Whittling: Spyderco Has The Tools

J

JD Spydo

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Over at the Spyderco.com forum which many of you are also members of has an interesting thread going on the subject of "Whittling". I know that some of you immediately get glimpses in your head of Jed Clampit of the Beverly Hillbillies sitting on the front porch of his Beverly Hills mansion whittling while talking to his faithful dog Duke :D That was really good, vintage TV and it's really interesting that at one time in our history "whittling" was quite the pasttime.

There does seem to be a rekindled interest in the hobby of whittling and wood carving and most all the other woodworking trades as well. Well if you want to take up the hobby of whittling I submit that Spyderco truly has one of the better overall selections of small blade folders and fixed blades that would truly be ideal for the hobby.

It's been a few years back when I had a Spyderco KARAMBIT up for trade and the guy that wanted it really bad was a wood carver. After reading the other thread I truly believe that there are a bunch of Spyders that would truly be great tools for whittling. The Dodo model immediately comes to mind as well as about a dozen others. So let's chat about whittling and which Spyder you believe would be a good tool for that hobby?
 
Danke42 said:
I'll grab the low hanging fruit. The Nilakka models. Then the Wolfspyder.
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Oh yeah!! that little Nilakka in particular looks like it could be great for whittling. That model is actually on my "gotta have" list. It looks like a great small blade knife for EDC carry as well.

Also the older/discontinued Spyderco SALSA models I believe would also be great for whittling and carving. I'm also wondering if that old obscure Spyderco fixed blade called the SPOT could be a great knife for whittling and wood carving?
 
I guess it depends on your personal tastes. I love the Nilakka for woodwork, but the L'il Nilakka's handle is just too short for me to use for more than a couple of minutes at a time. The Salsa might be useful for something, but I don't know what. The blade is just too wide for anything more intricate than making pointy sticks. The Spot is worthless to me (I can't stand the way the finger hole feels in hand). The Dodo has a quarter inch of useful blade and a square inch of "in the way" blade. The now discontinued Des Horn makes a nice whittling tool if you can handle the length, as does the Kiwi4. The Wolfspyder is great, especially when you buy seconds for a quarter of the retail price.

Overall, I find most of Spyderco's offerings entirely too thick-edged for my taste. The flat ground Ladybug is thicker behind the edge than my favorite whittling knife is at the spine.
 
I would suggest checking out the Urban. It might actually be my sliciest knife. Very light, easy to handle, great to choke up on, and man is it thin behind the edge.
 
Last night I got out some of my old users and I can see that the ZDP Jess Horn and the ZDP Caly Jr could both be used for whittling. I'm also thinking that the small Hawkbill the DragonHawk might also be a good tool for whittling.
 
yablanowitz said:
I guess it depends on your personal tastes. I love the Nilakka for woodwork, but the L'il Nilakka's handle is just too short for me to use for more than a couple of minutes at a time. The Salsa might be useful for something, but I don't know what. The blade is just too wide for anything more intricate than making pointy sticks. The Spot is worthless to me (I can't stand the way the finger hole feels in hand). The Dodo has a quarter inch of useful blade and a square inch of "in the way" blade. The now discontinued Des Horn makes a nice whittling tool if you can handle the length, as does the Kiwi4. The Wolfspyder is great, especially when you buy seconds for a quarter of the retail price.

Overall, I find most of Spyderco's offerings entirely too thick-edged for my taste. The flat ground Ladybug is thicker behind the edge than my favorite whittling knife is at the spine.
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Interesting you mention that Des Horn>> I wanted to get one of those but the opportunity just hasn't been there yet. But you're not the only guy I've heard speak highly of "wharnie" type blades for whittling. I still can remember that one guy over 10 years ago that really wanted my Spyderco Warren Thomas Karambit model but he more specifically wanted it for basic woodworking>> but I can see where it would have value as a whittling knife.

With Spyderco's huge selection ( past & present) of small bladed knives I would think many folders in their line up would make great whittling knives. Sorry you don't seem to have good luck with the Dodo model because I've actually whittled and done some interesting survival type stuff with two of my Dodo models>> I guess they are probably limited to just certain applications. I wish I could snag one of the original Spyderedged Dodo models but they are getting about as rare as a "hen's tooth" lately.

My old Merlin models I believe would be good for some woodworking jobs.
 
Whittling: Spyderco Has The Tools
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I love my Spydercos and I just bought another one (my brand new Pattada) but the last thing I would think of when it comes to Syderco knives is whittling wood for sculptural effect.

Although maybe if I took my Pattada, which has the most narrow whittler like handle shape of about any Spyderco and shorten the blade by half and then made the blade skinny and perhaps Wharncliffe . . . then . . . if I blur my eyes I can just start to see whittling with a Spyderco . . . maybe.

When I think of whittlers I think of this dream boat (the Grinling Whittler). This may have been the vid that got me to consider buying a GEC . . . or was it my research of SunFish knives ? One of the two.
Spyderco . . . Whittling . . . Spyderco . . . Whittling . . . Spyderco . . . Whittling . . .
?
I just don't feel it.


. . . then made the blade skinny and perhaps Wharncliffe
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I did that recently with this Case Trapper
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Actually they make a paring knife that is a pretty decent whittling knife. And I did this little project entirely with the Des Horn.

 
Holy Toledo YAB!!! If he were still alive I bet Jed Clampitt would be green with envy seeing that nice piece of work. I remember him sitting on the front porch of his Beverly Hills Mansion whittling with his faithful dog Duke watching him :D The more I think about it I'm beginning to believe that a Wharnie would do well working with most wood grains. I've actually thought about trying a Des Horn as an EDC blade in the past. Now YAB if I remember correctly I think you are also a fan of the older Benchmade Boguszewski Spike model as I have been over the years? The I bring it up for two reasons: First of all I used one as a main EDC for a long time and I always liked it and Spyderco's C-50 Centofante which has a similar blade design and geometry>> I found both models extremely handy for most EDC cutting jobs but I was always leary of the tip being vulernable to easy breakage>> but I'm still wondering if those Boguszewski Sprke designs would also be good for certain whittling jobs? But again the tips on the Spike models I was always worried about. Whereas the Des Horn model looks to be maybe a bit more stout and rigid?
Now I'm relatively sure that the old Boguszewski Spike doesn't have as thick of a spine as the Des Horn model Just looking at the Des Horn in all the magazines and websites I've looked at over the years I've always thought it might be better equipped for whittling just by virtue of it's overall design?

Also I doubt if the tip on the Spike model would be as durable as the tip on the Des Horn>> albeit I don't think I would go hog wild with either one of them. Oh one more question YAB? Have you seen or even had opportunity to use those "Flexcut" whittling knives that are advertised in many of the survival type magazines? They look nice but I've yet to hear anyone on any of these Forums give a good or bad testimony about them? Again that is some pretty impressive work you've done there.
 
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You don't really need a stiff blade or durable point for whittling. Survival/bushcraft/etc. demands a strong knife but whittling is best done with a thin blade that's sharpened to a very thin (10-15 dps) edge.
Smaller blades tend to be good too as your fingers can grasp closer to the blade for more control and being smaller can let you maneuver into more spots.
I'd think that general hogging would be easy enough but that detail and smaller work would be a pain with such a deep blade.
There is the "carve with what's on ya'" mentality but I think that much of what makes a Spyderco knife great works against it as a really useful whittling tool.
 
The 640 Mini Spike makes a pretty good whittler if you can stand the length, much like the Des Horn. Beyond that, it's hard to compare them. The Des is thicker at the spine, but hollow ground so the tips are very similar. I like ATS34, but S30V holds an edge for a long time just whittling. The old Centofante C25 makes a pretty nice carver, but it's tough to find one without paying collector prices. I find the length of the C50 more than I care to deal with.

Edit to add: I've never tried the Flexcut knives. I'm a whittler, not a carver, so the specialty blades would be wasted on me. The Whittlin'Jack I nearly pulled the trigger on until I read the specs carefully and decided the handle was too short for my mitts. I actually use a Stanley 10-049 or 10-598 folding utility knife a lot these days.
 
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yablanowitz said:
I've never tried the Flexcut knives. I'm a whittler, not a carver, so the specialty blades would be wasted on me
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Once you have tried the specialty blades though, you might really like them. I wear a large glove, and the Whittlin' Jack fits fine for most things. It isn't a tool for working hard wood aggressively where you would want a bigger handle for more leverage--I save that for fixed Flexcuts--but it's a great rambling knife that all interesting-looking sticks should fear. They come in a clamshell that includes a specialized strop for all the blades, too, and I wouldn't want pick up a loose one without it.
 
I can squeeze into an XL glove if I work at it. Someone once commented that my hands make a Delica look like a Dragonfly.
 
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