Doug Mason
06-24-2009, 6:51 PM
Having little experience w/drawknifes, I was glad when I came across a cabriole leg project where I could put them to use. I have 2 of them--an old 10 inch Whitherby from ebay ($20/30??) and a Barr ($120/130??) I picked up last year, per below:
121557
Each of them has a slightly covex backside--they are not straight (although the Whiterby is nearly straight). Thus, when honing the backside, I went with a short stone that would follow the convex exterior. I know that there are many flavors of drawknifes--so I assume there just as many w/straightbacks as w/convex backs, etc. I sharpened both of them on a belt grinder, followed by honing on a medium and fine stone.
121558
Per below, I tested each on cabriole legs by wating away the waste:
121559
And hands down the Barr cuts much better--in fact there was no comparison! This isn't a plug for Barr tools or to say that Whitherby drawknifes are bad--just an observation.
One other observation, too, is that in using these drawknifes, I find I would be better off with a small and large version--as opposed to a medium--which is what I have here. But I find this extends to other tools as well, such as shoulder planes or a bandsaw; with the latter, I have found that having a Delta 14 inch bandsaw and a MM24 bandsaw would be much better than a medium sized MM16 (which is what I have and have found it to be a bitt undersized). But that is in a perfect world!
Finally, those fairly new to drawknifes like myself have to be carefull in sharpening them--as it is easy (especially w/big hands like mine) to lose your grip with those small slipstones and cut yourself (don't ask!!!). Below is the result of my trying to use my translucent (my favorite/most used stone)for honing the drawknifes (I'm embarrased to say how much it cost me).
121560
121557
Each of them has a slightly covex backside--they are not straight (although the Whiterby is nearly straight). Thus, when honing the backside, I went with a short stone that would follow the convex exterior. I know that there are many flavors of drawknifes--so I assume there just as many w/straightbacks as w/convex backs, etc. I sharpened both of them on a belt grinder, followed by honing on a medium and fine stone.
121558
Per below, I tested each on cabriole legs by wating away the waste:
121559
And hands down the Barr cuts much better--in fact there was no comparison! This isn't a plug for Barr tools or to say that Whitherby drawknifes are bad--just an observation.
One other observation, too, is that in using these drawknifes, I find I would be better off with a small and large version--as opposed to a medium--which is what I have here. But I find this extends to other tools as well, such as shoulder planes or a bandsaw; with the latter, I have found that having a Delta 14 inch bandsaw and a MM24 bandsaw would be much better than a medium sized MM16 (which is what I have and have found it to be a bitt undersized). But that is in a perfect world!
Finally, those fairly new to drawknifes like myself have to be carefull in sharpening them--as it is easy (especially w/big hands like mine) to lose your grip with those small slipstones and cut yourself (don't ask!!!). Below is the result of my trying to use my translucent (my favorite/most used stone)for honing the drawknifes (I'm embarrased to say how much it cost me).
121560