Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: ccase39 on November 11, 2015, 04:07:14 pm
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Curved or flat? What's best for working a stave? I'm tempted to get both but need to watch my funds with Christmas coming and all.
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Both will work. Try to find an old one at antique stores or flea markets. You can get some at a decent price on the big auction site also. Look for tight handles and a good edge without any chips or pitting in it.
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Yea found one yesterday that was very old but mint. They wanted 50 for it. Should have jumped on it.
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Both my drawknives are antique, one with a short (6") blade, the other with a long (10") blade. I only use the long blade as the length of the blade allows me to slide the knife across the timber as I draw it, like a slicing action, with the blade held diagonally not parallel to the cut - it is a very effective and efficient cutting action that the shorter blade does not do so well. Strongly recommend you seek out as long a blade as you can.
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Yea found one yesterday that was very old but mint. They wanted 50 for it. Should have jumped on it.
You can find them on there for a lot less than that.
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There is a Jennings ending in 3 hours for a good price. It has a big chip out of the blade but its on the edge. You won't be using that part of the blade anyway. Besides the chip it looks in great shape.
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Sharp?
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A flat 8" blade works really well for me. I have a Worth that I got from the big auction site. Excellent old draw knife. Be patient and fine a good one. They're available. And yes, good tight handles and no pitting. The back of the blade should be absolutely flat......and indeed sharp.
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I have two i got from an old guy that was cleaning out his barn got both for $20 one curved one straight I'll use both chasing a ring
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Dull and flat for ring chasing, round and sharp for mass reduction ;)
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i prefer curved probably because I inherited from my dad. Jawge
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I prefer curved and sharp for chasing rings, straight and sharp for removing bark and sapwood. I do keep a duller straight handy for scraping. I just traded my pristine 8" Keen Kutter and picked up a 14" James Swan cast steel to try for bark removal.
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14" straight, stamped Winsted Edge Tool Works, stamped U.S.N., ca. 1945,
I've had it 40 years, myself. Fantastic tool. I've tried other more modern drawknives from expensive wood tool outfits with full color catalogs that other people have bought, and they have all the angles and shapes wrong. This thing can remove masses of wood faster than a circular saw in making a 30' mast, or slice the finest shavings. It is very slightly curved in face direction toward the bevel side. Handle angles slightly greater than 90 degrees, forged arms curve up and there is hand clearance to the blade. The narrow blade puts the cutting edge aft of the handles so it doesn't dig in. I don't find the extra length a hindrance, and actually you can get great leverage for a fine shaving on a very small spot by holding one side stationary, arm tight to your side, with the blade at a sharp angle crosswise to the work and using the other as a lever, like a paper cutter. Length in a drawknife, doesn't mean coarse or roughing work only.
(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy150/vtsr/vtsr/archery/Drawknife1.jpg)
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We all got used to whatever shape our first knife was. Matter of fact? I don't even know what shape mine is. I like them razor sharp for all applications.
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One old sharp and one old dull. One concave and one convex. The concave is from being sharpened long before I got it at a antique store. Long before I new it would be used for bow making. Had it a while . The handles on both need to be replaced because they are loose. Oh well I love the old tools.
Arvin
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For many years I used a Swedish drawknife with a double beveled edge. At some point I swithced to the more common single bevel and now when I go back to use my Swedish knife I can't use it anymore.
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My reasoning for the one dull drawknife is it's easier to skim over the ring you're chasing and just cut/split through the early wood, same reason you don't sharpen wedges. This follow-along shows what I'm talking about reasonably well, what I really need to do is make a video for comparison now that I'm moving into a place with a workshop ;)
http://imgur.com/a/wM26v (http://imgur.com/a/wM26v)
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Now I am exactly the opposite of huisme! I want the drawknife shaving sharp so that as I get closer to the actual final growthring, I can control the tool better and slice like a surgeon. I tend to have to lean harder with a dull blade at the sacrifice of control.
Your mileage may vary.
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Sharp here too, i was always taught a dull knife is a dangerous knife
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Never dull for drawing although I know some prefer it. It's hard to convince an old meat cutter not to keep his knives, saw blades, and scrapers sharp.
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For many years I used a Swedish drawknife with a double beveled edge. At some point I swithced to the more common single bevel and now when I go back to use my Swedish knife I can't use it anymore.
Do you know who mad the knif, currios:), S. Djärv ?
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Plan B
Am I seeing the bevel in the photo? it looks either steeper than most, or perhaps the blade is quite thin?
willie
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Willie, the blade is 145 thou thick at the cutting edge. The top spine is .245" thick, .633" wide,and beveled at the top for clearance. The blade is 1.5" wide total. The cutting edge bevel is about .20" wide.
(http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy150/vtsr/vtsr/Shop/relief.jpg)
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quite different from my two, thanks for the detail shot
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Plan B
I was looking at some of the offerings on ebay,and there are some nice tools being sold reasonable there.
Do you think that the slight convex or concave or straight bladed matter much?
Do you feel that having a steeper bevel than most makes a difference?
and if you don't mind too many questions, do you always use it bevel up or bevel down or both?
willie
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whether you go bevel up or down depends, I think on the drawknife, and the angle of the handles. My draw knife only works well with the bevel down. You have to experiment and see what works for you.
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Plan B
I was looking at some of the offerings on ebay,and there are some nice tools being sold reasonable there.
Do you think that the slight convex or concave or straight bladed matter much?
Do you feel that having a steeper bevel than most makes a difference?
and if you don't mind too many questions, do you always use it bevel up or bevel down or both?
willie
willie, I've only used one drawknife my whole life. It's straight bladed as far as the edge is concerned, but slightly curved on the flat. I have tried 2 other draw knives belonging to other people -- both were modern flat (all the way) and had wider blades, uncomfortable handles, were shorter, and did a really poor job of removing wood. I'm not a drawknife expert, I just lucked into a really good one. Not saying others or other types aren't good, too, but I bet older ones are likely better made for the purpose than newer ones because people had more experience using and making them when they were more commonly used in the trades.
I always use mine bevel down. It would never work the other way. It would just dig in. The bevel is at the right angle so by angling your grip just slightly you can take off either a big gob of wood or a paper thin shaving. It's like an instrument -- you get so you can play it by feel -- the grain tells you by feel too, and you stop when it reverses sometimes, and slice back the other way. Hard to describe how a good tool feels.
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I have a 10" ochsenkopf with a curved blade that I like for osage staves.but I work mainly with whitewood so i'm no expert in that sense,but Germans make good steel!
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My Worth draw knife has a flat back but a slight curve to the blade in plan view. It works very well for me. I use it bevel up for rougher work and bevel down for some fine work. I've been a woodworker for nearly fifty years and I can't image how a dull draw knife would work better than a really sharp one. The only cutting tool that works as well dull for me is a froe.......and my froe gets very limited use in bow building.