Draw Knife Identification

[Wjfiutak]

Hello, new here. Bought my dad an antique draw knife for Christmas and wanted to know if it’s good quality or not. It’s an 8” draw knife and is labeled G.T. Silver on one side. Could just be a name of an owner but it’s stamped in. Wondering if anyone knew of such a company?

 

[Ernest DuBois]

Who knows about this brand or even if it'd be a maker or retailer. Let's hope it has good qualities whatever the case. Some indications can be the details of finish, are all the edges worked, the anchorage for its grips, (any movement and I'd set it aside as a gift meant to impress).
Most important on these tools to begin with is the condition of its back side; sometimes antique means pitted, however minimally. With antique you are maybe more likely to be free of the awful backside left by the machining process of new. Were you to present a drawknife that'd been properly conditioned, lapping the back, nice flat, straight bevel and so on and so on... it'd be worth as much as the tool itself since these are one of the most labor intensive tools to get in decent working order.

 

[catspa]

In the era of handtool woodworking when the drawknife was more commonly used, there were many small tool makers who may not have left any identifying marks on their work. Perhaps as Ernest suggests, “who made it” is less important than “what condition is it in?” And maybe that’s a function of who it was previously owned by.

Don’t take this wrong, but is your dad experienced in using one? Will he use it frequently for tasks that it is the best tool for? Using (and sharpening) a drawknife safely and efficiently takes some skill and practice, and until he learns that, he needs to be careful with it.

I loaned one to a friend once, and his teenage son and friends were playing with it, and one boy cut his hand badly. Maybe I’m just wary now, but I don’t loan mine out anymore.

Parker

 

[Wjfiutak]

I appreciate both your replies, seems to be slightly pitted, although lightly used. Edge is still sharp and I can see indications the previous owner only used a file to sharpen it. Which I heard is a lot better than a bench grinder. The handles are firm and in good shape the metal “couplings” (I don’t know what there called) are firm and well set. It is curved and the blade is bent one way for better leverage. I’d say for his application this will do just fine. He’ll probably use it 3-4 times a year.

 

[garry3]

There were so many made and in so many different styles over such a long time it's really a diverse field. I have tried out a pretty wide variety through the years and it just comes down to the task at hand and personal preference.

Stashed somewhere I have a box full of old draw knifes that didn't meet my ideal, but there's not a bad knife to be found in the whole lot of them, just different geometry.

I'd be thrilled if my son gifted me a vintage draw knife.

 

[catspa]

Agreed, file is much less risky than a bench grinder. It might not produce a sufficiently fine edge for precision shaving, but one might take up a spokeshave for that anyway, as the depth of cut is more easily regulated.

Ferrules, good that they’re firm and tight. Sounds like you’ve got him well started on his path toward draw knife Nirvana.

Parker