Drawknives anyone? Spokeshaves?

Square_peg said:
OK, I know you guys have drawknives & spokeshaves. Lets see a few pics of what you've got.

Here's my only drawknife. I forged it last month out of 1085. I turned the handles on my drill press using it as a vertical lathe. The ferrules are scraps of electrical conduit flared on the horn of the anvil.

I wanted a big one for peeling logs when working on trail projects for the Washington Trails Association. This has a 17" cutting surface. Sadly I quenched it wrong and created a few small cracks in it. I'll use it till it fails and then make another one.

Drawknife.jpg
Click to expand...

So Square Peg- What went wrong with the quench?
 
scrteened porch said:
So Square Peg- What went wrong with the quench?
Click to expand...

Two or three things, rather foolish on my part. First, I water quenched it when I think an oil quench would have been gentler on it. A hunting knife I made out of that same 1085 came out spectacularly with an oil quench.

Second, I didn't realize that my quench tank was a little too small until I was dipping it. I had to flip it around and dip the other end. I think the second one was the bigger error - just bonehead.
foreheadslap.gif


Lastly, I had some difficulty getting the entire length of the cutting surface up to a uniform heat in my small coal forge. There were a few spots along the blade that weren't uniformly orange at quench - subtle but I could see them. I think my heat was good enough that it would have been alright with a proper quench.

I'm the most novice of blacksmiths. My skills are rudimentary at best. But I'm slowly learning. I've been at it for just under a year.
 
Square_peg, thanks for your generosity with the forging info, including mistakes.
I'll be tackling the P-V welding project soon- all planned and only two preliminary projects to stall with.
 
I also have a drawknife, for sure ;) . But I didn´t know, that there is any interesst in this useful tool.

I gonna take a pic of mine... BTW: That one has always to be razor sharp...

Great tool! Thank you guys for sharing yours!

Kind regards
Andi
 
rjdankert said:
Hi, nice horses. Do you use the holdfast much? What do you use the smaller horse for? I have a screwbox and tap - looks like it would be a fun build. thanks, Bob
Click to expand...

Thanks Bob. The smaller one is a hewing bench. I turn backwards on the shaving horse to chop out mortises with a chisel and use the holdfast to hold the piece.
 
I posted a photo of a burned drawknife in the 'It followed me home' thread. Yesterday I got that knife cleaned up at the wire wheel and today I turned some new handles for it at the drill press. A file test revealed that the edge is still hard despite the fire. It's also still fairly sharp. Just a little work with a stone will bring it back.

Drawknife1.jpg



At the drill press/lathe.

Turning_the_handle.JPG



I still need to fit the 2nd handle to the tang and also chisel out the groove that covers the blade when it's folded. I'll touch up the edge after I'm done working on the handles. Safer that way. I think I'll stain and finish the handles, too.

Drawknife2.jpg
 
How about an egg handle blade?

402637865.jpg


The stamping is pretty blown out. The last line says "CAST STEEL". Both handles are stamped with G. Hammond. My guess is the original owner.
 
Ah Pook said:
The stamping is pretty blown out. The last line says "CAST STEEL". Both handles are stamped with G. Hammond. My guess is the original owner.
Click to expand...

C Hammond was a maker in Philadelphia. The "Tommy Axe" thread has a link to one of their catalogs.
 
I finally finished re-handling that old drawknife with the burnt handles. Recall what it looked like when I got it.

A_J_Wilkinson_drawknife.jpg



Here's what it looks like now.

Drawknife3.jpg



With the handles in the wide position.

Drawknife4.JPG



In the closed position the handles guard the edge.

Drawknife5.jpg



I think I did pretty good for $5 and a little sweat.
 
Pegs, awesome work!!!!!! That looks fantastic! That inspires me to get my drawknife restored.
 
Great restoration work sir. It's really a smart looking tool now.

Although I've seen those egg handled types a good few times over here, I'd never seen this folding style.
Nor had I figured the handles would double as a blade protector.
Very nifty.

Again, well done.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top