Marbles Plainsman

[Blades]

Hello.

I rememebered I had this sitting on a shelf. Would it be ok to carve spoons with? And other stuff eventually I guess. I said I bought a opienl 8 and it was mentioned that I would be better with a non folding one for carving.

I bought it because it looked pretty so am not sure how good it's usefullness/useability would be over it's asthetic values... feels pretty sharp. Gives a bit of paper a good clean slice.

 

[Blades]

Hi hello me again, I also bought this a while back, is it suitable for sharpening the knife above and the opienl 8? Wanted advice before I comitted blade to .. sharpening bitty..

http://www.greenmanbushcraft.co.uk/cutting-tools/blade-care/jack-pyke-sharpening-stone.htm

Thanks

 

[Draven]

Howdy mate,

I believe (never used 'em myself) that marbles are a reasonably respectable brand, so I expect it's a serviceable knife.

It looks far from an ideal carver, but that doesn't mean it won't work - give it a go mate! It's the guard and ricasso that look to me the greatest obstacles to overcome - guards are generally just in the way when carving, and offer no real purpose since you don't carve by stabbing. The ricasso is a problem because the section of blade it occupies is the section where most power can be applied - not so bad in a hunting knife, I daresay, but not so good when woodworking. Seems to me that this is why many guarded knives have such a pronounced ricasso, to allow one finger to go over the guard and choke up on the blade - but like I say, it's not ideal.

I can't really comment directly on that particular sharpener. Some people swear by such sharpeners, but I prefer using a waterstone, sandpaper, leather and a mouse pad, and I wasn't impressed with the Jack Pyke knife I had. If the blade is thin enough to fit in the slot, I don't see why it wouldn't work though... ditto goes for the opinel. Take a look at the sticky at the top of the Edged Tools forum though, there's a great thread on sharpening on the cheap using sandpaper - works well and ain't too hard to get the hang of

Welcome, too!

Pete

PS: For spoon carving, a hook knife would be good too for hollowing the bowl - and while a folding knife is a poor choice for battoning or heavy shaping, folders are classic whittlers and there's nowt wrong with carving with one! Quite possible you'd have more luck with it than the Marbles knife, especially if it has a locking blade. Just don't overwork it, a hinge is an inherent weakness.

 

[Blades]

Thanks for the reply Pete I just had a go at that match firestick carving from one of the other threads and noticed that ricasso bit you speak of annoying me, I ended up putting my finger there and using the very end of the blade to carve which didn't exactly feel safe. So yes. I got myself a hook knife the other day just waiting for it and a few other things to arrive. The Plainsman is also rather heavy really.

As the Opneil is coming anyway would I be better off buying one of those mora clipper knives? or one of those smaller 'specialist' mora carving ones, 106/120 is it?

 

[Draven]

I know what you mean about putting your finger on the ricasso not quite feeling safe - I'm used to using Moras, with no guard to speak of, but it's just not quite "right" having your finger on the blade

I definitely think a Mora would be a wise choice, which one is up to you though of course mate! I don't like the clipper, personally - it's an excellent knife, no doubt about it, but I hate the plastic and rubber handle. If you're interested in woodcarving, a Mora carving knife would definitely be a wise choice - I have the 106, recommended by Robin Wood (a green woodworker and forum member here) so there's no doubt it's good and it's a great carving knife, but it won't do as a general purpose knife - it's for carving and little more! A general purpose knife should be, IMO, a bit more resiliant - carving knives are generally a bit harder with finer edges, meaning that your "less subtle" tasks can damage the edge quite easily.

A moras certainly make good general purpose knives - exceptionally tough for their size and thickness, and they certainly aren't bad at carving! Cheap enough to use as hard as you want, and good enough that you'll love it no matter how hard you use it. I still love Moras, bought my first one three years ago (almost to the day) and never regretted it, though it's on kitchen duties now!

Pete

 

[michiel]

I've got a plainsman. The steel is very good and so is the handle, but I would never use it for carving. The blede is too wide. the guard gets in the way, and it's just too long. Get yourself a cheap frosts 106 for carving. Much better imo. The plainsman rocks cutting up beef and pork ribs though

I don't really like these types of sharpeners. they tend to remove too much metal and leave a very toothie edge. I haven't tried this one, so it might be better.

Best regards,

Michiel

 

[Hoodoo]

That looks like one of the "newer" marbles. The ones they made back in the late 90's and early 2000's had a slightly smaller and thinner guard. When they switched to the newer guards, they also switched steel. Most at the time were made from 52100 carbon. Then they went to a "mystery steel" which varied from batch to batch. Not sure what they are using currenty. Not sure what that one has in it but I do have a similar one of the newer Woodcrafts and it is a very well made knife. Mine is probably 5-6 years old. It also looks like that knife is flat ground with a secondary bevel while the ones made in the previous timeframe where convex ground with a zero bevel. The convex ground marbles with zero bevel are real wood eaters but I do agree with others about the guard and wide ricasso not being ideal for woodcraft.

If that is flat ground with a secondary bevel, I would convex the bevel and use it. It should be quite serviceable.

 

[michiel]

this one is mine. Definately 52100 carbon steel, and convex