The round knife is simply one of the best tools you will ever buy and use the longest when you start out in your leatherwork. If you have been searching for the type or brand to get, look no further because I did research on the best round knives and I’m ready to share with you all of the very best I found.
So what are the best round knives for leather? The best round knives for leather in no particular leather are:
- Tandy Leather Al Stohlman Round Knife (Best For Professionals and Beginners)
- Weaver Leather Round Knife (Best For Professionals)
- Round Leather Knife By STAMESKY (Best Cheap Beginner Round Knife)
- C.S. Osborne No.70 Round Knife (Best Lightweight)
- BANYOUR Leather Round Head Knife (Best For Beginners)
In addition to my researched list above, I now delve deep into the very details of each to help you make an informed decision on your choice. Before we head on to the best round knife for leather, what do we know about the round knife?
What’s A Round Knife?
The round knife as the implies is a round-shaped blade on a hard wooden handle and it’s a general purpose knife widely used for cutting thick leather, basic shapes, straight, and making curved cuts, etc. It’s also referred to and marketed as a head knife.
I wrote an article earlier that details everything you’d want to know about the round knife. You can check it out over here. Let’s jump right in! the best round knife for leather in no particular order are the;
Tandy Leather Al Stohlman Round Knife (Best For Professionals & Beginners)
The house of Tandy leather has contributed immensely to the leather fraternity with numerous essential leather work learning resources and high-quality leatherwork tools for decades.
The Tandy Leather Al Stohlman Round Knife is one of their high-quality cutting tools that has found a lot of success mainly for its quality, design, comfort, and value for money.
Key Features:
- Dimensions: 12 x 0.5 x 7 Inches
- Weight: 9.6 ounces
The Blade:
The Tandy leather round knife has its blade made of a stainless steel. The blade has a glass-like shine to enable the user to slither through thick leather or skins. The blade measure 4-3/8inches with a beautiful engraving on it.
The Ferrule:
The ferrule for the Tandy leather round knife, that is the item that holds or connects the blade and the handle together is made of a solid brass bolster that helps to keep the knife sturdy.
The Handle:
The handle of the The Tandy Leather Al Stohlman Round Leathercraft Knife is made from a hardwood, ergonomically contoured to give you the best, easy, and most secure grip. With Tandy leather handles, you have maximum control and will be able to work faster.
Best For
The Tandy Leather Al Stohlman Brand Round Leathercraft Knife is tailored for professionals but it’s also suitable for beginners.
The main purpose of this tool is to be used to cut parts or components of the leather project such as pockets, flaps, straps, etc. It’s also the ideal tool for all types of skiving leather as long as you’ve mastered skiving with a round knife.
Pros:
- Makes very clean and easy cuts
- High Quality Blade
- Super sharp from the package
- Has a very solid and sturdy build
- Easy to sharpen and polish
- You will love it if you’re into tools that are effective with great design
Cons:
- It will feel small for people with big hands
Overall, this round knife has superior quality and will fulfill all your skiving needs while giving you maximum comfort, beautiful design, and the best easiest cuts although. You can read some of its great reviews here on Amazon!
If you’re interested in the Tandy Leather Al Stohlman Brand Round Leathercraft Knife, you can check it out here on Amazon for it’s latest price since they always change.
Weaver Leather Round Knife (Best For Professionals)
The Weaver Leather LLC is another popular brand that contributes immensely to the craft of leatherwork. With a hands one approach, they are able to customize great tools true to the needs of the leather artist. They have shared with the leather fraternity countless tutorials, resources, and tools to help leather crafters like you and I continue to provide for our families.
The Weaver Leather Round Knife is a US-made tool and it’s one of their well known high-quality tools that has some really awesome customer reviews.
Key Features:
- Dimensions: 3.5 x 1.4 x 0.2 inches
- Weight: 11.2 Ounces
The Blade:
The weaver leather round knife blade is hand-forged steel and as a result, it’s extra sharp and stays sharp for a really long time.
From one heel or pointed edge of the blade to the other, it measures a little over 4 inches wide and about 5 inches long. The thickness of the blade is about 1/16 inches.
The blade comes sharpened and polished smooth to ease cuts on leather. It’s ready for use right from the package.
The Ferrule:
With no ferrule, the blade is firmly reinforced into the handle with strong screws that keeps the blade and handle very sturdy.
The Handle:
The handle of the weaver leather round knife is 1 3/64 inches thick around the heel and 3.5 inches long. It’s made from hardwood which feels comfortable and sturdy in your hands.
Best For
This as a great professional round knife and suitable for beginners who want quality right from the get-go in leatherwork.
With an extra sharp blade, the weaver leather round knife is especially great for skirting leather measuring up to 11 ounces and a great tool for all your cutting needs.
Pros:
- Extra sharp blade
- Stays sharp for a very long time
- Doesn’t require frequent sharpening, stropping is enough
- Great ergonomic design
- Really Comfortable Handle
- Sturdy and very durable
- More accurate cuts on thick leather
- Made in the United States
Cons:
- May seem pricy if you’re on a tight budget
Overall, the Weaver leather round knife is a must-have tool if you plan to have leatherwork as a long career or hobby and you’re willing to invest slightly more in quality leatherwork tools.
If you’re interested in the Weaver Leather Round Knife, I have found that Amazon offers great deals on this tool. You can check it out here for it’s latest price since they’re always changing. You can also check out some of the great customer reviews it’s received recently.
Round Leather Knife By STAMESKY Small – (Best Cheap Beginner Round Knife)
Stamesky as a brand is in the carving and leatherwork tools Niche. They have a range of carving and leatherwork tools of which the Round Leather Knife is one of their best sells.
Key Features:
- Dimensions: 9.7 x 2.8 x 1.3 inches
- Weight: 0.64 ounces
Th e Blade:
The blade of the STAMESKY Round Knife is a sharp double edge and is made from High Quality Carbon Steel. It comes sharpened so that it could be used straight from the box upon delivery.
With an overall tool length of 7 inches, the length of the blade is 2.5 inches with a blade width of 2.4 inches which in total is relatively smaller than most round knives you will normally come across. This is purposely done to make it much easy to control especially if you’re just starting out with round knives.
The Handle:
The handle on the Stamesky Round Knife is a solid oak wood that makes them very comfortable to hold for extended period of time if you have a lot of skiving to do. The handle is 5 inches and gives enough room for the user to readjust his grip.
Best For
This round knife is the best beginner knife suitable generally for all types of arts/crafts, leather cutting and skiving.
Pros:
- Light and easy to control
- Perfect beginner Round knife
- Cheap and budget-friendly
- Eco-Friendly Handle
- Long handle and suitable for people with big hands
- Portable and easy to carry around
- Comes in different sizes
Cons:
- Handle is a bit long and will take a bit of time to get use to
- Fairly good finish
All in all, this a versatile tool that will serve a lot of leatherwork and craft purposes. It’s not overly intimidating in size, fancy design, or price and so it’s the perfect round knife tool for beginners.
If you’re interested in the Round Leather Knife by Stamesky, you can check out the latest price offering for this tool on Amazon!. For a tool in the low price range, this Round Leather Knife has some truly great reviews. You can check out some of their customer reviews here.
C.S. Osborne No.70 Round Knife (Best Lightweight)
The House of C.S. Osborne has been around since 1826 and throughout those years has been a wonderful patron for the leatherwork industry. With a trusted line of quality leatherwork tools, C.S. Osborne, now operated by the seventh generation of the Osborne family, still maintains its old-age quality standards that are evident in every tool.
Their C.S Osborne N.o.70 Round Knife is one of such high-quality tools they produce and have cherished over the years due to its high success as a staple tool for most leather crafters.
Key Features:
- Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.2x 1 inches
- Weight: 5.1 ounces
The Blade:
The blade of the C. S. Osborne No.70 Round Knife is made of 1075 high carbon steel made to give you the best of the best in terms of precision cuts. The flat surface of the blade has a consistent smoothness and not ridged toward the cutting edge.
The blade measures a little over 4 inches from one point of the blade heel or edge to another and about 2 inches from the center of the blade to it’s cutting edge.
The Ferrule:
The blade of the C. S. Osborne No.70 Round Knife is set in place with a brass ferrule to its handle. This is suitably placed to make the entire knife very durable.
The Handle:
The handle of this tool is made from a hardwood ergonomically made and rounded to make it extremely comfortable to hold.
Best For:
The C. S. Osborne No.70 Round Knife is ideal for all the purposes you would want a round knife for such as cutting, skiving, etc. It’s also a great professional tool and can as well be used by a beginner with prior insider tips.
Pros:
- It’s a lightweight tool, so it’s very easy to handle for long periods
- High Quality blade
- Retains its sharpness for a long time
- Very Sharp
- Beautiful ergonomic and aesthetic design
- Made in the United States
Cons:
- Mostly requires a bit of sharpening before using it
- Not sturdy due to its lightweight
Coming from such a huge brand, the C. S. Osborne No.70 Round Knife will not disappoint you and will get you through your day to day leather projects just fine.
However, you will have to pump up your sharpening and skills with this tool as you might not have the luxury of using it right from the box. But all in all, it’s a great tool and the purchase of this tool will mean the House of C. S. Osborne will continue to remain in business, hopefully for another century or so! One time for the cause! 😀
I did some digging on Amazon and found that it’s also being manufactured and marketed by weaver leather as C. S. Osborne No.71 Round Knife. But the C. S. Osborne No.70 Round Knife has better reviews. If you’re interested in the C. S. Osborne No.70 Round Knife, you can check out its current price on Amazon here!
Banyour Leather Round Head Knife (Best For Beginners)
The Banyour brand markets a lot of general leatherwork tools but particularly have quite an impressive arsenal of cutting tools. In this article, their Leather Round Head Knife is our feature.
Key Features:
- Dimensions: 8.2 x 8 x 1.6 inches
- Weight: 9.9 ounces
The Blade:
The blade on the Banyour round leather head knife is a high-quality steel and is almost 5 inches wide and about 3 inches blade height.
The Handle:
The handle of the Banyour round leather bead knife is wooden.
Best For:
This round knife is best for professionals and amateurs alike and suitable for various leather cutting, DIY projects, and craft work.
Pros:
- Sharp right from the box
- Easy to use
- Great finish
- Exceptional packaging
- It’s Package box can serve as a storage unit for the tool
- Comes in a a ranges of colors and size
Cons:
- Doesn’t retain its sharpness for a long time
The brand BANYOUR Leather Round Head Knife among the big guns is somewhat an underdog and strives to be one of the best quality tools hub for leatherwork. As such, what you’d find very common with such brands is the amount of effort they put into their products for example packaging among many little things that tend to make a lot of leather crafters looking their way.
If you’re interested in the BANYOUR Leather Round Head Knife, they are available here on Amazon. Also, take a look at their reviews and see what they’ve being able to achieved with this tool so far.
Watch A Video Tutorial: How to Use & Care For A Round Knife
Conclusion
Owning the right set of tools for the right job does not only help you execute the leather project at hand but makes the entire process and project easy, professional-looking, and I must add a really fun and enjoyable therapeutic process.
Getting and Using a Round knife is absolutely worth it and as you journey through, whether this is a newfound hobby or career in leatherwork, I bet it’s one of the tools you will look back at after many years and say “Wow! Now that’s a tool I’m proud of” due to it’s versatility.
This is why making a the right choice with the end in mind is key. So go through the list of round knifes listed in this post, select which will suit you, and trust that you won’t go wrong with any of the choice you’d make.
