Ideal Blade Length?

[Jim-Iowa]

Sat down last night with my Pete Le Clair book and a 2X2 X4"block of basswood. Yep this one will be short and portly.
Working on my first attempt at a caricature.
I found myself wishing my 1" Denny Blade was a bit longer?
Am going to stop tonight and pick up a longer knife on the way home( It's a curse having the Woodchip shop just 5 minutes off my commuting route).
Am debating between a 1 7/8" & 2 1/4" blade or there abouts?
What in your opinion is the ideal length for a roughing blade?

[RUssL.]

Hey, my solution:
Buy 'em both.
You know you want to! :-)

RussL.

[Jim-Iowa]

Originally Posted by RussL.

Hey, my solution:
Buy 'em both.
You know you want to! :-)

RussL.

Careful There Russ! "Your throwing Gasoline on a Brush Fire ".

[RUssL.]

In middle age some men find alcohol, others find younger women or sports cars.
Me? I found woodcarving and hand tools...knives included!

Enjoy the ride, nobody leaves alive.

Best regards,

RussL.

[Bartster]

jim,



either size will do for a roughing knife it is really a matter of what you get used to using, but if i was picking for myself i would go with the 2 1/4", denny makes a nice one as does ron wells.


bart

[Jim-Iowa]

Well now your twisting the blade in my back!

Was in there last week and they have both the Wells/Shipley and Denny.
I'll likely come home with one of ea. I had intended to get a Roughing blade and a detail blade anyway. Will let you know what my impulses bring.

[Thomp]

it totally depends what your carving,

for small caricatures i like to use a blade thats half as long as the caricature is thick, some occasions 3/4 the thickness

too much blade gets you more finger nicks i find..

duck carvers wield some great big 4" blades because there carving on a football sized block

a charter carver using a duck carvers blade would definitely have to keep the band aids close and expect to loose some details like ears and noses

i made a 2" straight razor carving knife, its seldom if ever used, but my 1" and 1-1/2" razor knives are the first i pick up

[Paul_Guraedy]

I have found the knife handle as.....if not more.....important than blade length and style.

When I am doing detail, I like a short blade that is thin-from the cutting edge to the back side with a very pointed end. I like a slightly rounded handle that allows me to old it in several different ways including like a pencil.

When I am roughing out, I like a longer, slightly thicker blade with a blunter point But, I like a nice thick handle and my favorite also has an indentation for my finger. It is slightly angled allowing me to get more torque into the cut.

[Jim-Iowa]

Well Russ I done Ya proud! I can now be counted amoung the Knife Poor.
I picked up two Denny knives, 1- 1 7/8" and 1 - 1" mini Detail.
.
Bart they did not have A 2 1/4 " Denny in stock or I might have got that instead.

Paul, the 1" Denny I was using last night is a blade blank I put in a 1" walnut cigar shaped handle 4 1/2" long that fits my hand perfectly. I like you site by the way.

I also picked up another 1 7/8" blade and a 2" Denny Thornton Detail Blade which will get fitted to my own handles.

Thanks for the advice!

I hope my commitment does not kill this thread. I like to hear everyones opinions.

[Greyhair]

I have one of the Denny 2 &1/4 knives and I really like it. The blade is long enough that it flexes without chattering when you want to do a sweeping curve, like going from the toe of a shoe to the tongue of the shoe or the front of neck below the chin. It keeps its edge really well. If you use it long enoug it will become a 1 &1/2 knive and you will need to get another 2 & 1/4. I speak from experience on that one.