not just another drawknife

[sadiejane]

well, actually it is
just another drawknife
cept this one belonged to my grandpa
so it's special to me.
have seen it hanging in my uncles shed for years.
recently spent a few weeks with him helping him get organized as he moves towards an assisted living situation
and he told me it was grandpas and gave it to me
used it this week on a current bowmaking project
thanks ed!!!

[PEARL DRUMS]

Very cool Sadie! Dont ever take your eyes off that tool.

[Del the cat]

It's great to have a tool with some family history, the quality of the steel is probably much better suited to the tool than the modern stuff, and it probably knows it's way round a piece of wood by now
Del

[mullet]

 It's good to hear it's being used again instead of hanging. That one's special.

[Mark Anderson]

Our Grandfathers must have shopped in the same place. I have one exactly like it right down to the caps on the handles and everything! I've used some high dollar draw knives in the past, some upwards of $150, but none of them hold an edge or shave as smoothly as this one!
Never get rid of it. And enjoy making more memories with it!
Mark

[sadiejane]

yup, it's a great american made tool from the era when the steel was some of the best tool steel ever. personally never buy new tools(unless its a handcrafted one)my grandpa lived in sharp county arkansas all his days and i reckon he bought it right there. ed had it well sharpened and even slicing thru osage it will hold an edge for some time i'm sure. ed said grandpa had it as long as he can remember and ed turned 88 in august. grandpa was 32 when he was born. i have another drawknife, picked up at a flea market, with a brand that i know was made prior to 1900. great old tool steel in that one too. it takes a keen edge and holds it. up till now, it's been my favorite drawknife.
and it will always hang above my tool bench and still get used. but theres just something about those old family pieces. nothing else quite like that feeling. it will get used till i cant hold it anymore. and then passed along to someone younger in my grandpas lineage. knew you guys would understand.

[sonny]

there'll be some Good Medicine in bows crafted using that drawknife.
good for you!
     

[tattoo dave]

That's cool! Take extra good care of it Sadie. I was given all my Grandfather's woodworking tools about a year ago. Made lots of good stuff with them, a draw knife was just one of the tools. Sadly I lost them all, but one rasp in the house fire in June. That's why I'm a firm believer in using old tools like that, instead of just showing them off. Ya it sucks, but at least Grandpas tool got some more use out of them. They sat in his shed for about ten years before I got them. Anyway, use them as much as possible and take care of them.

Tattoo Dave

[lowell]

Very nice...wish I had my grandpa's!!!!    Think it would work better just because it was his!!

[osage outlaw]

That looks like a great drawknife.  I bet every time you use it, you will remember him.  I have my Grandpa's old bench vice that he used unil he passed.  When I use it, it brings back great memories.

[HoBow]

Very cool!  I got my great grandpa's spokeshave, but it's a wall hanger because of the condition.

[George Tsoukalas]

Sadie, that dknife is special. I use my Dad's all the time and for every bow I make. Makes me feel like he's looking over my shoulder smiling as I work with wood. He passed away in '89 and a day doesn't go by...enough of that. LOL.  He loved woodworking and passed his love for things wooden on to me. I seem talkative tonight. You didn't ask  but I'll give some advice particularly since you seem so interested in learning selfbowyery. The knife looks to be in good shape. It was tended to so tend to it. It looks a bit rusty but I couldn't tell for sure. Some light rubbing with fine steel wool will take care of that. There is no way I'd take a file to that unless there were nicks in the blade and then it would be a fine file and I'd go  easy with it. I would not use a file on quality tools but that's Ole Jawge for ya. Again I didn't see any nicks in the photo. I sharpen my Dad's with a medium corse stone taking circular passes. Then I flip the dknife over and put the stone flat against the back and take some circular passes. You don't want the back sharpened or beveled so keep the stone flat for sure. Then I'd put a small amount of oil on the blade and use a rag to coat it. Careful. I've gotten some nasty cuts while oiling my dknife. Gloves would be good. I sharpen and oil after each use. Sometimes I have to sharpen during its use too especially when using hickory. The I wrap all my bow tools including the dknife in newspaper and put them in the draw. I don't want steel touching blades. I often wonder what these old tools would tell us about how they were used and about who used them. Craftsman from days gone by did some beautiful work with just hand tools. Works of art...literally. That's a beautiful knife. Enjoy. I'm anxious to see the bows you turn out with it. Jawge

[colt]

looks like a good tool with some history. take care of that baby.

on a side note i don't think steel quality has declined over time. the notion that steels are bad these days comes from tool manufacturers that care more about profit than making quality tools. improper steel selection or improper heat treat will result in a bad tool. you could probably spend 50 hard earned dollars today and get a brand new, dknife of marginal quality.  i'm sure the op's knife on the other hand is properly treated O1 tool steel, 1095, or something similar. these old steels are simple, but very reliably good and are used to this day to make fantastic tools. i have been hacking on an osage stave with a 1095 blade and it has held an edge beautifully. 

[medicinewheel]

On top of the story - which I understand very well, I use a drawknive that comes from my grandpa, too - it's most likely really good, because it's good steel!

[Del the cat]

@ Colt.
Yeah, you are spot on, modern steels are as good but the wrong stuff is designed in by people who don't use the product and sold by people who know even less.
It's all about 'marketing' these days (spits on floor) and damn accountants (spits again).
Del