Mike Henderson
06-19-2021, 11:32 PM
Some time back, I got a draw knife that was in really poor condition. The main reason I got it was so that I could replace the handles. I was just interested in what was involved in doing handle replacement on a draw knife.
I finally got around to making new handles for the tool. It was not as simple as making a handle for a chisel. The major problem is that the handle has to be just the right length. And since there's two of them, they need to look reasonably alike.
I made four "trial" handles before I made the final two from teak that I had around the shop. It was worth it to make the "trial" handles because I wasn't satisfied with the handle until the fourth one.
Here's the drawknife as found. Lots of rust and someone had beat on the draw knife, perhaps to use it like a froe. I soaked it in Evaporust but then had to use a deburring wheel on it to really remove the rust.
459887
And here's the draw knife with the new handles. I haven't peened the ends yet nor sharpened the blade.
459886
I like the way the new handles look, but restoring a draw knife in this condition is definitely not worth it. Draw knives in good condition are readily available on eBay. This one took a lot of work to remove the rust and to make the new handles. If I was to sell it on EBay, I probably get about $0.25/hour for the work I put into it:) And I still need to sharpen it.
I took pictures as I was doing one of the handles and I'll try to do a tutorial on my web site describing how to make new handles for a draw knife.
Mike
[These are the four "trial" handles I turned before I turned the teak handles. They're in order from left to right - the last one has some finish on it. Even the last one wasn't quite what I wanted but I could make the changes on the teak. I'm not a very good turner. I only do it occasionally and usually for things associated with some other project.]
459894
I finally got around to making new handles for the tool. It was not as simple as making a handle for a chisel. The major problem is that the handle has to be just the right length. And since there's two of them, they need to look reasonably alike.
I made four "trial" handles before I made the final two from teak that I had around the shop. It was worth it to make the "trial" handles because I wasn't satisfied with the handle until the fourth one.
Here's the drawknife as found. Lots of rust and someone had beat on the draw knife, perhaps to use it like a froe. I soaked it in Evaporust but then had to use a deburring wheel on it to really remove the rust.
459887
And here's the draw knife with the new handles. I haven't peened the ends yet nor sharpened the blade.
459886
I like the way the new handles look, but restoring a draw knife in this condition is definitely not worth it. Draw knives in good condition are readily available on eBay. This one took a lot of work to remove the rust and to make the new handles. If I was to sell it on EBay, I probably get about $0.25/hour for the work I put into it:) And I still need to sharpen it.
I took pictures as I was doing one of the handles and I'll try to do a tutorial on my web site describing how to make new handles for a draw knife.
Mike
[These are the four "trial" handles I turned before I turned the teak handles. They're in order from left to right - the last one has some finish on it. Even the last one wasn't quite what I wanted but I could make the changes on the teak. I'm not a very good turner. I only do it occasionally and usually for things associated with some other project.]
459894