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The Sheath/Holster Makers Forum This is the place to discuss all forms of sheath and holster making.

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  #1  
Old 03-04-2010, 02:18 PM
Terry Paulsen Terry Paulsen is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 14
Head knife

A friend is teaching me to "properly" cut out my patterns with a head knife. Having used his, I would like to make one of my own, what features should be designed into this knife, any thoughts on improving the design, also any hints on the use of the knifew for cutting out patterns.

Thanks,

Terry
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  #2  
Old 03-05-2010, 11:55 AM
RandyScott RandyScott is offline
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Location: Atlanta metro area (Sugar Hill)
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Head knives and round knives have been around a long time and the general shape of the blade has been determined by time and experience. THus improvement would be based on individual needs not met by the current design. Here is a link to a schematic for a head knife: http://www.pslac.org/public/07_jul00.pdf Just scroll down till you find it on page 15 & 16. The head/round knives sold commercially all have a 'standard length handle' with a stub tang. This permits one to shorten the handle so the butt of the handle fits in the heel of the hand. This permits palming or pushing with the palm vs. gripping with the fingers when cutting. You can also check the various leathercraft supply houses for examples of head and round knives as there are minor variations of the general shape.

I cheated... I bought mine via EBay.. two old C.S.Osbornes head knives for about $25 each in real good shape.

The book "Leathercraft Tools: HOw to Use Them, How to Sharpen Them" by Al Stohlman (available at The Leather Factory, Amazon.com, etc.) contains 11 pages of information on the use of head and round knives. This book is considered to be one of the 'must haves' in leathercrafting. The absolute most important: always cut away from you and ALWAYS keep your fingers behind the sharp cutting edge.

Leathercraft information sources: PSLAC mentioned above. www.leatherworker.net
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  #3  
Old 03-05-2010, 03:46 PM
Pelallito Pelallito is offline
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Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Miami,FL
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Terry, Everyhing that Randy mentioned is correct.
I made one and the only thing that I will change when I make my next one, is that the new handle will widen towards the back. I made my first even and I think it would fit my hand better if the end is wider.

Randy,
Thanks for posting that article, it was imformative.
Regards,
Fred
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  #4  
Old 03-08-2010, 06:35 AM
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Crex Crex is offline
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Another thing about head knives not mentioned above, you have to learn how to keep them SHARP, clean and polished along the cutting edge. Any roughness along the edge will give you fits with cutts. (same applies to all leather cutting blades).

Note: Their edges are not quite as easy to maintain as a regular knife blade (learning curve matches the curve of the blade).

I've made all of mine (for the obvious reasons), but my favorite is very small and made from the curved tooth of a 64" circular saw blade with a angled back palm swell handle. Takes a bit of practice to learn to use them correctly.


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  #5  
Old 03-24-2010, 09:29 PM
ozzie111 ozzie111 is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
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I too am interested in making my own head knife.

I have a couple of things that I would like some feedback on.

I was thinking of using 01. This is available to me in 1/16 wide enough to cut out a
head knife. What are your thoughts?

I have a Wilton grinder. should I put a convex grind on the blade?

How far down do you take your edge before initial hardening?

Is there a risk of overheating the outer tips when heating the knife?

Thanks for your feedback.

Oz
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