Drawknife

Drawknives are universally usable tools for debarking logs, for reworking and adjusting beams and timbers during renovation, and not least as a means of creative work for sculptors. Bow makers also appreciate the versatility of this tool. The drawknives from Ochsenkopf have a blade thickness at the bevel start of 4 to 4.5 mm, the drawknife from Gränsfors about 5 mm, and that from Frost approximately 2.5 mm.

General instructions for using and sharpening drawknives.
A drawknife is called so because it is meant to be drawn. It should not be pushed, as forces are then released which you can no longer control if your hand slips from the handle. Risk of injury! If the drawknife gets stuck in the wood, do not use it as a lever to lift the chip but try to pull it out backward instead.

Sharpening a drawknife is always somewhat more difficult than sharpening a plane iron or chisel because the handles are almost always in the way. We recommend placing a sharpening stone elevated and securely so that the handles can move freely and don’t get caught when moving the edge on the stone. For a proper edge on large drawknives, a waterstone grit of 1000 to 1200 is sufficient. If you value an excellent edge, which is only reasonable with the small drawknives from Frost and Veritas, a second bevel should be worked with a waterstone grit of 4000 or 6000. Another tip: The harder and knottier the wood, the larger the edge angle should be. For soft wood for fine work, 25° or slightly below is sufficient, for coarser and harder wood, you can confidently go up to 35°.