Draw Knives: Old vs. New

[XX Case XX]

I was considering getting me a few "Draw Knives" in case I might need them in the future. Since I have never actually used one I was wondering if any of you fellas that have experience with both old and new draw knives might weigh in here and give me any suggestions/recommendations on which might be a better choice.

Any and all comments/suggestions/recommendations welcome.

___________
Mike

[OLDE CUTLER]

I have this old one that belonged to my grandpa that I use for carving full size duck decoys. It is most useful on the decoy cutout after sawing on the bandsaw to take the square corners down to rounded. After this rough shaping, the spokeshave is the next tool used. This one is marked "R. T. Trademark Warranted" and has an anvil as a logo. The cutting edge is 8 inches and can be sharpened to a razor. My dad had told me he thought this one was from around 1900. For starting the corner round over on decoy blocks, the tool is used flat side down to take off large thick shavings of wood, then shifted to bevel side down to allow finer shavings and more precision. Bodgers (chair makers) and wheel wrights were only two of many woodworkers who used drawknives back in the day.

[XX Case XX]

I use for carving full size duck decoys.

Thank you for that information. Very nice looking draw knife, looks well made. How about some photos of your decoys?

_____________
Mike

[OLDE CUTLER]

These are all full size that I use the RT draw knife to rough out. Made from cedar.
Wood Duck

Canvasback

Mallard

Pintail - this one I painted the head and stained the wood on the rest of the body.

[XX Case XX]

These are all full size that I use the RT draw knife to rough out. Made from cedar.

Very nice OC. And you hand painted those yourself?

____________
Mike

[OLDE CUTLER]

These are all full size that I use the RT draw knife to rough out. Made from cedar.

Very nice OC. And you hand painted those yourself?

____________
Mike

Yes, I hand painted them all with the exception as noted of the pintail which has a painted head and stained body. The wood duck is very time consuming to paint with all the different colors they have. Sharpening draw knives is relatively easy because they have a straight edge. I made a block of wood of the correct height to lay my sharpening stone on, then with the draw knife bevel side down, let the handles run against the workbench and the edge runs on the stone. That way the angle of the cutting edge is consistent and even.

[XX Case XX]

I made a block of wood of the correct height to lay my sharpening stone on, then with the draw knife bevel side down, let the handles run against the workbench and the edge runs on the stone. That way the angle of the cutting edge is consistent and even.

When I get some draw knives, I might call on you to send me a photo of that. Sounds real interesting.

____________
Mike

[OLDE CUTLER]

I made a block of wood of the correct height to lay my sharpening stone on, then with the draw knife bevel side down, let the handles run against the workbench and the edge runs on the stone. That way the angle of the cutting edge is consistent and even.

When I get some draw knives, I might call on you to send me a photo of that. Sounds real interesting.

____________
Mike

Like so. The angle is fixed by the height of the stone on top of the wood block. Just make sure to clamp the stone mount to the bench, and move the drawknife in a skewing motion so the edges of the stone does not leave lines in the cutting edge. You can use oil, water or diamond stones. Just fix the height of the wood base to get the angle you want.

[XX Case XX]

Excellent OC. Thank you for the information and photos. Most appreciated Sir. Nicely done.

___________
Mike

[Doc B]

Very nice decoys, OC !

[Paladin]

Very impressive indeed.

Ray

[JACK OF ALL TIRADES]

I think I got 10c a ft to peel bark off of opposing sides of a pine log. The boss sold log house wood and we had a real sawmill a buzzin, for many years. Big blade and a big Cat D-9

[LongBlade]

Great info on the draw knives Olde Cutler - and awesome work on those ducks ...

[Sharpcutsbest]

Mike, there's a short article about drawknives in the May/June issue of Fine Woodworking starting on page 22.

One thing I learned in the article was that there's a difference between a bevel up and a bevel down drawknife. It's how the handles are aligned with the blade.

Curtis Buchanan wrote, "In bevel-down drawknives, the handles are roughly parallel with the plane of the blade. In bevel-up knives, the handles are canted slightly toward the plane of the bevel."

It'll work for both types of cuts he adds, but it'll be more comfortable in use for the cuts it's biased for.
Keep us informed on your quest, please.

Steve

[XX Case XX]

Mike, there's a short article about drawknives in the May/June issue of Fine Woodworking starting on page 22.

One thing I learned in the article was that there's a difference between a bevel up and a bevel down drawknife. It's how the handles are aligned with the blade.

Curtis Buchanan wrote, "In bevel-down drawknives, the handles are roughly parallel with the plane of the blade. In bevel-up knives, the handles are canted slightly toward the plane of the bevel."

It'll work for both types of cuts he adds, but it'll be more comfortable in use for the cuts it's biased for.
Keep us informed on your quest, please.

Steve

Thanks Steve. I was not aware of that. That is exactly the kind of information I'm looking for because I've never owned one. I will check that out. Many thanks-Mike

[mrwatch]

I own at least one full size draw knife. don't remember using it. I have Flex Cut straight handle draw knife. "wicked" for wood carving. If I looked maybe a small normal style draw knife for wood carving, around six inches. Found a wide drum sander faster. Plus my home made hand held belt sander. A couple of carvers at the seniors center copied it, one for carving large fish to round up the body.Bob