You may have to go round several times until you’ve trimmed enough off, but it’s best to be cautious and take too little off rather than too much. Another type of sheath, usually leather, is designed to fit over the knife handle but leave the blade free. This gives you extra grip and comfort when cutting, and is especially popular with shoemakers. Cobblers also use shoe knives to remove unwanted bumps from the bottom of their creations. Shoemakers turn over the knife and use its non-cutting edge to determine if the sole is flat.

There are actual tools called shoe knives and as the name suggests, they are used in shoemaking. That’s why the tool is sometimes called a “cobbler’s knife.” Some sheaths only cover the blade, but many have a folding flap that completely encloses the knife. The tang is the part of the blade that runs up into the handle. A full tang is where the metal extends the entire length of the handle in a single piece.Of course, the most important types of shoe knives are the ones used in your business. That’s why you need Hyde Industrial Blade Services.

A shoe knife blade includes a cutting edge, blade end and tang. These are made in various shapes and sizes to suit different uses. These knives were originally designed for use by cobblers, who keep a whole range of different blades for use in various stages of the process.

Cutting rubber and plastic

All of our shoe knives are made with high-carbon steel that’s painstakingly hardened, tempered, and polished. These long-lasting blades are expertly fitted into easy-to-grip, hardwood handles. They use a sharp blade for cutting out the shape of the uppers, and also for trimming excess leather from around the sole and heel. Take care not to cut too deeply – if you take off too much, it can’t be replaced and you’ll have to start again with a new sole. Technically, Klebb’s pointed pump is a kind of “shoe knife” but it’s not the kind of shoe knife that concerns us.

Granite boards, or slabs, have an extremely hard, smooth surface that can’t be scratched by knife blades. They are not designed to be cut into, but instead allow the leather or other material to be held perfectly flat for skiving.A stub tang is also known as a pin or whittle tang. It only runs a little way into the handle and is generally found on cheaper knives. A few shoe knives come with a finger guard already fitted, but some others let you attach one separately. This helps stop your hand slipping down on to the blade during cutting. A taper tip is often used to trim leather and cut through stitches in both shoemaking and bookbinding. A lot of people will erroneously tell you that a shoe knife is a loafer with a dagger in it or a mashup of a sneaker and a switchblade.