i made my draw knife the other day out of some scrap metal and i was feeling like hot stuff, but after watching this mines looking a little ghetto lol. thank you for sharing
Very informative. Thanks for information on determining bevel up or down, this has always puzzled me and read contradicting information through the years. I have two old ones however don't use them often as often as I would like. One seems quite old as the edge is forged on. Oddly enough despite contrary opinions on technique my intuition was correct in proper usage and your video confirmed it.
Thanks for the really informative video, Maurice. I really enjoy using the small Svante Djarv drawknife with children. Also good to get a glimpse at your physical store. Looking forward to more videos!
Thank you for the kind words and patience to watch again! Really appreciated, hope to have another video out in the coming weeks (with good audio, we promise!)
The mike Abbot drawknife was a game changer for me. Used a standard, Iles one for years! But the bent back handles made it perfect. The Svante, i still use but only for VERY small bits.
Thank you for a lovely vid so well presented and relaxed, I am from Canada and lived in a house that needed 16 quarts of fire wood for a fall /spring -45C I no longer swing a heavy Hultafors but sure would love to spend some time In your shop. Thank You you have yourself a great day Sir Martin. PS: I have a German made draw knife, it seems to have a 26 cm 10.5" blade with a 49 deg angle on the edge, it has a concave blade. I wonder what would be the draw knife average edge angle be. thanks
At the moment this is a difficult question to answer. If you'd asked me this a few years back - I'd have said Morris of Dunsford billhooks were my go-to. They came out the factory with questionable edges but once we did some work on them in the workshop they'd be good to go and for the price you just couldn't top them. Sadly when they stopped operations a few years back they left a noticable gap in terms of fairly produced, well made British billhooks - although of course theres a fair few in second hand circulation. In terms of patterns, I'd say Newtown, Devon and Tenterden are my personal favourite patterns, but its entirely dependent on the majority type of work you expect to be doing. We've recently been working with British toolmaker Ray Iles and after a fair few rounds of prototypes and testing we're really happy with the Newtown Pattern billhook we've produced. Great weight and balance and a good all rounder.
@@woodsmith_uk Thank you. I don't think these are available in the US unfortunately. The ones I hear the most about that are are Rinaldis. Aside from that, I am mostly finding random generic ones on amazon...
@@BlueGorillaInTheMist yes - would generally advise against cheap, poorly made ones where possible. We do ship internationally to the US if you're ever interested in trying one of ours out!
Thanks very interesting. Really tempted with the small Ray Iles one and the Ray Iles Mike Abbott one. Also what do you think to the Ray Iles XL froe. Cheers
No worries John, glad it was useful and sorry for the slow reply. The Ray Iles XL Froe is a fantastic tool but really best suited to heavy duty jobs such as making roofing shingles.
I have an exceptional old drawknife with a 14 inch cutting edge and a flat beveled side. The maker is stamped W. Houghton, but I can't find any reference as to when and where it was made. Does anyone out there know this maker ? I bought it used 60 years ago in the US.
The best drawknife does not depend on budget. The best by definition can not include cost. So many talented and otherwise wise woodworkers make this claim maybe not to insult people or to not put a too high cost on entry into the field, but it is illogical and disappointing. Sometimes buying alternatives in succession is far more costly than buying the tool that actually does do the job best.
Thank you for sharing your insight! You make an excellent point about the true definition of "the best" drawknife not necessarily being tied to its cost. It's important to consider the long-term value and effectiveness of a tool rather than just the initial price. We aim to help both seasoned committed woodworkers and newcomers (who are often still justifying their interest) make informed decisions that balance quality and affordability. Sometimes the best choice does require an investment in higher-quality tools that last longer and perform better, but for some people the "right" drawknife for them at that time might very well need to be made based on cost - as we know, many high quality, hand forged items are likely prohibitively expensive for people who haven't yet justified their commitment to their craft yet.
i made my draw knife the other day out of some scrap metal and i was feeling like hot stuff, but after watching this mines looking a little ghetto lol. thank you for sharing
Good stuff. Woodsmith are a great reference in green wood working.
Many thanks!
Very informative. Thanks for information on determining bevel up or down, this has always puzzled me and read contradicting information through the years. I have two old ones however don't use them often as often as I would like. One seems quite old as the edge is forged on. Oddly enough despite contrary opinions on technique my intuition was correct in proper usage and your video confirmed it.
Glad to have been of assistance! If you have any more questions please don't hesitate to ask.
Thanks for the really informative video, Maurice. I really enjoy using the small Svante Djarv drawknife with children. Also good to get a glimpse at your physical store. Looking forward to more videos!
Thanks David! Slow to the whole RUclips thing but slowly and surely we'll be uploading more videos. Hope to see you in the shop one day soon!
Thanks David! Slow to the whole RUclips thing but slowly and surely we'll be uploading more videos. Hope to see you in the shop one day soon!
Excellent! The audio quality was perfect this time. Thanks for the great update
Thanks for taking the time to watch again. Took us a moment to work out how to do it, but we finally got there 😂
@@woodsmith_uk Thank you for redoing the audio. It was definitely worth it for me!
Really useful video. I am so glad you've improved the audio, because there is so much useful content to listen to.
Thank you for the kind words and patience to watch again! Really appreciated, hope to have another video out in the coming weeks (with good audio, we promise!)
The mike Abbot drawknife was a game changer for me. Used a standard, Iles one for years! But the bent back handles made it perfect. The Svante, i still use but only for VERY small bits.
Super helpfull in my decision! Cheers
Really glad to hear Nathan, thanks for watching!
Thank you for a lovely vid so well presented and relaxed, I am from Canada and lived in a house that needed 16 quarts of fire wood for a fall /spring -45C I no longer swing a heavy Hultafors but sure would love to spend some time In your shop.
Thank You you have yourself a great day Sir
Martin.
PS: I have a German made draw knife, it seems to have a 26 cm 10.5" blade with a 49 deg angle on the edge, it has a concave blade. I wonder what would be the draw knife average edge angle be.
thanks
What are the top three billhooks you recommend?
At the moment this is a difficult question to answer. If you'd asked me this a few years back - I'd have said Morris of Dunsford billhooks were my go-to. They came out the factory with questionable edges but once we did some work on them in the workshop they'd be good to go and for the price you just couldn't top them. Sadly when they stopped operations a few years back they left a noticable gap in terms of fairly produced, well made British billhooks - although of course theres a fair few in second hand circulation. In terms of patterns, I'd say Newtown, Devon and Tenterden are my personal favourite patterns, but its entirely dependent on the majority type of work you expect to be doing. We've recently been working with British toolmaker Ray Iles and after a fair few rounds of prototypes and testing we're really happy with the Newtown Pattern billhook we've produced. Great weight and balance and a good all rounder.
@@woodsmith_uk Thank you. I don't think these are available in the US unfortunately. The ones I hear the most about that are are Rinaldis. Aside from that, I am mostly finding random generic ones on amazon...
@@BlueGorillaInTheMist yes - would generally advise against cheap, poorly made ones where possible. We do ship internationally to the US if you're ever interested in trying one of ours out!
Thanks very interesting. Really tempted with the small Ray Iles one and the Ray Iles Mike Abbott one. Also what do you think to the Ray Iles XL froe. Cheers
No worries John, glad it was useful and sorry for the slow reply. The Ray Iles XL Froe is a fantastic tool but really best suited to heavy duty jobs such as making roofing shingles.
I have an exceptional old drawknife with a 14 inch cutting edge and a flat beveled side. The maker is stamped W. Houghton, but I can't find any reference as to when and where it was made. Does anyone out there know this maker ? I bought it used 60 years ago in the US.
I understand you don’t sell them, but it would be nice were you to review and comment on a selection of North American draw knife makers.🤔
The best drawknife does not depend on budget. The best by definition can not include cost. So many talented and otherwise wise woodworkers make this claim maybe not to insult people or to not put a too high cost on entry into the field, but it is illogical and disappointing. Sometimes buying alternatives in succession is far more costly than buying the tool that actually does do the job best.
Thank you for sharing your insight! You make an excellent point about the true definition of "the best" drawknife not necessarily being tied to its cost. It's important to consider the long-term value and effectiveness of a tool rather than just the initial price. We aim to help both seasoned committed woodworkers and newcomers (who are often still justifying their interest) make informed decisions that balance quality and affordability. Sometimes the best choice does require an investment in higher-quality tools that last longer and perform better, but for some people the "right" drawknife for them at that time might very well need to be made based on cost - as we know, many high quality, hand forged items are likely prohibitively expensive for people who haven't yet justified their commitment to their craft yet.