Best knife for feather sticks

[dogstar]

I'm new to carving feather sticks. Maybe it's the wood I'm using (juniper?), but it's not easy to do. Most of my shavings fall off the stick. Today I tried carving with four knives:

CS True Flight - had a hard time. I think the bevel is too obtuse to be a good carver. I need to re-profile the last inch of the blade to make it a better carver. It could baton all day, though.

SAK Tinker - Did well with the large blade, but it was hard to control the evenness of the stroke and thickness of the shaving.

VTech Neck Knife - This is a cheap 4" fixed blade made of 440. It has a hollow ground blade. It cut with more authority than the SAK, but still was hard to control the angle of attack.

Mora 511 - The easiest to cut consistently with. I had significantly more control, which I attribute to the Scandi grind. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Do you guys share my impression that Scandi grind makes feather sticking easier?

P.S. I just tried out my CS frontier hawk that I reprofiled for a more acute bevel. It did pretty well, but is tiring to use because the edge is further from the handle.

 

[Myal]

I spent a while hating feather sticks .. I seen people posting pics of such beautiful ones and with knives I KNOW are goood , I couldnt do squat .... till I began experimenting
the knife I found isnt the big factor its the wood and practice mainly for me
softer woods do it for me , I cannot make a featherstick out of hardwood .. yet
Why I say that the knife isnt a big deal really is that I have a machete type blade .. near 2' hand beaten leafspring that I can turn a match into a fuzz stick with , or a 2x2 into a huge hairy mess
I can do the same with my little fixed blades and my folders but the machete is just more fun , longer blade to sort of slice thru the wood as its shaved , holding it like a draw knife gives me more control .. and its just more fun to mess wit more blade in my opinion .
Yeah Im still that young at heart

 

[HandofCod]

All you need is a bit or practice and a sharp knife. I wouldn't recommend using an overly thick knife however.

 

[hiwa]

I've come to find convex grinds seem to do a better job at it , but still can do them with any sharp knife.

 

[CUTS LIKE A KRIS]

The best knife for feather sticks....

Is an axe!

(Okay so i use any excuse to post those).

I find a nice thin grind to be more important than anything for me when I try feather sticks. Because of their manufacture I find more production scandi's have a thinner edge than other manufacturers bevels (in general) and that is a big reason why they began to gain favor. When combined with custom knife quality grinds and steel choices this effect is amplified, and scandi's have kept in favor as a result. I personally favor flat ground in general, but have and use scandi (Spyderco Bushcraft), convex (Fiddleback), hollow (Dozier) interchangeably, because they are ground properly. Like others I have learned that reading the stick you are trying to feather is just as important as the knife you choose and if you need to take it to a 2000 grit sandpaper, or if anything under 18000 grit Japanese stones is acceptable for touching wood to steel, or if you really have to strop the edge 200 times........

 

[hiwa]

Kris, you know I just got a huge grin on my face seeing your feathers with that big Norweigan chopper.

 

[CUTS LIKE A KRIS]

It makes me smile too my friend! I don't get out enough lately so I have to reminisce. Hope things are good with the family. We'll have to try and get together this year.

 

[borya]

i think the best test is to take large enough box and produce feather sticks, and in process you will know what knife is the best. comparison for small time of work is not correct. for instance, japanese kitchen knives which has 1 edge, hamaguri form, is best for this goal but you need petty version, i.e. small length and it can act as your carving knife. all thick blades are not designed for this purpose despite that they can handle it.

 

[Mannlicher]

the knife that, for me, makes the 'best' feathersticks, is my convex grind Busse CABS.

 

[nezpercelands]

As mentioned above, blade thickness, grind, sharpness, and type of wood are all contributing factors, but in this case, I think the stringy, fibrous nature of the juniper is at fault.

 

[OwenM]

Go slow, and use a low angle. Try pushing the spine with your thumb.
Making feather sticks is a very shallow cutting chore, which means the primary grind is not of primary importance. A Scandi makes it easier to maintain the angle, and does force the "feather" outwards better than other grinds. Low edge angle helps, too, but you can make little strips with anything.
I made more feathersticks in the Cub and Boy Scouts than the rest of my life combined, and mostly with a little slipjoint(Imperial brand, maybe?) "Boy Scout knife" sharpened on carborundum stones. Doesn't mean it's great for it, just that it doesn't take anything special.
The shavings don't have to be on the stick, either. You can just make a pile of shavings, which actually works better, IMO. Feathersticks are more for looking cool-doesn't make starting a fire any easier. The shavings are jammed together at the base, and attached to a core piece. Great if you can get the shavings to light the stick and all, but that's really not the point if you need fire.
I can probably go get a stick out of my yard, and work it back and forth on a brick on the corner of my house and make plenty of little strips and pieces that a firesteel can light.
Increasing surface area to make a material more readily light and burn is a simple concept, people just make it complicated for the sake of aesthetics. Why spend time worrying about how something looks when the whole point is to set it on fire?

 

[pinnah]

I agree with Owen on this.

Still, the act of making shavings and feather sticks are the same as making shavings easily.

Here are a couple things I've bumped into in my reading that correspond to my experience.

I read a book on whittling techniques that described how to make carving projects that used curls (aka tiny feather sticks). The author argued that a convexed bevel (not blade grind, but apex bevel) was better than a pure 'V' bevel. YouTuber Virtuovice makes the same point here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYJFh7ikzbY

(This guy's videos transfix me. Love his accent and delivery.)

Camping guru Cliff Jacobsen recommends a long sawing stroke to make better shaving. Slice forward as you go down.

It is easier to make shavings if the working an edge of the wood. I constantly turn a stick as I'm working it.

Regarding edge bevels... I can't reliably do a convex bevel by hand. I use my Lansky to create a faux convex that reliably gets close. I do a back bevel at 17 degrees. A secondary bevel at 20 degrees. And a final cutting bevel at 25 degrees.

Lastly a trick I leaned from David (aka Obsessed with Edges) is to round off the shoulders of the back bevel by stropping the blade flat (spine and side of edge) on fine grit wet/dry paper. This should NOT touch the apex of the 'V' bevel. Instead, the idea is to knock off the sharp bits at the transitions of the back bevels and the primary grind. OwE suggests (and I agree) this is even more important with hollow ground knives as they have a built in extreme back bevel, hence a more acute angle at the shoulder.

I really don't care for hollow ground blades for working with wood.

Hope this helps.

 

[Shotgun]

Go slow, and use a low angle. Try pushing the spine with your thumb.
Making feather sticks is a very shallow cutting chore, which means the primary grind is not of primary importance. A Scandi makes it easier to maintain the angle, and does force the "feather" outwards better than other grinds. Low edge angle helps, too, but you can make little strips with anything.
I made more feathersticks in the Cub and Boy Scouts than the rest of my life combined, and mostly with a little slipjoint(Imperial brand, maybe?) "Boy Scout knife" sharpened on carborundum stones. Doesn't mean it's great for it, just that it doesn't take anything special.
The shavings don't have to be on the stick, either. You can just make a pile of shavings, which actually works better, IMO. Feathersticks are more for looking cool-doesn't make starting a fire any easier. The shavings are jammed together at the base, and attached to a core piece. Great if you can get the shavings to light the stick and all, but that's really not the point if you need fire.
I can probably go get a stick out of my yard, and work it back and forth on a brick on the corner of my house and make plenty of little strips and pieces that a firesteel can light.
Increasing surface area to make a material more readily light and burn is a simple concept, people just make it complicated for the sake of aesthetics. Why spend time worrying about how something looks when the whole point is to set it on fire?

I wouldn't push on the spine unless you're using a skeletonized knife(to spare the webbing of your hand) or you're making the really fine shavings at the end to catch a spark. For making long feathers, I find that my thumb on the spine is a hinderance. As far as the piles of shavings being the same. Maybe but IMO there's three reasons to leave them attached.
A) You don't have to corrale all of the little shavings into a pile. Something that can be tough in windy conditions.
B) It seems to me that there's more of a jumble with feathersticks which introduces more air flow.
C) Leaving them attached means that you have second stage tinder/kindling already setup in the fire.

In the end though, if your fire is going your fire is going.

I agree with Owen on this.

Still, the act of making shavings and feather sticks are the same as making shavings easily.

Here are a couple things I've bumped into in my reading that correspond to my experience.

I read a book on whittling techniques that described how to make carving projects that used curls (aka tiny feather sticks). The author argued that a convexed bevel (not blade grind, but apex bevel) was better than a pure 'V' bevel. YouTuber Virtuovice makes the same point here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYJFh7ikzbY

(This guy's videos transfix me. Love his accent and delivery.)

Camping guru Cliff Jacobsen recommends a long sawing stroke to make better shaving. Slice forward as you go down.

It is easier to make shavings if the working an edge of the wood. I constantly turn a stick as I'm working it.

Regarding edge bevels... I can't reliably do a convex bevel by hand. I use my Lansky to create a faux convex that reliably gets close. I do a back bevel at 17 degrees. A secondary bevel at 20 degrees. And a final cutting bevel at 25 degrees.

Lastly a trick I leaned from David (aka Obsessed with Edges) is to round off the shoulders of the back bevel by stropping the blade flat (spine and side of edge) on fine grit wet/dry paper. This should NOT touch the apex of the 'V' bevel. Instead, the idea is to knock off the sharp bits at the transitions of the back bevels and the primary grind. OwE suggests (and I agree) this is even more important with hollow ground knives as they have a built in extreme back bevel, hence a more acute angle at the shoulder.

I really don't care for hollow ground blades for working with wood.

Hope this helps.

I agree with this. My best featherstick knives have shallow convexed edges. Sharpening with sandpaper on a leather backed strop is how I maintain my edges and over time all my edges end up with a slight convex. I've noticed too that wood grain orientation can have an effect on making your feathresticks. I've noticed that it will be tough going on one side but if I rotate the stick 90 degrees the going is much easier. Another thing to remember is that the hand holding the knife should only be used to maintain the proper angle of the knife to the wood using your other hand to move the wood or using your upper body to move your whole arm(cpr type motion). Leaving your hand to focus just on the proper angle makes it easier IME.

 

[neeman]

Mora 511 - The easiest to cut consistently with. I had significantly more control, which I attribute to the Scandi grind. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Yes, I find a thin Mora the easiest to featherstick
Then a zero grind scandi about 1/8" thick

And with the knife at an angle to the perpenducular and pushing down using the length of the knife blade
Not to use lit 90 degrees on like a plane iron

 

[awestib]

Two points mentioned here that I really like and agree to (IMHO !!):
First, use a power grip without thumb on the spine. This gives you more control actually and it makes it clear fast why only a somewhat beefy "round-oval" shape handle is comfortable over a long period of time doing this.
Second, a slight convex scandi grind is best for shavings and feathersticks. If it is too flat, it bites towards the centre of the stick, if it is too convex, it turns outward away from the stick to easily. Sharpening a scandi on sandpaper on leather is a great way but doing it on a stone works well too if you apply the right pressure along the blade. The end result is always a slight convex scandi.

 

[daniel4572]

Been using this JK Tool for a bit. Made plenty of feather sticks with but didnt take any pics

Heres one of it slicing and dicing in the kitchen!

 

[Big Chris]

I have found that for the best feather sticks I like a blade that is not wide. About 1.25" is the max width I like working with.
This is my favorite fuzz sticking knife, I made it with a 5" blade of 3V, flat ground with a convex edge similar to what awestib described above.

It was using this knife that I found out how enjoyable making feather sticks can be.

 

[daniel4572]

I have found that for the best feather sticks I like a blade that is not wide. About 1.25" is the max width I like working with.
This is my favorite fuzz sticking knife, I made it with a 5" blade of 3V, flat ground with a convex edge similar to what awestib described above.

It was using this knife that I found out how enjoyable making feather sticks can be.

Very nice sir!!!

 

[Shotgun]

Sharpening a scandi on sandpaper on leather is a great way but doing it on a stone works well too if you apply the right pressure along the blade. The end result is always a slight convex scandi.

Yep. I sharpen my scandi's on a wood backed leather strop and they get a slight convex because of it. I tried a mora I had for a while and one that was new with a flat bevel and the new one would dig in where the older slightly convexed one would just glide down it.

It was using this knife that I found out how enjoyable making feather sticks can be.

No joke. I have a box of feather sticks to burn at my house. It's very relaxing, zen like feeling. Nice stick and nice knife. 3v is a great choice. Is that cedar? Cedar makes great fuzzies IME.

 

[Big Chris]

Yes it is Cedar. I had a piece of Cherry I was working with and it is very difficult. Much easier to learn proper technique with something soft and then move to harder woods.
The Cherry is still difficult to work with, but I can get the job done now.