How do U carve yours out??

[mayfly]

Ben Orford does some great and not too expensive crook and carving knives. I have a set and I love them, not that my carving is any good at all, but it is fun to hide away in the shed! I have one small crook knife which I got on a Woodsmoke Axe course and was I think a prototype, which has a small additional cutting edge on the back of the blade so you can 'push' in awkward bits, to compliment the main 'pull' (if that makes sense). I really like this but have never seen it elsewhere? You have to watch the old fingers though, especially if they are tired

 

[DoctorSpoon]

Nice spoon and spoontula John - good clean lines The difference in colour is quite distinctive - the only thing I can imagine is that one was oiled sooner after carving than the other. What wood is it?

Mayfly I've got a couple of Ben's hooks (one with a tight curve and one with a flatter curve) and they are lovely but I find the curves are such that I need to switch between the two as I work different bits of the spoon which annoys me. The handles he puts on his tools are particularly fine as well.

Those double edged hooks scare me as I've got little hands I need to push the back of the blade lots In reality I find it's only occasionally when working something really deep like a soup ladle I need to work the other way - then I use a left handed hook.

 

[Greg]

They turned out good John, I might have a crack at mine this week with that ash log you gave me.

 

[John Fenna]

It is good Welsh Ash, the spoon was oiled at the same time as the Spoontula, though the spoontula was carved a day after the spoon. Both were dried on my stove (warm side not hot) after a couple of days drying in my garage workshop....the Spoontula is more "heart" the spoon is more sapwood....
In the flesh the grain shows up even better.
I have in the past bowl burned a spoon by the side of the Orange River in South Africa when one of the team lost their cutlery in the sand.
I think the wood was a form of willow, and totally dry. The wood was easy to work and the charring worked very well and was scraped out with the handle of my spoon.

 

[mayfly]

but I find the curves are such that I need to switch between the two as I work different bits of the spoon which annoys me

So now I'm curious, is there a crook knife panacea, or close, in your view? Picture? Genuine interest in the 'optimum' tool

 

[DoctorSpoon]

Wasn't being secretive, just thought Robin and I had maybe raved about these too much already! Our favourite all-rounder is made by a Bo Helgesson. They just hit the sweet spot for me with a tight curved bit to get in the corners and a flat bit for planing. I think this thread links to some video of one in use.

 

[cariboo]

So now I'm curious, is there a crook knife panacea, or close, in your view? Picture? Genuine interest in the 'optimum' tool

Most Pacific Northwest carvers (Canadian) use 3 or 4 hooks. 1 or 2 of them occasionally and 2 of them all the time. There are six or seven basic shapes. Carvers make what they need. The two most used are a paddle knife and a full hook. Both have longer handles to get 2 hands on so you can get some strength into a cut but they are designed for one hand, whether left or right it doesn't matter.
The style is a double bevelled straight edge going into a parabolic curve., a hook you can put more strength into and the knives are both left and right handed.

This style of tool was developed mostly by Haida carvers.

The best steel by far to make blades with is L6, Lumber mill bandsaw blade.
To make your own, www.caribooblades.com/makingahook.html

If you're looking for the perfect hook knife I suppose it is a matter of preference but this one may be close for some.

Scott

 

[mayfly]

deleted - double post by accident

 

[mayfly]

Our favourite all-rounder is made by a Bo Helgesson. They just hit the sweet spot for me with a tight curved bit to get in the corners and a flat bit for planing.

Ah, yes, I watched the videos but didn't read the part 3 thread attentively. I've read it now though! Chris

 

[DoctorSpoon]

similar curve on the one you show cariboo, but I think there's something more to do with the cross-sectional profile that means they just glide through the wood ... I've never quite figured it out

Just been on Bo's site and I think this is the one:

 

[mayfly]

deleted - double post by accident

 

[robin wood]

Nice knives cariboo, I made my first hook knives after watching "Cesars bark canoe" still the most inspitational woodcraft video I have ever seen. An old boy making a birch bark canoe from scratch with only an axe a knife and a crook knife, I went straight to the forge and made one from an old car spring and I still use the knife today.

At the time I lusted after Kestrel tools hooks http://www.rockisland.com/~kestrel But I was hard up and they were expensive...now with the weak dollar they look very reasonable, I heard the guy was retiring but it looks like they may still be trading.

I would be interested to work with one of these hooks or Cariboo's, I find it interesting the different traditions, these tools, correct me if I am wrong, are mainly used palm up (if one handed) where the scandinavian hooks are mainly used palm down.

 

[cariboo]

Those hook blades look like surgical instruments. They look like fine finishing knives indeed.

There are certainly some fine tools out there.
Kestral is still trading but from what I understand it's limited. Much of what he used to make has been farmed out to, if I'm not mistaken, North Bay Forge.

Palm up is a safe way to pull toward yourself but with the longer handles of the Pacific Northwest style you may certainly use them palm down. It is nice to be able to carve both palm up and down with the same tool. Palm up gives one a lot of control and you have a
better view of your work.

Here is a picture of 2 double bevelled hook blades. One is a dropped hook (for depth) and one is a full parabolic hook.
Here is a picture of the palm up technique

Palm down,

and both hands.

Scott

 

[godfather]

I have been lusting over a Bo Helgesson spoon knife for a while. Do you know if there is a place in the UK which would take my money and do you know the approx cost (in order to temper my desire!!)