving. On carlos border stamping I use the larger to cut the channels. My wife only uses the small one for her flower carving.
 
Thanks guys. What you say makes sense to me. Going to try my hand at it today. I'll see what happens. :rolleyes:
 
I just posted in the "Whatcha been up to" thread about the results of my first swivel knife session. Based on the feather I carved, I think I want a thinner blade. Just seemed as if I couldn't make some of the cuts in a fluid manner with the thick blade. Could be wrong, but that's how it felt. I also noticed the appearance of my cuts was much different than the cuts I see being made in videos. I don't know if that's because they are using more narrow blades or because the bevel angle is different. Seems as if my cuts are far wider than those I've observed.

As I mentioned in the previously mentioned thread, I'm reasonably happy with my first trial. When I get it finished I'll post a picture.
 
Some folks say to practice doing the cursive alphabet.
 
My cursive is so poor that wouldn't be helpful at all. I've had to print all my life because of my poor cursive. :(

Anywho, here's my first shot at it. Let the critique begin...........I'm here to learn!

p4061058531-4.jpg


Little wife wanted to use it as a key fob, so drilled a hole.
 
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Picture has sat here for 3 days and no one has badmouthed......er uh critiqued my work. :poop: What gives? Do I need to go back to the drawing board and start over? ;)
 
Chris 54326 said:
Picture has sat here for 3 days and no one has badmouthed......er uh critiqued my work. :poop: What gives? Do I need to go back to the drawing board and start over? ;)
Click to expand...

It looks pretty good to me. I'm still learning myself so I don't think that I would be considered a critic.
 
First I've seen it? AndI do check every morning. Quine sabe? I'd call it real darn good in fact! What weight leather did ya use? Reason I ask is on the exterior of the feather I'd like to see more depth. So it wasn't the same as the interior.
 
Thanks Robert. Hoping someone with a whole bunch of experience with a swivel knife will come along and seriously critique the effort. I really want to learn.............and constructive criticism is always welcome.
 
Thanks, Dave. Good to hear from you. It was cut from that piece of 7-8 oz shoulder I bought initially. Same thing I've made my two sheaths out of.

Okay, so more depth on the outside bevel. I went to Tandy's today to see if I could pick up some steep bevel tools, only they didn't have any. Wish I could afford the Barry King steep bevel set. ($$$$:eek:)

If I could just get some more knife and sheath sales, maybe I could afford to order some Herman Oak in a heavier weight. Working on an Elk low relief carving at the moment and am wishing I had thicker material.
 
Chris,
I agree with Dave that it is a really good start. In my experience, the depth of the bevels is more a function of the leather casing, cut depth and mallet force than the design of the beveler. you can always angle the beveler to get a different look. Your leather should be more than thick enough so it really is a matter of knowing what you are after in the design and using your tools accordingly. Just some practice and you will get it.
Randy
 
One thing to add. See your lines that indicate the fibers/strands of the feather. They are very nice and uniform. I think it might be visually a hair more interesting if right at the end of the cut, near the stem, ya rocked up onto the corner of the blade to widen the cut a hair.. just a small thing. I agree about the bevels with Randy. Now do it again.
 
One thing to add. See your lines that indicate the fibers/strands of the feather. They are very nice and uniform. I think it might be visually a hair more interesting if right at the end of the cut, near the stem, ya rocked up onto the corner of the blade to widen the cut a hair. Just a little thing.
 
Thanks Dave. So wider at the quill and thinner towards the edge! I'll remember that next time. I'm working on an Elk right now, but when I get back to a feather I'll give that a try.
 
Okie-dokie. Went to Tandy's today to replace two cross-hatched stamps that had some flat spots on them and didn't stamp uniformly. While there I picked up a new blade for my swivel knife. The original blade was a 3/8" wide, thick blade. This one is a 1/4" wide, thin hollow ground blade. Even though I had sharpened and polished my original blade to a mirror polish, I still wasn't happy with the way it felt. I sharpened and polished this new blade and it feels just right in my hand. I also like how much more narrow the slot it leaves in the leather is. I'm pleased with the change.

Also bought a bottle of Easy Carve. I'm sure it's not as good as Pro Carve, but it was available here right now and there was no shipping. It'll do for now. Tried it tonight and it seemed to make a big difference in the smoothness of the cut. Was only working on a tiny scrap piece, so have no idea how it extends the cutting time.
 
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