[Marci MN]

Well poo.. I took a magnifying glass to my knife. Its not broke off..but it has this slight bend at the very end. The sharp part is bent ..not the end of the knife itself. I couldnt see it with the bare eye..but could in the magnifying glass.

Now I'm scared... This is the ONLY knife I have to carve with and it will be a good month before I can afford the one I was asking about earlier in the post.

I will find that hone your talking about at Walmart next week and see if I get the nerve up to work this knife. I know I'll print out your instructions and go slowly at it.

Please dont take this the wrong way..but how do you folks aquire so many carving tools? Do you run a special budget with yourself to afford something new every paycheck or sold carving? Or if they are used.. where do you go looking for them? I'd love to build up my carving arsenal...LOL

[AlArchie]

Most of us (Ithink) buy one or two a year,,,that way it doesn't bust the budget. Heck I been buying knives since I was 18 and I'm goin on 62, so if I bought two every year, that'd be over 80......guess I DON'T buy two a year.

But you get the picture....it takes time to accumulate the tools you want. If a carving show turns up in your neck of the woods, they will most likely have a few vendors attending and they may have some bargains on tools. Or check the antique shops.....they have some carving tools sometimes and they have been relatively cheap, although they are starting to catch on, that carvers are prowling the antiques looking for servicable tools and the prices have been going up. Look at estate sales, never can tell.
HiHo's right...practice on a not so important knife first....maybe an old pocket knife or a kitchen paring knife. By the way, a good Chicago Cuttlery or similar paring knife makes an excellent second carving knife. Just find one with a 2" or less blade, they are very similar to the Swedish Sloyd style carving knives.

I have two oyster knives from a kitchen supply store that I use regularly.....one straight one for roughing and stick carving and the second is bent like a NW native bent knife.......works great. 6 bucks apiece. For heavy duty bent knives I've modified two (one left hand and one right hand) farrier's hooks, used for cleaning horse hooves. First one I picked up at a tack shop in Wyoming for 11 dollars, and the other at Lehman's Harware in Kidron Ohio for $15. That's a LOT cheaper than the specialty bent knives and they are Frost brand Swedish steel....none better!

And I almost hate to say this, but don't discount the Xacto knives. You can get a nice boxed set with some other tools good for crafting and model making for under $30. They are NOT the best for carving, but they are quite satisfactory, and I know a few excellent carvers who use them as their primary tools.
If you do use them though, be careful that the blades are firmly held inthe handles.

Al

[rick-in-seattle]

Marci,
If the bend at the tip is very small, you can possibly straighten it by stropping carefully on a piece of hardwood.

The tip will trail the rest of the blade while trying to straighten it.
Use enough pressure to straighten the tip without breaking it.

Recheck it with magnification as you work on it.

Another option is to draw the back edge of the blade down some abrasive to remove just the bent portion of the tip. The knife position is similar to writing with a pencil with the sharp edge away from the abrasive.

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

I have gotten those Marci, I just use my sandpaper (scary sharp method) and draw the blade across flat on both sides until the lip is gone then strop............

[wade clark]

Marci,
Most of my tools were bought on ebay. I have maybe a few hundred Ashley Iles gouges and nearly every one was an ebay item. Most arrived in great shape, and those that needed work went to Rick (or will one of these days). Many I got for less than a third of retail.
Everyone's right, you don't need a few hundred tools, but buying them, especially at a bargain for great tools, is hard to resist. And I convinced my wife a long time ago that tools are a necessity, if I were ever to call them "toys" it'd be the end of my buying!
I also have a set of knives from Rick that I wouldn't sell at any price.
Check people's feedback on ebay. It tells you alot about whether they'll treat you right or not. Generally I've been treated very well there.
Time will build your tool collection. Don't be in a great hurry, just get what you feel you need as you can and take care of them. Some day you'll wonder how you accumulated so many.
Wade

[fishcarver]

Hi Marci I carry teh flexcut knives on my site, take a look and think about gouges,as others have said here, good thoughts, one and all, i don't do a lot of knife crving right now but thinking aobut getting into it as a hobby, my answer would be to get out the ole Foredoma dn grind away, laughing, sorry i know others will bulk at that thought but i'm jsut kidding. knife and gouge carving is more relaxing for sure....fishcarver

[Kenny_S]

Well Marci, You are definitey a carver. Worrying about a knife. Yep, You are hooked for sure. BTW, Man/woman can't have enough knives. That is for sure. Some good suggestions on how tofix the tip. Unfortunantly, I have borke off several in the course of years and tried to repair them before these suggestion were posted.
I have a couple of Helvies that I keep just for harder wood as they have fatter bevels.

Yep, Looks like you need andother knife or two ot three or four.
Try what Rick and Dave suggested. if that fails, Have Rick repair it.

[Plain_Ol_Ed]

I've kind of been avoiding this, what with all the good advice you've been getting. I don't even want to think about how many knives I have, but it's well over 100. Of those, the very best were made from straight razors. A couple from Rick and a few I did myself. I guess what I'm saying is wait until you can get Rick to make you what you need or try it youself. In a way it's just like carving except it takes a little longer because your dealing with metal.

[Thomp]

Marci,

I got the email that you got the warren blade curved knive i sent but i never heard how it preforms??

did i make the handle tough enough to use??

thomas

[Marci MN]

Hello , I'm sorry I havent been down here to check on this post. *hangs head*

I did strop that knife fifty times each way and it seemed to have helped bring it back. I just havent been able to carve with it much since that. I twisted my right wrist something awful. Doc said its a bad sprain or possibly a cracked bone in there. That will teach me to keep my hands out of the way when hooking up tractor implements. *sigh*

Thomp: Yes I did try your knife.. it cut so fast and so sharp I put it back until I have full use of my hand. I'm really scared of cutting myself with this weak hand. Doc would slap me upside the head if'n he had to stitch me up on the other hand. *grin*

Just before doing this to my wrist... I took out one of my cheap paring knives to play with on that scary sharp method. I now have a favorite knife in the kitchen.

Here is a cute story about that knife. Last Sunday my sister was over and we decided to have a picnic. She offered to do the sidedishes since my wrist was tender. She grabbed that paring knife and I told her to 'be careful' that one is sharp. She had it in her hand ready to cut a small cherry tomato..and turned to talk to her son while laying the knife on that tomato. It cut down through it pretty much by itself. She turned to look at it.. layed it down ever so gently and then looked at me. "WHERE did you get that knife?" she asked. I told her it was a free gift for ordering a magazine. " THey come that sharp?".. I said no.. I learned that technique from the folks at the wood carving site I haunt. "Will you do all my knives that way? Purty please?"... I said she'd have to wait awhile till I healed up some. She then kept cutting up vegetables and every now and then we'd hear.. "whoa"... "wow"... I couldnt help but laugh at her.

So thanks guys... I've been listening..