Popular Woodworking 2008-12 № 173, страница 54

you hold a knife isa function of ihe work, and a straight grip on ihe handles is only one of many possibilities. Adrawknife is frequently used on end grain. Then, you have to choke upon the control handle (the right hand if you are right handed). Sometimes I hold the blade vertical, then my right hand holds the handle wiih an overhand grip. The important point is to not get locked into a misperception and be limited by it.

1 lell students that a drawknife is a slicing tool, not a two-handled hatchet. This means you do not use it by hacking. My analogy is a butcher cutting meal. He starts close to the handle and makes a slicing stroke lhal ends with the point of ihe blade. The result isa clean, easy cut. So too wiih a drawknife. Slari the cut close to your control hand. Lift the blade ever so slight ly to create some clearance behind ihe cutting edge and to engage it. As you pull the knife, make a slicing cut that ends up at the far end of the blade. The closer youaretoend grain, the shorter the radius of the slicing arc.

Besides an easy, glassy smooth cut, using the knife this way has other benefits. By slic

A versatile tool. Taking a hair's breadth off a workpiece is quick work for a drawknife - as is heavy stock removal, and anything in between.

ing, you distribute the culling action along the entire cutting edge, and it will stay sharp longer. Pulling directly toward yourself, or hacking as wiih a hatchet, places the wearall in one spot on the blade. This area becomes dull faster, and you will eventually develop a hollow in the cutting edge.

Once you understand how a drawknife cuts, you will understand the flaw behind a common misconception. Some woodworkers hold the knife upside down. This position - with the bezel down - changes the cutting

action. You have created a high-angle cut lhal will not slice. To better understand, imagine paring with a chisel. You place the bezel up, raise the handle slightly to create clearance, and cut with a slicing action. Consider what kind of cut you will get if you try to pare with the bezel down, and how much control you will have in this position.

The guys who use a drawknife this way argue they have more control. They mistake

Bad grind. The modern drawknife on top in the picture above is ground with a chisel edge, which severely limits its usefulness. Look for one with a knife edge (they're easy to find on eBay and on old-tool web sites).

BY MICHAEL DUNBAR