New drawknife, help identify

[fast14riot]

I posted this over in BRL's forum as well, but I know there are a lot of tool collectors in here. Maybe one of you guys might be able to help me figure out it age and maker.

I just picked up this draw knife at the flea market today, it has a forge welded bit to a softer frame and appears to be original handles. There are remnants of a stamp on the frame, but due to sharpening it is about half gone. It is single bevel and a 7.5" blade.

This is the back side

Top side of bit

Remnant of stamp appears to be two letters followed by a name. You can also see the weld line about 1/4" up from the edge.

Here is the handle construction, the tangs are forged down real thin and hammered over.

Any help with maker or age is appreciated! I know its not a typical knife, but there ae quite a few tool collectors round here.


-Xander

 

[M3mphis]

Is it DR Barton?

 

[fast14riot]

Thanx Memphis! I think we have a winner!

This draw knife was the only one that looked respected and proprly taken care of. The others had terrible edges that looked like they were sharpened on a bench grinder or had been "sharpened" on the back side. This one is nice and flat, still has a sharp edge, but needs work. I paid $15 for it.


-Xander

 

[garry3]

Kind of off topic, but I suspect a lot of old draw knifes shaped similiar to the one you just bought served double duty as fleshing knifes. Which would no doubt aid in the preservation of those wood handles.
Nice knife!

 

[Square_peg]

.... it has a forge welded bit to a softer frame and appears to be original handles.
You can also see the weld line about 1/4" up from the edge.

Excellent. That's an old one. I have one made in the 1890 and already it was made of solid steel. I'm betting yours is at least that old, likely a bit older.

It's been sharpened many times but thankfully they left the back flat and sharpened it chisel-grind like it's supposed to be. It's still got many years left in it.

 

[fast14riot]

Well I got it cleaned up and sharpened. I didn't take the edge back to try and take all the chips out, I figure they will sharpen out over time. It is a beautiful tool, well balanced and fits the hands well.

I started with an oil scrub using #0000 steel wool all over to remove the active rust and allow the oil to soak in to better protect it. Once I got it cleaned up I started with a medium diamond stone hand held so I didn't take off too much material. Then I switched to a #400 Norton oil stone on the bench. Once I got it close I then went to a small water stone (locally harvested myself) to bring up a burr. I then switched to stropping for the final stages, Cr02 on balsa to start then finished on plain leather. Pretty darn sharp now! Slices newsprint pretty well, between the chips. Sharp enough for me!

It also turns out that this knife was likely sharpened with a file or small stone, there is a fair bit of crown to both sides, less so on the backside but its still there. It should help a bit when working bevel side down, though.

-Xander

 

[CB-R]

Nice job on that thing, man! You really didn't dilly dally on getting it cleaned up. I've just recently started enjoying my draw knife as the spoke shave was a more forgiving tool to get acquainted with. BTW, what's the Campy wheel with the G3 lacing attached to in the background?

 

[fast14riot]

Thanx! My son was down for nap, so i decided I had better take advantage of the free time! being the age it is, the high carbon steel is nowhere near as hard as modern tool steels, so sharpening was relatively easy. Plus this tool had a fair edge on it when I got it.

The Campy wheel right now are on standby, i use them rarely anymore. I replaced that set with some Mavic Ksyrium SL wheels. They roll under my Orbea Mitis. Full Campy gruppo.


-Xander

 

[Win3855]

"Thanx! My son was down for nap, so i decided I had better take advantage of the free time! being the age it is, the high carbon steel is nowhere near as hard as modern tool steels, so sharpening was relatively easy. Plus this tool had a fair edge on it when I got it." This part I understand.

"The Campy wheel right now are on standby, i use them rarely anymore. I replaced that set with some Mavic Ksyrium SL wheels. They roll under my Orbea Mitis. Full Campy gruppo." This part.......What?

 

[rwn2000]

"Thanx! My son was down for nap, so i decided I had better take advantage of the free time! being the age it is, the high carbon steel is nowhere near as hard as modern tool steels, so sharpening was relatively easy. Plus this tool had a fair edge on it when I got it." This part I understand.

"The Campy wheel right now are on standby, i use them rarely anymore. I replaced that set with some Mavic Ksyrium SL wheels. They roll under my Orbea Mitis. Full Campy gruppo." This part.......What?

Bicycle talk, Win3855. Orbea isa high end road bike maker, Mavic makes mostly wheels, and Campy is short for Campagnolo, a high end maker of bike components.

Hope that helps.

Randy

 

[Win3855]

I see. Thank you. I had a Schwinn.

 

[fast14riot]

Sorry for the confusion Win3855! I should have quoted CB-R's question when I replied about the bicycle wheels. I can see the confusion, it does read like a secret code or foreign language! The only thing worse is when I'm talking about racing sailboats, that really does sound like a different language.


-Xander

 

[CB-R]

Crap. Sorry for the derailment, folks.

 

[garry3]

Crap. Sorry for the derailment, folks.

It seems that nobody here seems to mind threads going off topic. At least if they do they have not spoke up. Its one one the things that I really enjoy on this forum. You can learn so much about so many different things.

 

[garry3]

Well I got it cleaned up and sharpened. I didn't take the edge back to try and take all the chips out, I figure they will sharpen out over time. It is a beautiful tool, well balanced and fits the hands well.

I started with an oil scrub using #0000 steel wool all over to remove the active rust and allow the oil to soak in to better protect it. Once I got it cleaned up I started with a medium diamond stone hand held so I didn't take off too much material. Then I switched to a #400 Norton oil stone on the bench. Once I got it close I then went to a small water stone (locally harvested myself) to bring up a burr. I then switched to stropping for the final stages, Cr02 on balsa to start then finished on plain leather. Pretty darn sharp now! Slices newsprint pretty well, between the chips. Sharp enough for me!

It also turns out that this knife was likely sharpened with a file or small stone, there is a fair bit of crown to both sides, less so on the backside but its still there. It should help a bit when working bevel side down, though.

-Xander

The crown would not bother me at all. Might be a little inconveniet when you sharpen it though. That is a real nice old knife with character

 

[fast14riot]

The crown would not bother me at all. Might be a little inconveniet when you sharpen it though. That is a real nice old knife with character

That's pretty much how I feel. If I take it to a stone on the bench it is a little difficult to feel th flat due to the crown, but it is in fine working order for now. I really don't want to remove more steel than needed, I guess the crown will likely be reduced over time by using modern stones that are true flat. Its also very possible that this was sharpened on the smae stone for many years and it slowly dished, creating the crown.

I need to take a close look at the right side handle, it has a split in it that may be an issue with hard use, I need to decide if I should put a seizing wrap on it, or try and replace it. It is the handle in the pic on the first post, that crack is the full length of the handle.


-Xander

 

[fast14riot]

Excellent. That's an old one. I have one made in the 1890 and already it was made of solid steel. I'm betting yours is at least that old, likely a bit older.

It's been sharpened many times but thankfully they left the back flat and sharpened it chisel-grind like it's supposed to be. It's still got many years left in it.

Looks like your assesment was confirmed, I sent an email off to Tom at yeateryearstools.com asking for info. This is the reply I just received:

" Based on the pics and what you describe I would say that the drawknife was early and before Mack & Co. Not all drawknife handles included ferrules. but based on the appearance of the handle end I would agree, they were probably replaced. The type of tang clinching also indicates that the piece was early.

Hope this helps.

Tom"

So this appears to be pre 1875! Much older than I originally thought. There is a timeline for the companies under D R BARTON over at the Davistown museum website.


-Xander

 

[garry3]

That's pretty much how I feel. If I take it to a stone on the bench it is a little difficult to feel th flat due to the crown, but it is in fine working order for now. I really don't want to remove more steel than needed, I guess the crown will likely be reduced over time by using modern stones that are true flat. Its also very possible that this was sharpened on the smae stone for many years and it slowly dished, creating the crown.

I need to take a close look at the right side handle, it has a split in it that may be an issue with hard use, I need to decide if I should put a seizing wrap on it, or try and replace it. It is the handle in the pic on the first post, that crack is the full length of the handle.


-Xander

I would fill the gap in the handle with glue. Woodcrafters here and probley most hobby stores have a super glue that you can get in three different viscositys. You can also buy a excellerator to make it set faster that you don't need. If you can wedge that split open just a little bit and fill it with glue you are good to go.

 

[fast14riot]

I would fill the gap in the handle with glue. Woodcrafters here and probley most hobby stores have a super glue that you can get in three different viscositys. You can also buy a excellerator to make it set faster that you don't need. If you can wedge that split open just a little bit and fill it with glue you are good to go.

Actually, the crack is open about 3/32" the whole length. A little more than just CA glue is needed, which is why I was considering a seizing wrap. I can squeeze it by hand and see the crack close up a little bit. I'm thinking some 400# dacron cord in a turks head will look nice and when I draw it up will close the gap. We'll see what ends up happening with it. If I do replace it, I have a section of bois d'ark fence post that would work very well and is likely close to 100 years old.


-Xander

 

[rwn2000]

Sorry for the confusion Win3855! I should have quoted CB-R's question when I replied about the bicycle wheels. I can see the confusion, it does read like a secret code or foreign language! The only thing worse is when I'm talking about racing sailboats, that really does sound like a different language.


-Xander

I like the fact that people can be interested in state-of-the-art technology like a Carbon Fiber Orbea bicycle and STILL appreciate a 100+ year old draw knife.

randy