Draw knives

T

Tilaran

Joined
Jul 29, 2012
Messages
209
I wind up peeling a lot of skin/bark off of Gliricidia,Cordia,Teak and others with a machete using it draw style.It's OK but I want to make a REAL draw knife.
How thick and hardness specs ? Curved blade or straight across(like my machete)
Flat chisel or hollow chisel on BRS (Bark Removal Side)
I'm thinking 420 1/16 @ 53-55 or so RC. Maybe 20" long, With some pressure I figure a 10 inch log could be "peeled" on 3 rotations. :confused:
 
I don't know much about making draw knives, but I do know a bit about using them... Curved (as in the handles being lower than the middle, while in use) are really not much good as a general woodworking tool, they are fantastic at making curved surfaces, but can't make a flat one. If I were going to make one, I'd make a flat one, just for utility's sake. Also keep in mind that if your goal is just to remove bark, you are not going to want an extremely Sharp tool. You want the tool to act more like a wedge, than a knife. If your tool is very Sharp it will very easily cut through the bark and into the wood. If you are trying to maintain that first layer of wood, as you would be in bow making, this will lead to no end of heartache!! Just my two cents, spend them as you will!
 
10" edge, 1/4" thick spine, 1" to 1 1/4" wide. Flat back side and true flat chisel grind. It does need to be sharp, it will have to cut though the bark on the outer end of the blade. Flex knives aren't suited to skinnin a log, it will take more effort to try to control the blade than to cut. My favorite drawknife was made to these dimensions sometime before 1875, and it still performs beautifully.


-Xander
 
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