Whittling with modern folders

Then look for thin blades. Knives like the Spyderco Chapparal, Centofante 3, and Nilakka will cut through wood with much less effort than thicker blades. Full height grinds will generally work better than saber grinds. All the features that make a modern knife "tough" and "strong" make them better crowbars and worse cutters.
 
unit said:
I don't mean to be rude, but I'm still unclear on a few things.

Any knife of reasonable steel and heat treat should support a properly thin edge to whittle a good sized stick into a pointed "spear" in short order.

I see this as a function of the user and his/her ability to maintain the edge suited to their chosen tasks, as well as having the ability to work the wood.
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I agree with Unit(read the words in Bold). The knife doesn't make the spear, and having x,y or z knife is not going to make you "Joe (the Flash) spear maker.

Yablanowitz and EvilGreg... great job on the carving!! Yablanowitz, how long did it take you to carve all that?

Here's a spoon I did(start to finish) the other day for my friend. I used a Mora Robust, a Buck Stockman and a little bit of sand paper.

 
I have made a bunch of big sticks into smaller sticks, sitting on my porch, with my leek:thumbup:
 
outdooredge said:
Every knife will do this but will it do good or it will take 1 hour for one spear? I am looking for a knife that will do it good.
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If the edge is relatively thin like on a good spyderco (like the military) it shouldn't take more than a few moments to do it. Learn the chest lever grip and you'd be surprised at how fast you can remove material from a piece of wood. I would say the advice here is pretty good. Watch out for aggressive jimping, skinny handles, and thick edges. If you get into detail work then the width of the blade comes into play. You'd want something skinny like the size of a standard slippy blade for that kind of work.
 
unit said:
I don't mean to be rude, but I'm still unclear on a few things.

Any knife of reasonable steel and heat treat should support a properly thin edge to whittle a good sized stick into a pointed "spear" in short order.

I see this as a function of the user and his/her ability to maintain the edge suited to their chosen tasks, as well as having the ability to work the wood.
Click to expand...

I am not sure what do you think. I am sure that carving ability of knife on blade geometry as well as on user`s skill.
 
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I am sitting here using an Emerson Gentleman Jim to casually strip the bark off a branch. The knife has a chisel style bevel and it is on the right side of the blade. I have to use a very obtuse angle to work with the blade moving away from me. If I draw the blade towards me I get a much cleaner slice but dangerous. Not complaining. I love the knife and know its intended for slicing. Just asking if I could reprofile the blade? Is there a tradition as to the beveled side?
 
Most chisel grinds, like your Emerson, work better left handed than right. They "look better" when they are ground on the front, and they tend to curve away from the user in a cut, which supposedly makes them safer. Personally, I avoid them.
 
I'll use whatever knife is handy, but mostly I just make shavings

[video=youtube;zdh9lGThBR8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdh9lGThBR8[/video]
 
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