Is there a commercially made

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tombear

On a new journey
Jul 9, 2004
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Rossendale, Lancashire
wood carving knife which just has the bevel on one side like a drawknife , side axe, clog knife etc that's set up to be used away from you unlike a bent /canoe knife which is pulled towards you? I'm (allegedly) right handed.

I was using my sort of side axe choked all th eway up to shave green wood and apart from being a bit clumsy (in my hands) it did such a lovely job compared to my suitably sharp scandi ground 4" Mora.

ATB

Tom
 

Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
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Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
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Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
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Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
When we were taught woodworking with knifes we used short and slender knifes, those chisel designs are developed for builders.
Our houses are built of wood, and the chisels are a crucial tool.

https://morakniv.se/produkt/stam/

Every week we had 2 hours of wood or metal working. You could choose between ‘cloth and fabric’ (sewing) or wood & metal.
 

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
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McBride, BC
Human anatomy is not built for push-away motions with any measure of strength at all.
There's far more power and control in a pull stroke.

1. Lots of single edge, single bevel knives abound such as right and left farrier's hoof trimming knives.
Turn the RH knife around into your left hand fist and push on the back spine of the blade, away from you.
2. Use a carver's adze such as the elbow adze so common here in the PacNW.
Even the bladesmithing ought to be easy for you.

I'm no longer interested in spoon carving. If I ever went back to it, the entire rough-out would be done with an elbow and a D adze.
Axes are for building houses. The rest of it would be done in no time with a pair of Hall farrier's hoof knives.
That, if fact, is an approximation of how I carve dishes.
 

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
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McBride, BC
I wear a very thick and stiff, home-made, canvas bib apron for carving.
Almost always with Pacific Northwest style crooked knives and the typical pull strokes.
I got hit a few times and cut a few shirts before I smartened up.
I don't take any more risks now but there are quite a few scrapes across the bib.

Most farriers are right-handed so, both new and used, right-handed hoof knives are easy to find.
You will discover very soon that a pair is the only way to carve with those things.
 

Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
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Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
You are a very modern, up to date person, Ribson v!
It is called ‘scarification’ , and is the big thing after tatooing!
All you need now is to grow a beard and start sipping mocha lattes made with nut milk.
 

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
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McBride, BC
Nut milk? Show me the boobs on an almond.

The beard didn't last. Well it did last until 10? days ago. 4+ months, I guess.
I didn't find it much of a hobby to maintain. Like cutting the grass.

I managed to really pop myself in the chest with a crooked knife one day.
That night, I saw the semicircular cut in my chest. Not again.
I had enough junk (canvas, straping, buckles, etc) and had a furniture restorer use his big sewing machine to build exactly what I needed.
 

Billy-o

Native
Apr 19, 2018
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Canada
Just to add into the mix ... I don't know if you can still get these, but early on, Serge Panchenko made a ton of cheap, well made chisel-ground fix blades. Straight edge with a sharp, tanto tipped, coated blade about 2 1/2" long. in 2.5mm carbon steel (can't recall which, but am guessing O1) A very useful carving thing which I still use instead of a 3/4" chisel. No flex though. None.

I have a picture of it somewhere. I'll post it for interest's sake if I find it. But I think it's not what you have in mind, really

Woodsmith.co.uk have a lot of two hander drawknives and stock an Orford crook knife.

I tried using a hoof knife for wood. It was fine, but before I got too far with it I misplaced it and never got to find out how it fared over time, sharpening etc. Dirt cheap though, left and right handed, big, small. Same chisel grind you are looking for.
 
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Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
2,664
McBride, BC
Farrier's hoof-trimming crooked knives usually have a 25 degree bevel. That is far and away too steep for any comfortable wood carving.
Real wood carving gouges are usually 20* while real wood carving knives are commonly 12*. Yes, for hardwoods.

Using a chainsaw file to begin with, clamp the the knife down and revise the bevel to 12-15 degrees.
I do that. The steel is so hard that I buy Swiss Oregon chainsaw files by the box(12) and wreck a file for every 2 hoof knives that I dress up.
Chainsaw teeth are like cheese.

Mora/Frost #171 are probably easiest to start with, the steel is not very hard.
If you had to, you could joint the edge and put a reverse bevel on the other edge to get a pair.

Hall (Canada) and Ukal Supervet (France) are absolute file wreckers.
But you can carve half a day in soft woods with those.
 
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tombear

On a new journey
Jul 9, 2004
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Rossendale, Lancashire
Fortified by a fried egg and bacon sandwich and finally on a machine that lets me log into BCUK ( no idea why the ipad wont apart from it's ancient) I can now reply to your sage advice!

The wrecking knife idea looks like a good starting point. I'd have to do a new handle as the feel of plastic does nowt for me but thats no biggy. I saw one in Clas Ohlsons in the Arndale in Manchester last month for £9.99

https://www.clasohlson.com/uk/Morakniv-Chisel-Knife/40-9462

Looking at the stats it only has a 3 inch blade which is a bit short for the sort of slicing action I want to use, 4 or 5 would be much better so perhaps the wrecking knives would be a better starting point. Either way Id have to modify them into some thing like a Wharncliffe or broken back seax shape to get a fine point.

Its definitely a straight blade 'm thinking of. Ive a couple of spoon knives (see below) and I have never got on with them. I've managed to get a few bent neck gouges on carboots and I find they do a much better job, either with the wood clamped down and the gouge struck with a mallet or with the job in your left hand and houlding the blade of the gouge choked up near the cutting edge. (Im fine with using kevlar or chain mail gloves on my off hand, I know a lot of folk do not get on with them). Somewhere I have a hoof knife got dirt cheap in a farm supply shop in Abergavenny. but again I never got on with it or got around to modding it as some folk recommend.

Stew I'd absolutely love to have one made but until I can shift some unwanted tools and other kit on ebay I'm broke! I've tapped the bank of herself more than I believed possible recently and am in the hole for two birthdays and one xmas already! thats the joy of being a house husband, loads of time to do stuff but no reliable income to feed my habits! I keep drooling over clog knives but short of stumbling over one on a boot I'll have to keep drooling!

Ive a few sloyd type knives, see below and love them to bits. They are only so shiny in the pic as I had a beeeg cleaning and sharpening session a week or so back. Repeated rapid hand sharpening had left most of them in a right state so apart from the third from the left which is brand new from the Clas Ohlson mentioned above ( again very cheap) and the tiny thing third from right which is a littl too small handled for my paw I flattened the beveled and stropped them to death. You can wet shave with them anyway, dry not so much which is as sharp as I want them.

NmMO75K.jpg


I've a bunch of draw knives ( still looking for a curved one ) and a two handed scorp and even have a shave horse although that's had to go outside as it was getting in the way in the shed. but sometimes I like to work away from myself, especially if I would have to fold myself over to see where I was going say where there's a big overhang. For really fine light work I like to work away from myself as well. Horses for courses

The piece of chain in the pic above was knitted together by my eldest son from hardware shop split washers after her saw me using a draw knife, I still need to back it with thick leather to stop it flopping around or pulling the buttons off my shirts and rig a wide neck strap and chest/belly strap. To be honest I could get on with that today as with all this fine weather we have been having its been ideal for working on the draw horse out back.

Cheers for all your input folks!

ATB

Tom
 
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tombear

On a new journey
Jul 9, 2004
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Rossendale, Lancashire
That curved wrecking knife looks the business! Cheers! I'd only found the square ended ones. The bevel, and being described as chisel it must be on just one side) is right for what I want to try. Think of a drawknife that cuts on being pushed away from you rather than pulled. I will put in a chit with herself to get me one! I think I'll drop the point some and polish the back and remove any secondary bevel if present, basically treat it like a draw knife blade. I'll see how it works and if I like it I'll dremel off the plastic handle and make a wooden one to suit my hand. probably in the same style as the sloyd knives. I may even splash out on a proper ferule!

ATB

Tom
 

tombear

On a new journey
Jul 9, 2004
4,494
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Rossendale, Lancashire
Um, I'm having trouble finding a pic of the back side of the blade to make sure its flat and not beveled.

Aw nuts, I've found videos of it being reviewed and its got bevels on both sides, as does the square ended one it seams! Looks a great tool for rough joinery but not what I'm after.

Oh well the search go's on. I must be beware commercial ideas of what a chisel is!

Its Very much a planing cut I'm after i'm afraid. Theres probably a very good reason why there aint anything commercially available like it! It was probably tried several times over and rejected!

ATB

Tom
 

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