Draw knife for a beginner?

[Savate]

I'm going to start putting together a little tool box for bow building....I want to get a draw knife to start it all out.

Is this something I can pick up at Loews or Home Dept?

What other tools should I start my little kit out with?  I will be meeting up with some more experienced primitive bowyers this weekend but wanted to at leat bring "something" along so I'm not over extending my "borrowing" privleages. 

[Pat B]

You can buy draw knives from Lowe's and Home Depot but ones you get from flea markets and yard sales would be a better bet. The older ones are made with much better steel. You might be able to find someone with an extra that is willing to trade.
   A farriers rasp(cheep or free from a farrier), a good wood rasp, a hatchet or machete and a scraper is a good start. For tillering, a rasp and scraper are all you need.     Pat

[Justin Snyder]

Once you get a stave you can sure make it into a bow in a hurry with nothing but a farriers rasp and a scraper. You can only go up from there.  Most experienced bowyers are happy to share.  In fact they often get more enjoyment from helping a new guy use their tools to build a bow than they do in using them themselves.  Justin

[robbsbass]

Ok, I have a dumb question about draw knives, should they be sharp or dull, I have read different articles on how to use them, and am now confussed on which is best, sharp or dull?

[Hillbilly]

I like 'em razor sharp for shaving wood, somewhat duller for debarking and chasing rings. I usually keep a sharp one and a dull one in the shop.

[robbsbass]

Ok thanks, that seems to makes sense, lets see what others have to say.

[Pat B]

All 3 of mine are relatively dull. All I use a draw knife for is removing bark and sapwood and sometimes to reduce a bit of wood from the sides. Most all of the rest (except for the band saw work) with a scraper and Nicholson #50 rasp.       Pat

[madcrow]

My draw knife is sharp enough to shave the hair off a knats' butt.  It is made from the old steel and is atleast 75 years old.  My said said that his dad used it to make hickory strips for chaip bottoms when he was little and he is 72.  My favorite tillering scraper is a very large butcher knife with a slightly curved blade probably 25 to 30 years old.

[bushytail]

A spokeshave will come in handy also.

[Tom_Brone]

I agree a draw knife is a good place to start for most people, but it wasn't for me.
The first items I bought were a rasp and a drawknife, and I've never used my drawknife since then (besides my yew bow).

You have to ask yourself the question what type of bow you want to build.
If you will build a laminated bow (a good place to start for a beginne, like hickory and ash or something like that) you don't need one.
If you will start with building a bow from a stave, than I do recommend you get a drawknife. Be awre though, if you will be using ash a drawknife won't do the job!
If your first bow will be osage or yew or any wood without interlocking grain, then use a drawknife. I used mine on an ash bow and after the first time I switched to my rasp.

if you buy a drawknife, buy a good one from the first time.

Tom

[bowhuntinhillbilly]

why not use regular old razor blades? they work good for fine tillering jobs.