# New drawknife or old??



## Minorhero (Apr 8, 2011)

The post says it all, should I buy a new draw knife or old? Assume I want to spend no more then 70$. I am looking for cutting edges in the 8-10 inch range. I plan to use it to remove material to create rounded edges on curved stock. Basically as a step between a band saw and a rasp. There seems to be a large number of used drawknifes in this price range, and a decent number of new ones as well. Should I hunt eBay or just go buy a specific brand of knife new?


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## redryder (Nov 28, 2009)

I have both new and used (from an antique shop). Most of the used ones I have seen have had loose handles and I have stayed away from those. I don't find a difference with the business end of either. I use them mostly for skinning logs…............


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## Dez (Mar 28, 2007)

Go for the old.. Most of the new ones in that price range that I have seen were inferior!


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## firefighterontheside (Apr 26, 2013)

I used to get supplies for building my log home from here. There are a range of prices, some in your range, but I cannot attest to the quality of the cheaper ones. I just know the other products that I got here were good.

http://www.loghelp.com/c-170-drawknives.aspx


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## jdh122 (Sep 8, 2010)

Like Mike, I have both new and old. Flea markets around here have them by the dozens for about $20 and both of the ones I bought work great after I sharpened them. Most of them have the handle in line with the blade, which means (at least in my experience) that on a shaving horse they're easier to use bevel down than bevel up. I might be a bit reluctant to buy one off ebay without being able to hold it in my hands before buying it

I also bought the Auriou forged dk from Lee Valley ($57 for the 13 inch one that I have with a 6 inch blade) and really like it a lot. It's a knife-edge rather than chisel-edge configuration (there are bevels on both sides, although one is considerably longer than the other and ends up working almost like bevel-up). The handle style took some getting used to, but not that much. I think that LV should be due for a free shipping event soon (or maybe this is just wishful thinking). http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=44502&cat=1,130,43332


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## Minorhero (Apr 8, 2011)

Seems like old is better bang for buck but the issue is you don't know the full quality of what you are getting.

Is there much I should pay attention to by way of what angles the handles are in respect to the blade? Sometimes they are exactly in line, sometimes they are tilted at an angle, sometimes they are outside of the plane of the blade.


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## Mahdeew (Jul 24, 2013)

I purchased mine about 25 years ago and peeled over 170 oak (red an white) to build my log home. Originally purchased it to build my homestead in Alaska which did not work out. After the 130th log, the weld from one of the handles came off but I managed to finish the job mainly because the steel was so well made. I had bought a secondary draw knife made in Germany thinking German made was good; and it was; but didn't realize that there were no oak left there and the draw knife was basically worthless for peeling logs. It was a tool for making furniture and such; not a log peeler. Here are some pictures of me using my draw knife building my log home… make sure yours are soft enough to sharpen and hard enough to hold an edge:
http://www.earthartandfoods.com/loghome.html


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## jdh122 (Sep 8, 2010)

The angle of the handle to the blade (basically) determines whether you use it with the bevel up or down. Curtis Buchanan explains it at the start of this video on sharpening:


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## Mahdeew (Jul 24, 2013)

I used mine both ways, bevel up and down. Sometimes when going around bumps and knots, it is easier to have the bevel down. Some draw knives have bow in the middle which obviously peel only a small portion going against the bow. For furniture legs maybe use a small ax along the lines then spoke shave.


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## Minorhero (Apr 8, 2011)

I am actually not going to be using it on trees/logs/unfinished lumber. I am going to be making a wooden bicycle frame and my plan is to use the drawknife after I rough the frame out on the bandsaw I am going to use the drawknife to roundout the basic shape, then go over it with rasp and spokeshave.


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## FatherHooligan (Mar 27, 2008)

Boost the economy, buy a new one


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