notched draw knife and chasing a growth ring

[jrmeza]

Wow this really erupted into quite the debate!!! I suppose i do have a number of methods i can go about. I would have to agree with the folk who use the draw blade in the "normal" manner as the bevel on my blade is really steep, so if i flip it upside down, its just rubbing a round peice of steel on the wood. I would agree that i "should" be able to do it all with my draw knife but the original problem is that my knife sucks. So im gonna give the scrapers a go around because i dont have a means to fix the blade at the moment. Thank you so much for all the help guys!

[DC]

Sharpen it and keep it sharp. Buy or make a cover for it(split a chunk of garden hose). I have two knives, one is as sharp as I can get it, the other is dulled for bark removal. When I say dull it's a controlled dull, a few swipes with a stone, not bounced around in a tool box dull. Even the dull one is smooth, no nicks. Both of them have covers.

[JW_Halverson]

I used to wade into the bevel debate with my battle flag flying and sword swinging.  Fact remains, it doesn't matter a lick.  Draw knives fall into two categories, one where the handles are parallel to the flat of the blade and one where they are not.  And even that does not matter, because everyone can shift their grip on the handles to accommodate the tool to being bevel up or bevel down. 

What matters is TOOL CONTROL. Do you have enough strength in your hands, fore arms, shoulders, and back to control the tool while exercising enough force to do the job? 

Secondly, a nick in the blade is not going to gouge deeper into the stave than the rest of the blade.  You would need something projecting out from the blade to do that.  If you leave a mark on the stave, it will be a raised bit of wood that can easily be removed with a lite lick of a scraper tool. 

Now, for the debate on sharp versus dull, I am a commissioned officer in the ranks of the sharper is better army!

[SLIMBOB]

Right there with you. Never let mine get dull.  The sharper it is the less muscle I put into it and the more control I have.

[bushboy]

Not to interrupt your thread but I have only used mine with the flat bit on the bottom(bevel up I guess)?and gentle prying up the wood as I go.that being said I have only made a handful of osage bows so i'm no expert to say the least!

[Badger]

  I don't sharpen mine very often but I found out a few weeks ago they hold an edge for a long time through a lot of bows, somehow I ran my thumb across it gently and it sliced the hell out of me. I seldom ever use a bandsaw to rough one out anymore, I use the draw knife right up to final tiller then switch to a scraper and a rasp.

[Blaflair2]

I don't have time to just sit and scrape to a ring, drawknife everything until actually attempting to floor tiller. I've found what works for me, but definitely get those dings out. I buy most my bow making tools at antique shops and flea markets/garage sales. They really don't make stuff like they used to. Go on the trade section and maybe u can work something out with someone. If I had an extra I'd send it to ya. Tools make the man, the man makes the bow, and the bow makes the meat

[Eric Krewson]

JW has it right and I was a little hasty in my conclusion. Lots of drawknives of different configurations out there. All of mine are straight blade with the handle on the same plane as the blade. I have picked up curved blade and offset handle drawknives at flea markets and relegated them to wall ornaments because I couldn't get them to cut worth a hoot.

 I guess one would adapt to what ever you start with and make it work for you. In my case it is a huge, straight blade debarking drawknife that I can really make hum, I have stripped off somewhere between 200 and 300 osage staves with it.