Veritas Carver's Knife

[sihollies]

Hi
I have just completed my first marquetry project, of which I have thoroughly enjoyed.
I own a few Swann Morton Scalpel handle which I use for my Parquetry work, but found the handles a bit awkward
to control when making tight curves on the a fore mentioned marquetry project.
I found it easier to navigate the the tight curves with a cheap craft knife handle, that I own, where the handle as more substantial/bulkier.
I stumbled across this Veritas knife, and was wondering if anyone could tell me if Swann Morton blades can be used with this handle? ( The blades in the picture look identical to Swann Morton ones )

http://www.thewoodveneerhub.co.uk/verit ... r-s-knife/

I am aware it is a Carver's Knife, so I am thinking the blades may be thicker??
Any advice is greatly appreciated

Regards

Simon

 

[monkeybiter]

They say 'standard disposable scalpel blades' so it would seem so:- http://www.veritastools.com/products/Page.aspx?p=63

This might help also, scroll down. http://miniatures.about.com/od/cuttingtools/tp/craftknives.htm

 

[sihollies]

Thanks very much for the rapid reply.
I searched the Internet for ages and found nothing and you came back with an answer in 20 minutes, so thanks again.
I just have to decide now if I the knife is worth it for the cost, as opposed to my cheap craft knife handles.
But with Christmas looming, it may be a possibility.

Many thanks

Simon

 

[bugbear]

Hi
I have just completed my first marquetry project, of which I have thoroughly enjoyed.
I own a few Swann Morton Scalpel handle which I use for my Parquetry work, but found the handles a bit awkward
to control when making tight curves on the a fore mentioned marquetry project.
I found it easier to navigate the the tight curves with a cheap craft knife handle, that I own, where the handle as more substantial/bulkier.

I've seen craftsman (at shows) with scalpels where the handle was padded and customised with
polymer clay.

BugBear

 

[JohnPW]

It seems to cost quite a bit for what is really a handle. Maybe you could bulk up the scalpel handle by sticking some wooden scales on each side. Another idea I've seen is to wrap it with a sort of mouldable plastic that sets hard,

Scalpel handles are not ideal if you need to press quite hard when cutting. I found that out when try to cut into maple for an inlay.

 

[sihollies]

Thanks Bugbear & JohnPW
That's a good idea. I tried wrapping the handles with tape, but couldn't get the right 'feel'.
I think I have some 'Fymo' somewhere, so will certainly give it a go.
Will post my findings.

Simon

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Ernie Ives designed a knife taking scalpel blades specifically for marquetry work. Might be worth a try, especially as it's not particularly expensive. Here's one source - http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_nos ... ry%20knife

 

[sihollies]

Thanks

I will definitely try the Ernie Ives handle, as it is designed for the marquetarian & the cost is small, compared to the Veritas handle.
However I will also try the Polymer clay suggestion too, as I should be able to mould it precisely to the ergonomics of my grip.

I truly appreciate your suggestions, so thank you

Regards
Simon

 

[marcros]

I bought http://www.breakaway-tackle.co.uk/index ... duct_id=99 from this site but have found the standard swann morton to give better results for me. Same blades in each case.

 

[Harbo]

Swann Moreton do this more chunkier holder:

Rod

 

[bugbear]

Ernie Ives designed a knife taking scalpel blades specifically for marquetry work. Might be worth a try, especially as it's not particularly expensive. Here's one source - http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_nos ... ry%20knife

Interesting - and cheap. TERRIBLE photo on Amazon though!

BugBear

 

[John15]

I have a Swann Morton scalpel. To make the handle comfortable I wrap it with sports tape - the kind they use on the handles of tennis racquets etc. Got it off Ebay.

John

 

[Racers]

I got a nice scalpel blade handle from John Lewis, round body very nice to use, can't find it on the web site the closet one is this http://www.johnlewis.com/prym-art-knife ... s/p1297174 mine has a metal body not plastic.

Pete

 

[SteveF]

wrap the handle with polymorph moulded to your hand shape

http://www.polymorphplastic.co.uk/

Steve

 

[bugbear]

wrap the handle with polymorph moulded to your hand shape

http://www.polymorphplastic.co.uk/

Steve

Or Sugru (very expensive though)

http://sugru.com/

Edit £6.99 for 15g ; EEK!

Polymorph plastic is £3.50 for 100g

Fimo around £10 for 350g

So polymorph and fimo are comparable in price.

BugBear

 

[monkeybiter]

Or Sugru (very expensive though)

http://sugru.com/

Edit £6.99 for 15g ; EEK!
BugBear

Aha! I knew this might be useful one day https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/oogoo-t45765.html?hilit= sugru

 

[sihollies]

Thanks again everyone

polymorph looks interesting, so I may give that a go.
£4.30 + £1.60 P+P for 250 grams on Ebay.
The handle from John Lewis looks good too, but it costs nearly £25

Thanks again

 

[JohnPW]

I got a nice scalpel blade handle from John Lewis, round body very nice to use, can't find it on the web site the closet one is this http://www.johnlewis.com/prym-art-knife ... s/p1297174 mine has a metal body not plastic.

Pete

That's ridiculous, £20 for what looks like a plastic handle with a metal collar! But that's the other common type of knife used for fine work, I believe the original brand is X-Acto:

http://xacto.com/products/cutting-solutions/knives.aspx

but there other manufacturers making them. I got set from Lidl for £4, had 2 all aluminium handles and 8 blades. The blades have a hole in them but don't appear to have any function. I've also seen a version with a plastic collar that grips the blade, which I guess would only be suitable for very light use.

Ernie Ives designed a knife taking scalpel blades specifically for marquetry work. Might be worth a try, especially as it's not particularly expensive. Here's one source - http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_nos ... ry%20knife

Interesting - and cheap. TERRIBLE photo on Amazon though!

BugBear

And very little product information, is it plastic, metal, wood? How is the blade held? For that price it could be just an plastic handle with a hole at one end and the blade just slots in.

 

[Racers]

John, I didn't check the price wow! I only paid £5 or so for mine.
Mine is more like the X-Acto one

Pete

 

[marcros]

I got a nice scalpel blade handle from John Lewis, round body very nice to use, can't find it on the web site the closet one is this http://www.johnlewis.com/prym-art-knife ... s/p1297174 mine has a metal body not plastic.

Pete

That's ridiculous, £20 for what looks like a plastic handle with a metal collar! But that's the other common type of knife used for fine work, I believe the original brand is X-Acto:

http://xacto.com/products/cutting-solutions/knives.aspx

but there other manufacturers making them. I got set from Lidl for £4, had 2 all aluminium handles and 8 blades. The blades have a hole in them but don't appear to have any function. I've also seen a version with a plastic collar that grips the blade, which I guess would only be suitable for very light use.

Ernie Ives designed a knife taking scalpel blades specifically for marquetry work. Might be worth a try, especially as it's not particularly expensive. Here's one source - http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_nos ... ry%20knife

Interesting - and cheap. TERRIBLE photo on Amazon though!

BugBear

And very little product information, is it plastic, metal, wood? How is the blade held? For that price it could be just an plastic handle with a hole at one end and the blade just slots in.

It is plastic. The blade fits into a slot and there is a collet that slides over it. You then cut and the first time it moves and must locate itself against the collet. The big advantage over anything I have seen is that you can have the blade protruding a few mm, rather than 20mm or so unsupported. It is good value for money, but isn't high quality. It is good enough quality for the job though. If it was double the price I would send you mine and say try it but by the time we have posted it there and back it isn't worth doing.