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Author Topic: Draw knife alternative?  (Read 11059 times)

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Offline TheDukesArchers

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Draw knife alternative?
« on: September 27, 2014, 07:25:13 pm »
I don't have a draw knife right now and can't afford to really go buy one. Need to remove the bark from a yew stave.
Have done some with a small dull pocket knife, but it's going to be on hell of a long job on a 76 long stave with just a dull 4 inch long blade.

There is a Rona near me that right do some something?

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Offline Will H

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Re: Draw knife alternative?
« Reply #1 on: September 27, 2014, 07:37:42 pm »
Leave the bark on. Start making the bow. It should pop off sometime around low brace. Viola! Perfectly unscarred sapwood back!

As for suggestions to an alternative for a drawknife, I like a bandsaw  >:D
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Offline TheDukesArchers

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Re: Draw knife alternative?
« Reply #2 on: September 27, 2014, 07:46:34 pm »
Yeah I'd love a band saw.

Keep the bark on? This works with yew longbows?
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Offline Badger

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Re: Draw knife alternative?
« Reply #3 on: September 27, 2014, 07:49:44 pm »
 Read Wills post again, he said it pops off at low brace. I nver tried it with yew but have on a number of other trees and it does work.
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Offline bushboy

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Re: Draw knife alternative?
« Reply #4 on: September 27, 2014, 07:50:36 pm »
Check out antique shops, prob get one for 20 bucks that has better steel than any modern ones.
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Offline JoJoDapyro

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Re: Draw knife alternative?
« Reply #5 on: September 27, 2014, 08:19:15 pm »
Or make one like Tyke did.
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Offline TheDukesArchers

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Re: Draw knife alternative?
« Reply #6 on: September 27, 2014, 08:21:15 pm »
I'm thinking of turning a file into some sort of draw knife. I just need to be super careful when removing the bark on this stave.

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Offline bushboy

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Re: Draw knife alternative?
« Reply #7 on: September 27, 2014, 08:31:57 pm »
Yes, I've made draw knives from files and mild steel, just make a single bevel and your away!
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Some like motorboats,I like kayaks,some like guns,I like bows,but not the wheelie type.

Offline TheDukesArchers

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Re: Draw knife alternative?
« Reply #8 on: September 27, 2014, 08:33:43 pm »
How would I sharpen the file into a draw knife though?
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Offline sieddy

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Re: Draw knife alternative?
« Reply #9 on: September 27, 2014, 08:37:41 pm »
I saw one guy who stuck the point of a sheath knife into a wooden baton. He held the baton and the knife handle and drew away. Seemed to work fine! :)
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Offline TheDukesArchers

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Re: Draw knife alternative?
« Reply #10 on: September 27, 2014, 08:39:58 pm »
Quote from: sieddy on September 27, 2014, 08:37:41 pm
I saw one guy who stuck the point of a sheath knife into a wooden baton. He held the baton and the knife handle and drew away. Seemed to work fine! :)

Haha that is not a bad idea at all.
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Offline TheDukesArchers

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Re: Draw knife alternative?
« Reply #11 on: September 27, 2014, 08:51:34 pm »
My machete seems to work kind of ok. It does suck starting all over again and having to start with the basic tools.
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Offline bushboy

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Re: Draw knife alternative?
« Reply #12 on: September 27, 2014, 09:03:35 pm »
Keep one edge flat and bevel the other
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Some like motorboats,I like kayaks,some like guns,I like bows,but not the wheelie type.

Offline chamookman

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Re: Draw knife alternative?
« Reply #13 on: September 28, 2014, 05:09:50 am »
A while back I got a very humpy-lumpy Yew stave. I worked the whole back (bark+cambium) clean with a fixed blade Buck Personal knife. It was easy going - I really don't see the need for a draw knife with Yew. I used the knife like a scraper to get to the back. Bob
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Offline hurlbri1

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Re: Draw knife alternative?
« Reply #14 on: September 29, 2014, 01:50:07 pm »
I have a Fiskars hatchet that I use as my draw knife.  I use it the way most here would use their fixed blade knives but the handle and large head of a hatchet make removing wood a two handed operation which is nice--I have more control and it's easier to draw along the full length of a bow limb.  Not to mention, I build a lot of flat bows, pyramid style so the width of the hatchet blade covers a lot of limb.  Basically, I keep the blade of the hatchet perpendicular to the limb, with my right hand covering the top of the head and my left hand grabbing the handle, then I draw back toward me.  It's nice for those times when I need say "5 scrapes on each limb" to reduce poundage.   
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