All About Pocket Knives

back before I ventured into wood turning and making pens, I got interested in wood carving, and done a few things (simple). There was a gentleman that sent me a whittler pattern of a US Classic pocket knife that the blades are ground with the best edge I have ever seen on a knife. I have been whittling with this little knife for a while and it holds an edge like you wont believe. Saying all this because I am going to buy another whittler pattern knife and would like to have it sharpened about the same way. I cannot for the life in me, remember this gentle's name nor do I remember whether or not he is on here. But if anyone can help me please let me know. Thanks, Keith

I am not wanting to open a can of worms here about the imported knives, just wantig another whittler pattern knife sharpened for wood carving.

Keith - I have no real idea how to answer your question, since I am not a wood carver. For just whittling I kind of like the Case Seahorse. But the main wharncliffe blade is really thick and I have a suspicion that a real carver might say it is too thick.

Interesting that you specify whittler pattern. I love whittlers myself. Even though I am not a carver, if I were wanting a serious whittler pattern for carving, I would look at GEC. I only have three GECs, but I do think that the grind on their knives is good.

Somebody makes a folding carver with either four or six specialty carving blades.

Not pretty. Kind of reminds me of a folding Allen wrench set.

Have no idea how well it might work. The quality of its manufacture or its popularity among wood carvers, but it's out there and available.

Charlie Noyes

RobesonsRme.com wrote:Somebody makes a folding carver with either four or six specialty carving blades.

Not pretty. Kind of reminds me of a folding Allen wrench set.

Have no idea how well it might work. The quality of its manufacture or its popularity among wood carvers, but it's out there and available.

Charlie Noyes

Would that be the Carvin' Jack by Flexcut? They have five options, from a single blade up to a six blade.
Never used one, so I have no idea about the quality or functionality.

Thanks guys, looked up the carving jack knife made by flexcut today. May have to rooskie one of them, when the boss aint watching.

Flex Craft is a very good company and I own several of their knives and a draw shave. Bob

Get in touch with "carvin don" ( http://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/kni ... ile&u=5395 ) and see if he's the rascal what done the deed. He hasn't stopped by AAPK since the end of March so you'll probably be best served by sending him an email. Best of luck.

I have way more knives than I can count but somehow when it comes to whittling I always end up back where it all started for me. IMHO you can't do much better for a whittling knife than an older carbon steel Old Timer. I like the Stockman (8ot), Middleman (34ot) and Junior Stockman (108ot) for three bladed knife and the single bladed Trapper (194ot or 12ot) for a single blade locking whittler.

These knives are pretty easy to find for cheap on Ebay or at flea markets. The reason is simply that the ones you want are NOT shiny and new looking. The blades are black, often with obvious rust and often the delrin scales are faded. NONE of this affects the usefulness. I flat grind the knives laying the blade flat on the stone then once the edge starts to form I lift the back side just a hair and work it to finish on a hard very fine Arkansas stone or a Spiderco ceramic fine stone. After stropping it on a leather strop this knife is literally razor sharp and glides through wood with little effort. Once sharpened I keep it sharp with a fine steel and the strop and seldom have to resharpen with any but the finest stones.

The other nice thing about these older less expensive knives is that you don't feel bad about changing the blades to better suit your needs and desires. I have one Trapper that I've made the blade into a 2" sheep foot blade and the other one has a more pointed 1.75" detail blade. On the smaller Junior Stockman I work the pen blade into a pointier blade for detail work.

On Average I pay less than 15 dollars shipping included for them on Ebay and usually around 10 or less at flea markets. I especially like it when I can find one with the tip broken off the blade and a little rust. You can get these for almost nothing. Reshape the blade and you have a great whittling knife.

TexDanm -- Welcome to AAPK. Glad to have you aboard. Thanks for your post and sharing your knowledge.

Thanks for the welcome. I'm a knife junkie and am pleased to have found this place.

I thought whittling would be a hobby that would suit me. I bought a Flex-Cut Carvin' Jack, it's fun to play around with, it comes stupid sharp, be careful. However, my thumb doesn't like the work it's required to do as an anchor, so I really don't use the tool much

Whittling is a hobby and a great way to pass the time away, and I do have some regular pocket knives. I do like the whittler pattern, however I do most of my whittling with a buck stockman, 301, but I have a whittler that I bought off here recentley. Still working on sharpening it, but have ysed it some.
Welcome to the this crazy world of knife collecting and to AAPK.

Another inexpensive knife that you might look at is the Opinel. You can get them in either carbon or stainless steels. For whittling the carbon is great. These are French made knives with a twisting lock collar. You can get them is sizes from tiny though big a a buck 110. I get them off eBay for under 10 bucks and then change the blade shape to what I need or prefer. They already have a flat grind edge and so are easy to make razor sharp. for me the Opinel #6 is about perfect though the #7 works well also. The number related to the length of the blade in centimeters. You can get them from #2 through #12. The handles are all wood so you can shape them to your preference easily. Since the only metal in them is the blade and collar assembly they are incredibly light to carry. For the price they are one of the best single blade pocket knives out there.