Drawknives anyone? Spokeshaves?

These aren’t anything special but I have been using the drawknife and spoke shaves a lot lately so I thought I would join in. The curved one on the top I have used in the past for debarking and smoothing logs for benches. Cheers!
f9XHqbM.jpg
 
Last edited:
Old Axeman said:
I got a G B draw knife like your top one about 20 yrs ago. I have used it a lot for barking and rough shaping. It has suprised me how much I like it.
Click to expand...
Mine is stamped BANKO SWEDEN. And I think it has something to do with the curvature of the blade and the handles sticking out the ends that makes it work so well. You can grip it well and pull hard but it makes smooth cuts, doesn’t dig in.
 
Old Axeman said:
Jasper33- I agree about why it does not dig in, even with the bevel up. I used mine today.
Click to expand...
Has anybody tried 151 replacement blade from Truper. Could not find dimensions, so I am not sure it would be good fit for Stanley #151
if you google Truper Flat Face Spokeshave Replacement Blade - 12060
 
WATROUS & CO
8 inch blade

OcWsk6w.jpg

6QbzZYF.jpg


khaJ9lm.jpg


It appears that Watrous & Co was bought by the Charles E. Jennings & Co (1878-1923) who continued this brand and type of drawknife
(https://www.davistownmuseum.org/bioJennings.html). I have not found when this brand was last used.

FWIW, Interesting write up of the Watrous knife:


Another detail is the angle of the handles relative to the flat of
the blade. Many drawknives are made w/ the handles sort of drooping down
away from the bevel side of the blade. That would seem to provide a little
more leverage and control with the bevel up, but conversely would seem
quite awkward to use "upside down," i.e., with bevel down and handles
angling up off the surface of the workpiece.

Which is why, in 1857, Richard Watrous of Charlestown, Ohio, was
granted a patent (which I suspect was the first drawknife patent) on his
rotating handle drawknife. These are the ones you have seen with a round
serrated joint at each end of the blade, and a loop on the fastening nut,
which when loosened, allows each handle to independently be rotated in a
plane perpendicular to the long axis of the blade.

In his description, Mr. Watrous said this permitted the blade to have
adjustable "rake" but with the position of the handles being "always the same
so that the operator can always use the implement to the best advantage as
regards the application of his power or strength while the blade may be
adjusted as the nature of the work requires." It was further claimed that
this permitted a steep angle when working soft wood, but a shallow one
suitable for hard wood, avoiding fatique to the operator because this "tires
the muscles of the wrists and good work cannot be done with any degree of
facility."

These were successful tools, and made for a long time by many makers.
The early ones marked with the 12/15/57 date seem to come from Nobles Mfg.
Co. I have seen ones marked Watrous also. (Nobles and Watrous were both
names eventually associated with C. E. Jennings & Co., but the Jennings
catalog of 1913 does not show this tool). Later ones have been noted with
Lakeside, and particularly with James Swan markings, among others. These are
not to be confused with folding-handle drawknives, a different class of tool,
and usually awkward to use but with the advantage of storing easily and
protecting the blade.

In any event, the angle of the blade would not be a factor with a
Watrous-type drawknife as to deciding whether to go bevel up or down. The
handles go 360 degrees. Also, many of the early versions of this tool are of
the "carriage maker" profile, i.e., a narrow blade, thickish at the top, and
with the upper surface being mostly bevel, sloping to the upper spine. This
is as opposed to the usual carpenter's drawknife with a narrow bevel and a
hollowed out area between the bevel and the upper spine. With the former
type of tool and with the rotating handle, the choice of bevel up or down
would not seem to matter much. The Watrous handle is a genuine convenience,
in my opinion. And have you ever found one handle in the way when working on
or near the top of your bench and wished you could put it in say a vertical
position for the time being? This tool will provide that flexibility.

Lloyd Henley ​
http://swingleydev.com/ot/get/18781/thread/


Bob
 
rjdankert said:
WATROUS & CO
8 inch blade

OcWsk6w.jpg

6QbzZYF.jpg


khaJ9lm.jpg


It appears that Watrous & Co was bought by the Charles E. Jennings & Co (1878-1923) who continued this brand and type of drawknife
(https://www.davistownmuseum.org/bioJennings.html). I have not found when this brand was last used.

FWIW, Interesting write up of the Watrous knife:


Another detail is the angle of the handles relative to the flat of
the blade. Many drawknives are made w/ the handles sort of drooping down
away from the bevel side of the blade. That would seem to provide a little
more leverage and control with the bevel up, but conversely would seem
quite awkward to use "upside down," i.e., with bevel down and handles
angling up off the surface of the workpiece.

Which is why, in 1857, Richard Watrous of Charlestown, Ohio, was
granted a patent (which I suspect was the first drawknife patent) on his
rotating handle drawknife. These are the ones you have seen with a round
serrated joint at each end of the blade, and a loop on the fastening nut,
which when loosened, allows each handle to independently be rotated in a
plane perpendicular to the long axis of the blade.

In his description, Mr. Watrous said this permitted the blade to have
adjustable "rake" but with the position of the handles being "always the same
so that the operator can always use the implement to the best advantage as
regards the application of his power or strength while the blade may be
adjusted as the nature of the work requires." It was further claimed that
this permitted a steep angle when working soft wood, but a shallow one
suitable for hard wood, avoiding fatique to the operator because this "tires
the muscles of the wrists and good work cannot be done with any degree of
facility."

These were successful tools, and made for a long time by many makers.
The early ones marked with the 12/15/57 date seem to come from Nobles Mfg.
Co. I have seen ones marked Watrous also. (Nobles and Watrous were both
names eventually associated with C. E. Jennings & Co., but the Jennings
catalog of 1913 does not show this tool). Later ones have been noted with
Lakeside, and particularly with James Swan markings, among others. These are
not to be confused with folding-handle drawknives, a different class of tool,
and usually awkward to use but with the advantage of storing easily and
protecting the blade.

In any event, the angle of the blade would not be a factor with a
Watrous-type drawknife as to deciding whether to go bevel up or down. The
handles go 360 degrees. Also, many of the early versions of this tool are of
the "carriage maker" profile, i.e., a narrow blade, thickish at the top, and
with the upper surface being mostly bevel, sloping to the upper spine. This
is as opposed to the usual carpenter's drawknife with a narrow bevel and a
hollowed out area between the bevel and the upper spine. With the former
type of tool and with the rotating handle, the choice of bevel up or down
would not seem to matter much. The Watrous handle is a genuine convenience,
in my opinion. And have you ever found one handle in the way when working on
or near the top of your bench and wished you could put it in say a vertical
position for the time being? This tool will provide that flexibility.

Lloyd Henley ​
http://swingleydev.com/ot/get/18781/thread/


Bob
Click to expand...

Beautiful draw knife!
 
I don't have a pic of my draw knife with me but it is my favorite tool for shaping an axe handle to fit the head and then to gently contour way from it. My earlier fits have a more abrupt shoulder, but since I have been using the draw knife, I try to make sure no part of the handle is wider than the head. This ensures the handle doesn't drag when splitting or hewing a piece of wood.
 
IMO the draw knife is one of the most versatile shaping tools. You can even finish things out quite nicely by back dragging/scraping the wood smooth. It comes down to the eye hand coordination thing until you learn to work with it intuitively based on watching/feeling the results with the wood grain.
 
Sweet! (if a bladed tool can be described that way...)
Nicer, well-kept draw knives are heirlooms and work masters themselves, without the adjust-ability. That is something else.
More tooling/fitting than goes into even some of the nicer vintage traditional draw knives.
 
I have never owned one of the adjustable draw knives like yours, but always hope to find one in perfect condition. I have several of the folding handle draw knives for easy and safe carry in my carpenters tool chest. But prefer the fixed handle in use. But your adjustable should be just the ticket, and a James Swan to boot!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top