Drawknives. They can be expensive or cheap. They are used by green woodworkers and chairmakers (for the spindles). You can use them for taking bark off trees as well. With only a $1 railroad spike and some scrap lumber you can make your own drawknife. Also view a different way of placing handles on your homemade tools tangs.
It must be noted that I do not condone taking railroad spikes off of tracks. It is illegal and you can get in serious trouble for theft and/or killed by a big freaking train. Take some drinks to a local rail yard and trade for some spikes or check out ebay.
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4 comments so far
grfrazee
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388 posts in 2621 days
#1 posted 06-04-2013 05:51 PM
In general, railroad spikes are made with crappy steel that won’t hold an edge. You can find spikes that have “HC” stamped on the head (meaning “high-carbon”) that will work a little better. It’s a good way to improve your smithing skills, but it won’t make a tool that will last a long time. Nothing beats a drawknife made with proper high-carbon tool steel.
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A Slice of Wood Workshop
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#2 posted 06-04-2013 06:25 PM
@grfrazee- I totally agree with you on all the points you made. You would have to resharpen this more. The spikes I use are the higher carbon steel, just not high enough to keep a good edge. This however is a great starting point if you want to try out green woodworking or making spindles. After a bit I would advise on purchasing or crafting a better drawknife. Thanks for watching.
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clieb91
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#3 posted 06-06-2013 12:36 AM
Tim, Really neat tool and a great video. The burning of the handles looks like a neat practice. One of these days I want to try my hand at some smithing.
Thanks for sharing.
CtL
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Brit
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7789 posts in 3324 days
#4 posted 06-08-2013 02:07 PM
Wow! That looks like a lot of un Tim. Nice job.
-- Andy - Old Chinese proverb says: "If you think something can't be done, don't interrupt man who is doing it."
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