I recently read a book by John McPhee titled "Survival of the Birchbark Canoe". McPhee describes how the canoe builder, a thoroughly disagreeable man but a fine, intuitive craftsman, uses a tool called a 'crooked knife'. He uses this in place of a drawknife. Does anyone know what a crooked knife is and where one might be obtained? John *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I'm not sure how to obtain one, I'd check the Baidarka List Archive. A Crooked Knife comes handed either right or left, is held with the blade towards the body and is drawn towards the body in use. The blade is hooked upward beyond 180°. This shape allows carving or gouging in an inside curve at the hook or on a flat using the flat part of the blade. Good Luck Jed *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Here is something on making a crooked knife: http://www.cancom.net/~themdays/unclewallace.html If you have farm stores near you, check in the section where they sell horse-shoeing tools. I've found crooked knives of several varieties in most of the farm stores around me. Everything from $6 chinese made knives to $12 swiss knives. I was in a woodworking shop and saw that they sell a nearly identical german knife for more than $20 (the brand with the three cherries on the label - pretty common maker of carving tools whose name I forget). Lee Valley tools might have them (they are on the net at www.leevalley.com, but not with a complete catalog) Glenn ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Myers" <jmyers_at_longbranch.k12.nj.us> To: <PaddleWise_at_lists.intelenet.net> Sent: Wednesday, February 02, 2000 10:18 AM Subject: [Paddlewise] crooked knife > I recently read a book by John McPhee titled "Survival of the Birchbark > Canoe". McPhee describes how the canoe builder, a thoroughly disagreeable > man but a fine, intuitive craftsman, uses a tool called a 'crooked knife'. > He uses this in place of a drawknife. Does anyone know what a crooked knife > is and where one might be obtained? > John > > *************************************************************************** > PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not > to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission > Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net > Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net > Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ > *************************************************************************** > *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> I'm not sure how to obtain one, I'd check the Baidarka List Archive. A >Crooked Knife comes handed either right or left, is held with the blade >towards the body and is drawn towards the body in use. The blade is hooked >upward beyond 180°. This shape allows carving or gouging in an inside curve >at the hook or on a flat using the flat part of the blade. Usually it's the handle that's bent. If you have a copy of Adney's book, there's an illustration in Ch. 2, Materials and Tools. In my copy it's on p. 21. I have also seen a Farrier's Knife, used to trim hooves, that is very much like a crooked knife. Joe P. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Sounds like a frog knife that farriers (horseshoers) use. They're probably only $6 or 7 each and available at any ranch supply. Jed wrote: > I'm not sure how to obtain one, I'd check the Baidarka List Archive. A >Crooked Knife comes handed either right or left, is held with the blade >towards the body and is drawn towards the body in use. The blade is hooked >upward beyond 180°. This shape allows carving or gouging in an inside curve >at the hook or on a flat using the flat part of the blade. Shawn W. Baker 0 46°53'N © 1999 ____©/______ 114°06'W ~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^\ ,/ /~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^ baker_at_montana.com 0 http://www.missoulaconcrete.com/shawn/ *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
At 10:18 AM 2/2/00 -0500, you wrote: >I recently read a book by John McPhee titled "Survival of the Birchbark >Canoe". McPhee describes how the canoe builder, a thoroughly disagreeable >man but a fine, intuitive craftsman, uses a tool called a 'crooked knife'. >He uses this in place of a drawknife. Does anyone know what a crooked knife >is and where one might be obtained? John, The crooked knife is often called the Native American's toolkit. They are amazingly versatile and replace a score of Western-style tools. You can find articles on the web for making one. Generally you have to learn some simple annealing and tempering techniques and use an old file for the knife blank. See http://collections.ic.gc.ca/Labrador/unclewallace.html for an interesting overview. If you would rather buy one, old crooked knives are available on Ebay from time to time. Duluth Pack also has a traditional knife for sale at http://www.duluthpacks.com/stoves3.html. I have not used this particular knife but it looks beautiful and has a continuous bend to the blade. Some folks prefer this blade shape but I like a blade that has a flat-section (for planing) that curves sharply at the tip. YMMV. Kestrel tools <http://www.mastersofindustry.com/kestrel/crooked.htm> makes a nice crooked knife but they are designed for carving and have a smaller blade than I prefer for paddle making. If you go with this tool, get the "C" bend. I own one and use it for some aspects of paddle making but prefer a larger blade for most tasks. Lee Valley <http://www.leevalley.com/> also sells a crooked knife but the blade is much larger than a traditional knife and is made of stainless, rather than a high-quality carbon steel. One member of the baidarka list has reported that this knife works quite well when honed properly. I own one but don't particularly care for it, YMMV. These tools take some practice to master and sharpen but what I love about them is that you don't need to clamp your work to a bench. In warmer weather, simply find a nice shady spot under your favorite old oak tree, brace your work with your body and whittle away. That said, I still find more than enough uses for my old drawknives. Greg Stamer *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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