Whittling with Civil War era knife

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TotalGettysburg
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Joined: Wed Feb 20, 2013 12:01 am

Whittling with Civil War era knife

Post by TotalGettysburg »

Hello all,

I'm new to these forums and I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and ask a question. I'm interested in whittling and wanted to connect it with my hobby of Civil War reenacting. There is plenty of free time sitting around the fire and working living history events so I figured these two hobbies would work well together. Is there a specific Civil War reproduction knife that would work out well for whittling?

Thanks,
Scott

Maybe one of these?

http://www.blockaderunner.com/Catalog/catpg8.htm
buck16
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Re: Whittling with Civil War era knife

Post by buck16 »

Check out My Historical Knives store on this site. You might find the authentic thing. Good luck.
TotalGettysburg
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Joined: Wed Feb 20, 2013 12:01 am

Re: Whittling with Civil War era knife

Post by TotalGettysburg »

Thanks Buck...I'll give that a look. I'm going to present this question differently and maybe that can help point me in the right direction. Can anyone take a quick look at these (see link) and advise me as to the best blade for whittling?

http://www.blockaderunner.com/Catalog/catpg8.htm

Thanks,
Scott
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Cutty
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Re: Whittling with Civil War era knife

Post by Cutty »

Scott

If you do a search for whitler knife, you will see that they usually have at least two but more commonly three blades. The blades are different sizes and shapes that are best used for whittling. None of the knives on the site link you added are actual whittlers IMO. The three most possible choices of those would be the three wood handled folders. With those choices it would come down to what would be the most comfortable in hand, either approx. 3" handle or 4"handle and which one has the best blade steel. Sight unseen I would choose the 4" knife with carbon steel blades if I had to make a choice out of only those knives. Any of them would probably whittle a stick into a smaller stick around a camp fire well enough I guess but none of them are of the type you would necessarily want to use for hours of whittling/carving a detailed piece. If the blade steel on them is sub par then the edge retention will be lacking and the ability to hone a very sharp edge may be difficult or impossible. In most cases you get what you pay for but I have no idea about those having never seen or used one in hand.

For what it's worth, I hope my rambling helps ::tu::
I dig half stops!!



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Brian
robinetn
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Re: Whittling with Civil War era knife

Post by robinetn »

The knives on the site that you refer to may look the part , but there is no way that you would ever be satisfied trying to whittle with a knife that you can purchase new for $10 or $15 . To begin with they are most likely produced in Asia and would be of poor quality workmanship and material . You should be able to find a good quality knife in very good condition that will be similar in appearance to the afore mentioned knives for $25 - $40 . If you don't have any luck finding one , send me a PM and I can "hook you up" .

Bob R. (RIDGEWOO CUTLERY)
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knifetime
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Location: Ohio

Re: Whittling with Civil War era knife

Post by knifetime »

TotalGettysburg wrote:Thanks Buck...I'll give that a look. I'm going to present this question differently and maybe that can help point me in the right direction. Can anyone take a quick look at these (see link) and advise me as to the best blade for whittling?

http://www.blockaderunner.com/Catalog/catpg8.htm

Thanks,
Scott
Hello Scott,glad to have you aboard.
If you are asking if any would be good to use to whittle with I would say probably not.I'm new to whittling to so all I can give you is what I have learned so fair.Git a good knife to use,don't go cheap on it.You need a small blade,the smaller the better but the knife handles needs to be large enough to hold and use for long periods of time.I have never got a knife just for whittling butt I do plain on getting a nice Flexcut soon.If I was going for a new pocket knife for whittling I would look at a Bear&son "carbon steel"for the price.You can find them for about $25.00 new.But again if I was to buy a knife just for whittling it would probably be a knife made just for that IE"a Flexcut"Just my opinion.
I'll show you what I use right now.Take a good look at the last pic I have posted,it has 2 tools I made that will make your job of whittling so much easier and cleaner.If you need any more help with the tools I spoke of let me know and I'll git some good pics and directions for you to make your own.Good luck and keep whittling.Phillip
Attachments
IMAG0051.JPG
Bear&SonBarlow1.JPG
IMAG0087.JPG
-"...and he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby If the iron be blunt,and he do not whet the edge,then must he put to more strength....Ecclesiastes 10 10 ;So the good book says
sharpen your knife !!!
tomstranger
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Re: Whittling with Civil War era knife

Post by tomstranger »

I'm attending a reenactment this weekend and I had a chance to check out the one that looks like a sodbuster in person. It is made in Pakistan, and in general felt pretty junky in the hand. If that style of knife is historically accurate you may just want to track down a hippekniep with a wood handle. I think you can get an Eye Brand one in the $45 range.
Neko2
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Re: Whittling with Civil War era knife

Post by Neko2 »

Check out Rough Rider's bone handled sodbuster.
It looks very much like one of the knives pictured and doesn't cost a fortune.
They do a great job with their steel so they hold a nice edge and are well worth the money.

The fit and finish may not stack up to Case and GEC but they cost 1/10th the price.
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btrwtr
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Re: Whittling with Civil War era knife

Post by btrwtr »

Looking at the link you sent I'd say Item #2161 would be a good choice. Knives of that period were often simple and utilitarian.

Wayne
If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.

Wayne

Please visit My AAPK store https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/catalog/btrwtr
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