carving knives

[blanchard65]

Hi I've been lurking here for about 5 months and decided to try my hand at some flat planing. I bought a knive and a strop. The knive was from woodworkers supply ( I think the name is.) All it says is made in Sweden. and has some markings on it. Is this knive any good. Also I didn't buy any compound. I have some that says light metal polish. Could I use this or will it hurt my strop? Thanks

[Soggy]

Perhaps I should let some of the more experienced carvers answer this, but I'll let you know what I have found.
First when I started I purchased the "Starter Kit" from " Little Shavers" and it contained a knife and some compound as well as several gouges, V tool etc. It was a good buy and and has served me well. Then as I got into this hobby a little deeper I thought I needed another knife. After looking around and reading everything I could get my hands on I decided to get a medium sized knife by Ron Wells ( I've since been told that these knives are made by Mike Shiply and this one does have the initials M S on it so maybe it is Question) I purchased it from ' Chipping Away" in Kitchener Ont. for roughly $25.00. This is a GREAT carving knife . Although it is larger than my first knife, it seems to be thinner and more flexible and is a real pleasure to use. Also it seems to hold it's edge very well and then when I do strop it , it's just like a razor in no time at all.
And in answer to your other question Yes I would get some compound. Perhaps if you have some gouges and V tools that you will be sharpening you might want to look into getting a Slip Strop Kit from Flexcut, that will have some good compound included.
Hope this helps
Wayne

[MackTheKnife]

Without more information I would guess that the knife you have is made by Mora. They make excellent knives that are also inexpensive. A lot of flat plane carving has been done with these knives. How easy the carving is depends on the blade length and blade profile of the knife you have. Most Scandinavian made blades have an edge bevel of 25 degrees. I think most of the original flat plane carvers such as Axel Petersen, Emil Janel, and the Tryggs used this type of edge. (I could be wrong here. Gene, any input?) But technology (or "plane" laziness) has advanced. Del Stubbs at Pinewood Forge (Pinewood Forge Scandinavian Knives ) makes a knife called the Harley, after Harley Refsal, probably the greatest living expert on flat plane carving. This knife has an edge bevel of only 13 degrees. These knives fairly drift through basswood and take off the largest, most uniform chips I've ever seen. He makes them in two sizes. The larger one is $34 and the smaller $33. I have both, and they have become my primary knives.

Hope this helps.

Bob

[Gear Dog]

If it will cut wood it's good enough to get you started.
I started with a knife and a bag of basswood blocks from Michael's. The knife didn't have an edge and wood was hard to carve. I did manage to carve a few balls in cages, an old guy from a tutorial from here with my first knife. I spent a day just trying to put an edge on it. Then went to a local club and they showed me how sharp my knife can get.
I say do some research on sharpening the knife and just have fun letting the chips fly.

[BRIAN D]

blanchard65 my experience with the knife you have, it's a very good knife, but not many pay attention to it. I recommend find the info on scary sharp & if you don't feel confident, use a cheap knife to sharpen & get experiance, or send it to Little Shavers. I hear Rick Does a good job. Once you use that knife scary sharp you'll enjoy it. Good Carving!
P.S. Learning although work can be fun
Brian D

[blanchard65]

thanks to all who responded I will be trying a project soon and will let you know how I make out. I was just looking at the knive and it has a arrow and the # 13 on it

[Raparee]

Is it a Pfeil (Swiss Made)?

[blanchard65]

it only says made in sweden has has an arrow and 13 on it.

[CarverFromNoWhere]

a picture of this Swedish knife with an arrow if you can.

I was just going to suggest the Harley from Del at pinwoodforge But it looks like Bob has already coverd it. Del does a really great job and his knives are the best I have ever seen, I am a knife maker myself but his wow.
Carl