Draw knife question.

[Rorschach]

I was thinking about making a draw knife like the one in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-Wp8P5ATSU

My concern is the physics of that shape, draw knives usually have angled handles and I am certain there is good reason for this, to stop the twisting motion as the blade digs in, making it easier and more accurate in use.
Is my thinking correct on this? If so I will need to re-think the design and wait until I either get a welder or find someone to do a bit of welding for me.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

I think as you do. Might be good for light work, but will tend to dig in. I suspect he is more a tool maker than a drawknife user.

The Flexcut drawknife is a bit like that, but with the handles bent a bit towards you. I don't know what metal was his starting point to say whether/how you could bend it without spoiling the temper. And I'm not sure I've met anyone who's used the Flexcut one and liked it ...

Most drawknives work much more controllably if used bevel down too, otherwise you have a fight to turn it out of a cut. I like a French drawknife, which has a bevel on both sides - a regular one, and a long, shallow one on the back. Very delicate control. They also pop up as NOS at a fair price on eBay periodically.

 

[Rorschach]

Ebay prices for drawknives seem to be pretty high and as yet I have not had any luck finding one at the car boot etc.
Funnily while searching ebay I did find this, so maybe it does have some merit.

His blade looks to be carbon steel since he was able to mark it with a caliper easily. My own will be made from a HSS planer blade, much harder and impossible to bend the tangs. I think maybe I will make a straight version and try it out. For an angled version I will cut some slots and get some mild steel welded into them that I can easily bend into shape. I will make mine with handles angled in only one plane, so I can use it bevel up or down.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Would I be right in thinking that one in the picture has oval handles ? Turning them off centre to make them oval might make the grip and control better ?

If you do make one, let us know what you think of the design after you've test driven it.

 

[Rorschach]

Good point, they might be oval. The handles I already made are round which may be a problem.

As an aside while I have everyone's attention. Any other clever ideas of what to make with old HSS planer blades? Thanks to the generosity of the members here I ended up with rather more than I expected. I wanted 2 for a drawknife (in case I messed 1 up) and 1 or 2 to repurpose as lathe tools ( they make excellent profile tools). Instead I ended up with 10 I think :lol:

 

[Robbo3]

I always thought that part of the reason for bent handles was that it's nearly impossible to cut yourself in use, but I stand to be corrected.

 

[ED65]

Straight-handled drawknives are I believe broadly intended for different work than the usual kind(s) and they tend to be smaller in scale for the same reason. More whittling than peeling bark off a log kind of thing.

 

[Rorschach]

That would make sense. I am interested in making something that could be used like a heavy duty spokeshave, fast removal of material I don't really peel logs much.