steveb leatherworks: the blather

So here i was cutting a piece of leather tonight with one of my my older’n dirt headknives (one is  from 1900, the other, about 1928)  – and realized right quick, my blade was dull, flipped it over and still not so good. Not a good feeling when your bearing down on a piece of 8-10oz  thick leather, and your blade seizes up in the hide, and so this forced me to abandon my efforts and pick up my back-up blade and finish my complex curved cut…

round & head knives

 I show great respect to blades. Leatherworkers spend a great deal of time around sharp things and need to be very aware of whats going on – and always show good safety awareness when handling blades…simple stuff, like always keeping your hand behind the blade – whether drawing the knife towards your, or in the case of a headknife – pushing it away from you..pushing a blade seems odd, I know…you have to see it to appreciate the  proper technique to wield a head knife safely. You don’t want to do this in a place with lots of distractions.

This knife is one of the unique tools of leathercraft and using it is a skill I am proud to have gained…I dont “click” my shapes, I cut each one by hand, using a headknife – and so – my blades get a constant workout and need to be sharp…and usually they are!

strops -secret weapons against dullness

A quick strop wouldn’t bring a decent razors edge back to my little tough guy, so for the first time in like a year, i had to sharpen my blade. Hmmm. I could write a book about stropping and strops, but will let you off easy this time…

Keep in mind, the normal state of a headknife is sharp, and by sharp, i mean sharper than a scalpel sharp, no fooling sharp and no slippin’ sharp…know what i mean? You do NOT want to get bit by a headknife. If you do, your going to the hospital. Capiche?

arkansas stones, utility knife and custom scalpel

Broke out the Arkansas stones – a soft and a hard, one water, one oil – and got to sharpening my knives. Even though I favor one knife (my little one) more than the other, i still sharpen them in a set – this way they are both good to go when i reach for them. 

Swivel knives are another unique tool of leathercraft, if like me – you’re a “carver”. The swivel is a whole nother kettle of fish to use properly.

I have three Swivels, a Henley Beader blade in a monster fat Stohlman handle with brass finger rest, a ceramic blade in a hard knurled stainless handle and a Henley blade in a thin Henley handle, with a thin angled blade – this is my favorite swivel blade.

I don’t sharpen my swivel knives much either for that matter – the thin Henley, which i use 9 out of 10 times,  really only needs a stropping every use and is good to go-great knife.

beader, ceramic, angled swivel knives & blades

So, whats my point you might ask? Well, I guess it is this…a stropping is good most of the time, but sometimes, ya just have to put steel to stone to make it all good again!