Spoke Shaves & Draw Knives - What should I look for?

[Ron Williamson]

I'd use that drawknife turned over,bevel down.Then the handles would be below the blade.
R

[Canoeyawl]

Nice score...
Now the thing is they have those metal (steel) washers at the end of the handles and with age and wear they will contact the blade when folded... This must be fixed (inlay) before you go to any trouble sharpening it, because it will take 6200 extra strokes with a stone to take out those nicks.

[Old Dryfoot]

I'm quite happy with my drawknife purchase. I bid in a few auctions for Wilkinson knives and the price jumps near closing were huge. There was one #8 that was at $20 five minutes before the auction ended and then the bids started pouring in and it ended at $150. It was a much prettier example than my rusty old one. I just hope I do a competent job restoring it.

I'll keep an eye out for a few more smart buys. I think I'd like to get a straight blade and something a little larger too, maybe a 10".

I'll try to make some observations on how I think the handles affect it's use but I have no reference point to make a comparison.

Canoeyawl thanks for the tip about the washers. The last thing I want to do is spend a day stroking my knife 6200 times.

[St.J]

There's a lovely section of some very skilled drawknife work at 4:15:


St.John

[Mrleft8]

Good scores. 600 grit isn't sharpening, it's grinding.