JBlaze Posted December 7, 2011 Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 What is the best knife for carving? A few years ago I bought one of the hobby knife sets with several different blades. I carved one lure. It was terrible after that, I shaped all my lures with a Dremel and sanding drums. I just don't like all the dust it creates. A couple of weeks ago, I met littleriver he showed me some things and we did a little horse trading. I really liked his carvings and he showed me the knife that he uses. I tried to make one out of an old table knife. I think the blade is very similiar to his in shape. It worked well for me today and I will make another one with the blade more centered with the handle. I cut it with a Dremel and a cutting disk and then tapered and thinned the blade with a belt sander taking care not to let it get to hot. I honed it on sand paper and put it on the steel. This thing really took a good edge and will peel the hair off your arm. Any one ever made a knife out of one of these? When I finished carving this one out, it only took a few minutes to finish it off with sanding sponge and there wasn't much dust flying around. I think I will like hand carving. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Posted December 7, 2011 Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 I have been using the basic flex cut knives and haven't had any issues. They preform well and if you keep a strop handy you will have no issues. Price isn't going to run most off on these knives either. Hevie, Denny, Cape Forge, and many others to choose from and lots of customs stuff to boot. Or keep up with making your own. I would likely still want to buy a few commercial or give a few a very good look over. I prefer a wider handle and don't think I would want a metal handle on a carving knife. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diemai Posted December 7, 2011 Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 Hi there , John , I've been using carpet knives with interchangeable blades all of those years , but for about two years I stick to homemades , too , ........ground these out of old files , ......one with a straight edge and one with a curved edge . I sharpen them just by stroking them over fine grade (600-800)metal sandpaper held firmly on a table , ........the blades can shave the hair off my arms easily and stay sharp for a long time when working with balsa , abache , PVC and also cutting slingshot pouches of thick leather . Keeping them on the job ,......... if I remember , I'd bring them home tonite after lateshift to shoot some pictures . greetz , Dieter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Bass Man Posted December 7, 2011 Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 Murphy's carving knife is awesome. Gene told me about it several months ago and it carves great. I highly reccomend it. Here is a link for a picture of it. http://www.rmurphyknives.com/store/carving-knives.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diemai Posted December 7, 2011 Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 @ JBlaze OK , John , .......here are two pictures of my carving knives , .........never had them at home , made them at my work from two scrap machine files . Quite finacky grinding out the cutting blade , as the grinding wheel did not have any permanent coolant flow , .......always had to dip the workpieces in water not to overheat , ...especially tricky when doing the points , ....water dipping after each pass and then finding the right angle again for the next pass , ....all freehanded ! The handles of plastic tubing and some filler foam material are crappy , did not find any other material at my work , ........but still I've already carved a few dozens of lures with these , timber and PVC alike . The straight edge had a hollow ground at first , but due to re-sharpening with above mentioned sandpaper many times , the blade slowly became plane , ..........but still these knives might do any surgeon justice , I guess . The files are rather small , only about 1/3" wide . Now , that I have them at home , I'm surely gonna make some more decent timber handles for them for many more lures to come ! Greetz , Dieter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBlaze Posted December 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2011 Thanks for all of your input. I am not sure what I will wind up with but this one did the job and was very comfortable in my hand. The wide flat metal handle fit perfectly in the curl of my fingers and I felt like I had full control of the knife. I will make another one with a straight blade and see how it does. Diemai, Yours are nice. I like the idea of using those files for knives. I am sure they would hold a good edge once you get it sharp. Nice Job on them. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonny.Barile Posted December 10, 2011 Report Share Posted December 10, 2011 Dieter You never cease to amaze. Your knives look great. Sonny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saltshaker Posted December 10, 2011 Report Share Posted December 10, 2011 Dieter You never cease to amaze. Your knives look great. Sonny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diemai Posted December 10, 2011 Report Share Posted December 10, 2011 Thanks a lot , folks , .........in fact the tempered steel of a file(except the handle portion on hand files)is very brittle , one can even break a smaller file with a hammer , if laid upon some kind of a two-point mount or clambed in a vise , .........but for those small blades of only about 1" to 1 1/2" length the material is OK , so far you'd just them for wood carving and paper or leather cutting exclusively and f. e. not as a screwdriver , ........really have to take care not to drop them on concrete floors as well . But as John said , they really do hold a good edge , after a few softwood lure blanks they'd still shave the hair off someone's arms ,....... only after working on harder timbers they'd require a few strokes over mentioned fine grade sandpaper or a fine sharpening stone . thanks , ....greetz , Dieter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saltshaker Posted December 10, 2011 Report Share Posted December 10, 2011 You wood carvin' guys must not have any hair on your arms. Just sayin'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diemai Posted December 10, 2011 Report Share Posted December 10, 2011 You wood carvin' guys must not have any hair on your arms. Just sayin'. ................reckon that it's not too far from it , .....such blades are just too sharp to test with the tip of the thumb ! Cheers , Dieter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassguy Posted December 10, 2011 Report Share Posted December 10, 2011 Dieter, those knives look like scalpels. Nicely done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted December 10, 2011 Report Share Posted December 10, 2011 @ saltshaker...........A dull knife is just like an empty gun. Both are pretty much useless. @Dieter.............Nice job on the knives my friend. I built a carving knife with a straight blade like the one in your top photo out of an industrial hacksaw blade. Gene gave me some much appreciated help with building it. It took me a while to get it worked down to a finished edge, but that sucker will get sharp enough to scare me. You make a slip and it's going to cut whatever is in it's way. The handle was made from a broken garden tool handle. Having fairly large hands I wanted something that fit my hand and that wouldn't roll around. I just split the oak handle in half and carve out a small square slot for the back of the blade to fit into and epoxied everything together. It won't win any beauty contests, but it sure works well for carving plugs. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBlaze Posted December 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2011 You wood carvin' guys must not have any hair on your arms. Just sayin'. Laser hair removal ain't got nuth'un on us. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diemai Posted December 11, 2011 Report Share Posted December 11, 2011 Thanks again , fellas , ........spent some time down the shop today to make some better handles for my blades . Found an old wooden coathanger on my scrapwood pile , so it's two tips now serve as knife handles , ...........just cut a fitting groove into them on my routing machine and epoxied the blades in , finally closed the groove with some epoxy putty and worked the excess flush after curing . Not that pretty , .........but as you say , Ben , ........would fully serve the purpose , .......utilizing those bottle corks to protect the blades(or any flesh in the vicinity , if you will ). BTW , ......Ben , was it that hacksaw knife blade that you ran into your finger the other day ? greetz , Dieter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted December 11, 2011 Report Share Posted December 11, 2011 (edited) Your handles look much better than mine Dieter. I didn't go to the trouble of trying to shape them as you did. I just left them straight, but for the way I hold my knife they give me a good grip. Great idea using the wine corks to protect the blades. And yes it was the hacksaw blade knife that "bit" me the other day. It wasn't so much running it into my finger as slicing a part of it off. Just a small part though. Thank goodness our hide grows back after such incidents. Ben Edited December 11, 2011 by RayburnGuy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBlaze Posted December 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2011 Good Job Dieter, The handles look real comfortable. I too like the cork idea for blade protection. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crankpaint Posted December 12, 2011 Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 ................reckon that it's not too far from it , .....such blades are just too sharp to test with the tip of the thumb ! Cheers , Dieter and the closer it gets to deer season the less hair we have on our arms and at least a little leg too lmao Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diemai Posted December 12, 2011 Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 Thanks again , folks ! Ben , it was not that much af a shaping I did on these , .........those coathangers were already close to perfection , .....just tapered sides and underside towards the blade and on the top of the front portion of the handle I've sanded a little indent as a thumb rest . John , .....and these corks are artificial ones , ......guess it's a bit easier to run the blade into them as on natural corks . @ crankpaint ..................good hunting to ya ! greetz , Dieter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted December 12, 2011 Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 You are indeed the Metal Meister. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diemai Posted December 15, 2011 Report Share Posted December 15, 2011 You are indeed the Metal Meister. ..................Mark , ......you make me blush , my friend ! greetz , Dieter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted December 17, 2011 Report Share Posted December 17, 2011 Dieter, I am a carpenter, but my father, among other things, was a machinist. I loved reading his copy of "The Machinist's Handbook". I was constantly surprised and amazed at all the different aspects of metal working. I still pick it up from time to time to answer a question. Sometimes I just reread the part about thermite welding, where they repair huge engine parts in ships or on locomotives, when the broken part can't be removed. A truly elegant solution, and one that has been adapted to epoxy repair of cracked concrete. Those are/were some very creative people, like you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassthumbs Posted December 17, 2011 Report Share Posted December 17, 2011 Great just getting started in lure making and now every time I get on TU I got something else to try something! Thanks Dieter You guys amaze me nice blades! Is there such thing as ( AA FOR DIY)!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBlaze Posted December 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2011 You are indeed the Metal Meister. Indeed he is. and very generous with the sharing of his ideas. Thanks Dieter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonny.Barile Posted December 21, 2011 Report Share Posted December 21, 2011 Mark I have been a designer for 25 years and worked in a quite a few industries. That book travels with me. Cant live with-out it!!!!! Sonny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
