Crook knife wanted

dbltap45acp

dbltap45acp

Joined
Dec 19, 2008
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Well, I am having surgery in a couple weeks and will have plenty of down time. I am looking for some input on a crook knife as I want to try my hand at carving some spoons. Any advice is welcomed since I have never owned one and don't really know what to look for. I don't want to spend $100 on a custom in case I absolutely suck at it, but if that's what I have to do to get something that will work I will. Also, is there a way to make a sheath for it so down the road I can bring it camping without it tearing up the inside of my pack? Thanks for any advice, I appreciate it.
 
DeepWoods Ventures...or maybe you'll win the one in the GAW on the other forum...;)
 
I hope I win that one. I didn't get many responses over there so I figured I would ask here and get their opinion as well.
 
I HIGHLY recommend Ragnar's Ragweed Forge as a knife seller. I've only bought "regular" Mora knives from him, but he shows three crook-style knives on his website. NOTE that his store is closed for a week or so while he's on vacation, but it's back open on 8/11. They seem to run about $21 each.

See (about 3/4 way down the page, under "Specialty Carving Tools"):
https://www.ragweedforge.com/SwedishKnifeCatalog.html

That webpage also references an article on "crooked knives" at http://www.oldjimbo.com/survival/ck.html , which includes tips on carving with this type of knife.

Enjoy!
 
I'd stay away from the Mora spoon knives. They have a reputation for being near unusable out of the box, in stark contrast to most of their offerings.

I just ordered my first spoon knife last week from Pinewood Forge. Comes complete with sheath. Unfortunately he has a waiting list, about 2 months or so. Another option is to get one by Hans Karlsson. A little more expensive, but I think you can get one immediately.

As to the sheath, I'd simply take a piece of thin leather, or even cardboard, fold it, and slip it over the curved blade. Wrap the leather with some cord to keep it in place.
 
For 20 bucks and a little sharpening it's not a bad starter in the event the hobby doesn't continue. One can always upgrade.
kamagong said:
I'd stay away from the Mora spoon knives. They have a reputation for being near unusable out of the box, in stark contrast to most of their offerings.
Click to expand...
 
The spoon knife with the tip is the one I use the most by the fact of it's shape and only sharp on one side.( the tip could be blunted). That lets you pry on the back of the blade in certain spots while carving. The other curved knife is sharp on all three sides and it's best to not choke up on the blade for obvious reasons. It came quite dull as was mentioned above, but some sharpening made it useful, for me, cleaning up after the hogging out of the bowl.
 
mewolf1 said:
For 20 bucks and a little sharpening it's not a bad starter in the event the hobby doesn't continue. One can always upgrade.
Click to expand...

The problem is that it's not just a simple honing, but rather a complete reprofile is required to get the Mora spoon knife to cut properly. That's a problem for a blade shape as unusual as a spoon knife. I prefer cutting wood over grinding metal, so I'd rather get a knife that's sharpened from the get-go.

Buy once, cry once.
 
I generally try to avoid posting links to websites/stores unless they are active here. However, I think this one has a a lot of good info on spoon knives. He also speaks about a few different spoon knives and what he likes about them. I think he recommends as his favorite Del Stubbs for US made but also talks about modifying the Moras. It's a decent read.

http://www.robin-wood.co.uk/wood-craft-blog/2013/01/29/best-spoon-carving-knife-hook-knife/

I have a couple Moras and I used them for quite awhile with no issues, u modified, before I went to another brand. They are a good deal. I carry a couple Robin Woods in the store and they are excellent but are. a little pricey.

Pinewoodforge also a store but has a tremendous amount of info on their website. It's not only about spoon knives but also spoon carving. It's a great resource with a lot of links. If I ever get enough time I'd like to add some similar info and resources to our own webstore..but then I'd never have anytime left to carve.

Cheers and good luck! The best thing is to just get one and get started. You may also want to consider gouges.
 
I suggest Deepwood Ventures. Quick delivery, excellent value, and beautiful, hand-forged knives. I really like the spoon knife (left hand version) and the large rough-out knife I bought from him this spring.
 
Gouges may be in the future, I want to learn how to carve wood spirits and they could help there. I spoke to the owner at deepwood ventures and I think I will be ordering a left and right handed version since I don't know if I will prefer the push or pull method. I will either keep both or sell the one I don't use. It seems like it will just depend which way I prefer to twist my wrist.
 
It's funny you mention that.. When I received my first spoon knife I assumed they had sent me the wrong knife. I ordered a right hand knife and assumed good form was to push cut when typical spoon knives are pull cut. Give it some time and let's see some spoons. If you were looking to get two I would consider both set up for pull cut...but get both a sweeping/shallow curve and a compound (tighter increasing curve). The shallow is real nice for spoon that aren't too deep, the tightest curve for ladles and touching up some bowls, IMO. If I was looking for one spoon knife to do it all It would be compound curve not shallow but the shallow the go to and real nice at spoons. Just a thought.
 
I ended up ordering two from Ben Orford. I got a right and left hand, I will report back on which I prefer.
 
I do need to find some decent wood to carve on now. All I really have around here is pine, I may need to have a friend send me some wood from the Adirondacks.
 
They look real nice. Which model did you order? Don't forget to post a spoon pic ? Enjoy!
 
Just went with the small crook knife. I thought about ordering the medium but I never really plan on doing Kuksa's or bowls. I may eventually order one of the flatter ones as a finishing knife.
 
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