My latest work...

[Just Carving]

I posted pictures of 3 knives I finally completed last week and a Halloween pin I finished last night. They're in the Carver Galleries under Liferescue. Hope you enjoy!

[AlArchie]

Knives look good....what did you use for steel? Punkin' Pin is cute, too. Mind if I try one?

Al

[Just Carving]

Hi Al

Sure. If you want what I used for a pattern, I'll e-mail you the JPG file later when I get home. I don't remember where I got it, but it'll serve it's purpose once you enlarge/reduce it to size.

The blade on the modified was stainless steel. Much to my surprise it stays sharp, and I've used it on basswood, pine, poplar, and red oak. The blades on the two knives I made were cut from an old Lenox reciprocating saw blade. I used a 3" dia. cut-off blade in a hand grinder to rough the shape out and then used various grit levels of emery paper the rest of the way to final sharpness.

[AlArchie]

Bob, thanks for the offer, but no need to send the pattern, as I can pull it right off your photo and print it out as a B&W line drawing (eventually).

Don't be surprised by that stainless, there are some new alloys around that really work well for carving. Still a little hard to sharpen, but once there, they STAY that way!

Al

[Just Carving]

Al,

The stainless knife was part of a set that has been laying around for a long time--at least 10 years maybe closer to 20. I also have another old kitchen knife from the same set that I added a handle to to make a draw knife. (see link to photo)

http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.co...00&ppuser=2366

I found the stainless steel knives easier to sharpen than the other two knives--the metal seemed softer. But they sure are sharp. I've got scars to prove it! LOL