[K. Ellenburg]

What is a good detail Knife to start out with? I dont mind spending the money for a good knife as long as the quality is there, it doesnt have to be a name brand company I just want something that will last and do small detail work.
Kevin

[Jim OH]

1" Mini-Detail Knife by Denny, octogon handle, about $20.00 or so. I have a couple and use them a lot! Best knife I have!
Jim OH

[JBcarver]

I love my flexcut knives and tools , They hold an edge very well.My detail knife was a little weak at the tip though.It bent really easy but being that sharp of a tip I guess all of them would bend or break.

[GeorgiaCarver]

I like the Helvie and or the Cape Forge knives. I use them exclusively!

My roughout knife comes from Rick

Greg

[K. Ellenburg]

I broke the tip on my Pfheil roughing Knife and was really surprized that it brike so easy, thats why I was asking about a detail knife I thought that a roughing knife would be more sturdy than the one I broke and I wasnt really using much pressure at all, so I thought if a roughing knife breaks that easy I wouldnt have a chance with a detail knife. Speaking of Pfheil, how do you pronounce it, is it feel or file?

[Thomp]

any knife or metal has its stress point,
it has to be tough and hard to hold an edge but this comes at the expence of being brittle.. if the blade is too soft, you spend most your time sharpening than carving becuse it will dull faster

using my knives i have tortured them doing curved twisting cuts, or flicking out a stuborn chup, with the handle at a low angle, and used them for a long time this way, and got away with it, maybe even partially cracking the tip, this puts strain on a longer portune of the tip, versus using the knife with the handle closer to 90 degreese to the work.

[K. Ellenburg]

I know I was really surprized at how easy the tip broke in fact I was really disappointed that a roughing knife from a well known company would break so easily with little to almost no pressure applied at all even though I was using it to flick out a chip.

[Callynne]

I am a huge fan of Dave Lyons brand knives, I can't imagine a more perfect detail knife than his! In fact, large or small, they're the only knives I use any more. I love them! Deborah</IMG>

[xsailer]

K. Ellenburg,
I have several different knives but the more I use them the more I find myself using the RWells to rough out to detail then small Denny's and my Rick razor knife. I'm really liking the RW and thought I wouldn't. Its got a thin, long flexible blade and sharp. I like the flexible at time as it allows reaching in and bending to fit a slight contour. I also like the Helvie but I finding the handle to slick to control so I'm going to rough up that beautiful handle a little.

[Thomp]

Kevin

well knives were never made to be used as prying tools,
the blade might have been fractured from a fall or other accident, then when you applied the side pressure to flick out the chip, its all it took to finish off the damage,

straight razor and file knives have a great tendinitises to break if used for more than cutting, they wont take much torment its hard to stop bad habits but necessary

bob,
on the slick knife, a suggestion, other than sanding up the slick finish, i suggest, next time your using spray adhesive for the back of a pattern or wet dry sandpaper, set the knife handle close enough to catch a little over spray of the adhesive then flip the handle over and get a little of the over spray on the other side and let it dry,

this dont wreck the finish but the spattered adhesive makes a nearly invisible non slip handle , if its to sticky just dust it with some talcum powder, and wipe off the residue, later you can rub off the over spray if you want pretty easy. it dont hurt the finish that ive seen. but it has to be a fine over spray not direct spray from nozzle.

the first real straight razor knife i made, i sent it to rick to sharpen and get him to inspect my work, and he reworked it some, it came back so pretty and slick i was afraid to use it,
it didn't help that i put the handle on upside down...