Swivel Knife

A swivel knife is a leather-carving tool built around a chisel-edged blade held upright on a pivot, topped with a saddle that rests against the user's forefinger while the tool is gripped between thumb and middle finger like a pencil. It is used to outline and cut decorative designs into leather, the first step of ornamental leather tooling; the blade is ground to a 30-degree edge on both faces to help control cutting depth, and its faces are polished to a mirror finish so it glides smoothly through leather that has been dampened, or cased, for carving. In historical American Western leatherwork the swivel knife was the primary tool for cutting the ornamental floral and scroll patterns carved into saddles, saddle bags and holsters, its swiveling head letting a carver pull the blade toward themselves in tight, graceful curves while rotating the workpiece with the other hand.