Drawknife Recommendations

[EngrSorenson]

I have a lot of experience whittling walking sticks with a pocket knife or cutting off the corners of larger turning projects with a saw. I’ve been interested in a draw knife for a while, which I imagine works similar to a spokeshave with more “hogging” ability.

I’ve looked at all kinds on the current market and I’ve been a little disappointed in what I see.

I’m familiar with Narex steel, and it’s decent but requires sharpening more often than some. With the blade of 5/8 width it doesn’t seem like there’s much longevity in that blade.

Ramelson didn’t get great reviews and Veritas is super expensive- not to mention I don’t feel like there’s much room for blade shrinkage over the sharpening life of the tool.

timber tuff is only heat treated to 30 HRC?? (For maximum edge retention, the site says lol)

Crown is a little expensive and the reviews seem to indicate it’s not what it should be for the money.

I think I’d prefer handles roughly in the same plane as the blade, though I don’t care if they are 45*, 90* or parallel to the blade. Id like a straight blade and decent steel. I’d also like to not have to do a lot of bevel treatment- grinding, honing or otherwise, though I always expect to put an edge on it.

so far, ox-head seems my best bet, but even those reviews aren’t amazing.

looking for some pro tips here! Thank you in advance.

 

[A17]

I’d try to find a vintage one if I were you. Being able to see how the grips feel in your hand is important. I was given a very nice drawknife that feels awful in terms of the handles, but is a well made tool in every other respect.

 

[EngrSorenson]

I’d try to find a vintage one if I were you. Being able to see how the grips feel in your hand is important. I was given a very nice drawknife that feels awful in terms of the handles, but is a well made tool in every other respect.

I was afraid you’d direct me to tools of yore. Seems a popular route with a lot of hand tools. I’m not so worried about handles- I can make my own if I don’t like them.

I’ve got a hunk of 1095 bar stock, maybe I just go ahead and make my own?

 

[garry3]

Greenlee made a nice straight that was hollow ground on both edges, big advantage I think. Pfeil makes a nice four incher that is also hollow ground but they have gotten a little expensive.
Yep, vintage is the way to go.

 

[EngrSorenson]

Greenlee made a nice straight that was hollow ground on both edges, big advantage I think. Pfeil makes a nice four incher that is also hollow ground but they have gotten a little expensive.
Yep, vintage is the way to go.

Pfeil actually looks pretty good, actually. I hadn’t considered them. I’ll continue to weigh the options. Thank you!

 

[Square_peg]

I was afraid you’d direct me to tools of yore. Seems a popular route with a lot of hand tools. I’m not so worried about handles- I can make my own if I don’t like them.

I’ve got a hunk of 1095 bar stock, maybe I just go ahead and make my own?

They're not a difficult tool to forge. Just watch the heat treat.

Greenlee made a nice straight that was hollow ground on both edges, big advantage I think. Pfeil makes a nice four incher that is also hollow ground but they have gotten a little expensive.
Yep, vintage is the way to go.

Greenlee is pretty much the industry standard. That's what guys are looking for on fleabay.

 

[I'mSoSharp]

maybe I just go ahead and make my own?

If you're going to go the home made route a quick & easy way is to use a planer blade, here's one I made.

 

[EngrSorenson]

If you're going to go the home made route a quick & easy way is to use a planer blade, here's one I made.

Great work! Since I don’t have spare heat-treated metal hanging around I might just have to start from bar stock. Question for you: I imagine you’d want your hands to lead the edge on a pull knife for stability. I notice you’ve somewhat addressed that here with your handles in a more forward cant. How does that feel to you? I imagine you ground handle tangs at an angle to use the existing blade geometry. It’s easier to do that than heat up the metal and forge it into shape, I’m sure.

 

[I'mSoSharp]

Great work! Since I don’t have spare heat-treated metal hanging around I might just have to start from bar stock. Question for you: I imagine you’d want your hands to lead the edge on a pull knife for stability. I notice you’ve somewhat addressed that here with your handles in a more forward cant. How does that feel to you? I imagine you ground handle tangs at an angle to use the existing blade geometry. It’s easier to do that than heat up the metal and forge it into shape, I’m sure.

You are quite right regarding the geometry, I did what I could by cutting only & canting the handles as much as possible this got my grip forward a bit. I have seen them with handles in line with the blade.
I have a few older draw knives with 90 degree handles & ball shaped handles, they are all different to use & some are suited to one job more than the others, difficult to say which is best but for removing as much wood as possible Id say 90 degree handles are best which won't be a problem if you are forging.

 

[Square_peg]

I like to have the handles swung forward further, like 110*-120* degrees off the blade. I think it gives you better control at raising and lowering the edge.

 

[the-accumulator]

Yep, vintage is the way to go.

I was afraid you’d direct me to tools of yore.

I recently found, in the timber near my house, the perfect sapling for a walking stick. So, I went hunting amongst my cutlery collection for a serviceable drawknife. Here's what I found and have been using:



I used to have a like-new Greenlee; I got good money for it on that big auction site. I'll take vintage any day. However, you seem to have the particulars for what you want pretty well defined, so maybe you'll be happier spending the big bucks on new. I'm sure mine didn't cost me more than $10-15. I just liked that it was made from a file. Good luck with your search. T-A

 

[EngrSorenson]

I recently found, in the timber near my house, the perfect sapling for a walking stick. So, I went hunting amongst my cutlery collection for a serviceable drawknife. Here's what I found and have been using:
View attachment 1327132
View attachment 1327133
View attachment 1327134
I used to have a like-new Greenlee; I got good money for it on that big auction site. I'll take vintage any day. However, you seem to have the particulars for what you want pretty well defined, so maybe you'll be happier spending the big bucks on new. I'm sure mine didn't cost me more than $10-15. I just liked that it was made from a file. Good luck with your search. T-A

now that you mention this... I have a whole mess of antique files I’ve inherited from a couple generations. Maybe there’s a good candidate in there somewhere... I love the rustic look on it.

 

[Blackcloud]

When I was making log furniture before I retired I made my own. I lived near an old Plumb Creek sawmill and obtained two planer blades. One was of medium weight and one of very thick material. I welded handles on them at about a 15 degree angle. They worked SPECTACULAR. If you can do the same I would suggest doing so. You will need a jig for sharpening but they very seldom need it and I peeled A LOT of logs with them.

 

[Hairy Clipper]

I recently found, in the timber near my house, the perfect sapling for a walking stick. So, I went hunting amongst my cutlery collection for a serviceable drawknife. Here's what I found and have been using:
View attachment 1327132
View attachment 1327133
View attachment 1327134
I used to have a like-new Greenlee; I got good money for it on that big auction site. I'll take vintage any day. However, you seem to have the particulars for what you want pretty well defined, so maybe you'll be happier spending the big bucks on new. I'm sure mine didn't cost me more than $10-15. I just liked that it was made from a file. Good luck with your search. T-A

My father worked at a number of places when he was young and a blacksmith's shop was one of them. He used a file to make a scraper that he used for removing gasket material that had been in place a long time and cooked on many mating surfaces in engines, transmissions and differentials on cars, trucks, lawn mowers et.al. It worked extremely well for most applications, although care was needed when working on non-steel components. It held a fine edge for a long time.

 

[the-accumulator]

He used a file to make a scraper

Think of Ben Rocklin and the 6000+ combat knives that he made from worn-out machinist's files. He called them his (pardon my language) "Jap Stickers". Google it if you aren't already familiar. T-A

 

[Hairy Clipper]

Think of Ben Rocklin and the 6000+ combat knives that he made from worn-out machinist's files. He called them his (pardon my language) "Jap Stickers". Google it if you aren't already familiar. T-A

Another example of the continuing education of an old guy here on the Axe, Tomahawk & Hatchet Forum! Thank you for the link! Ben must have been kept pretty busy making 6,000 knives. He sounds like he had a few stories to tell. That was a cat ... garlic can cure many of the ills in a poor cut of meat.

One of my clients at the barber shop was a fellow from a neighboring town that was a blacksmith in the Army during World War I ... The German Army. He told me about his mobile blacksmith shop during the war that was located in a tent that would be moved as the lines shifted and was large enough to house a dozen horses. He told of a time when he had some high ranking officers in the tent urging faster shoeing of their horses when a shell came through the roof of the tent and exploded. There were horses he was working on, the officers and himself in the tent at the time and when the shell exploded there were horses and men between him and the shell ... he and a couple of horses survived but the rest of them perished. He happened to bent over working on a horse at the time or he may have been killed, too. Dick worked as a blacksmith his entire life and was still doing it in his late eighties.

 

[the-accumulator]

War is hell, but, obviously, it wasn't his time to go. I wonder if he had nightmares after that? T-A

 

[Hairy Clipper]

War is hell, but, obviously, it wasn't his time to go. I wonder if he had nightmares after that? T-A

If he did, he did not mention them to me and I din't ask. When he told the story it really surprised me as he was a rather quite fellow and rarely entered into conversations that were ongoing with the crowd that were there at the time.

 

[EngrSorenson]

Gents- when you refer to a “planer” blade, I’m guessing it’s a machine I’m not familiar with yet. I think of planers that you use to make flat surfaces in wood: but I think the knives on those aren’t the same as “blades”.

what did these planer blades that you’ve used to make draw knifes come from?

 

[jake pogg]

I'mSoSharp did a lovely job of that for sure,however,the limitation of "planer" blade is that you'll probably never know just what it really is(alloy-wise).
Wood thickness-planers is what i think these guys mean,but large joiners,paper-cutters,many similar machines use blades shaped that way.

But,nowadays many of them will be HSS,or other difficult to impossible for small-time set-up HT alloys,so that you'll be limited to working by reduction only(and even that only by carefully preserving the original HT).

If you forge one from scratch,run a fuller all the way down the length of stock;then forge one side down into the bevel.It'll make forging in the bevel easier,and also the future grinding/sharpening.
(that's why many older drawknives look the way they do).