At least one new knife needed - advice please!

[Lol999]

Hi, new to carving and the forum, just started out with a Flexcut KN12 which is okay, but I came to a point where I needed to carve some finger grooves in a piece of wood. I managed a bit of hollowing with my KN12 but came to the conclusion I needed something like a hook knife.
Can any one recommend such an item?

In addition, I have needed a longer blade than on the KN12, can anyone again recommend a suitable knife with a longer straight blade?

Many thanks, Lol

[Claude]

Re: At least one new knife needed - advice please!

You are likely to end up with as many different recommendations as there are people on the forum!!!!

Helvie Knives are not expensive and they are high quality. http://www.helvieknives.com

As to the finger grooves, a decent gouge and a knife are really all you need. At the Renegade Woodcarving Rendezvous in Tennessee, Gary Falin as keeps telling us that the go-to gouge is a 1/2 inch #9 Ramelson gouge. http://www.ramelson.com/#!individualprofiles/c1vrt

Claude

[Bob K.]

Re: At least one new knife needed - advice please!

Gotta agree with Claude\'s excellent advice! I might add that Pinewood Forge makes some excellent hook knives, but like Claude said, all you should need is a good gouge like the Ramelson. If you are carving caricatures stick with a good carving knife and a few good small (palm) gouges...that\'s all I use.

[Lol999]

Re: At least one new knife needed - advice please!

Thanks for the info Claude but to be honest I was wanting to use a knife rather than gouge as I intend to sit and whittle whilst at craft fairs with my wife!
The spoon type knives look the thing but I\'m unsure which one to buy!

[Nomad]

Re: At least one new knife needed - advice please!

I don\'t think you can go wrong with a spoon/hook knife from Pinewood Forge.

[Lol999]

Re: At least one new knife needed - advice please!

They look great but a two month waiting time is a bit too long for my liking. I\'m UK based so I\'ll have a look to see what I can find and offer them up for comment.
Thanks for your help so far it\'s much appreciated.

[Lol999]

Re: At least one new knife needed - advice please!

Well I\'ve narrowed it down to two or three candidates as follows:
http://www.workshopheaven.com/tools/Ray-Iles-Deep-Spoon-Knife--Right.html

http://www.workshopheaven.com/tools/Ray-Iles-Shallow-Spoon-Knife--Right.html

http://www.axminster.co.uk/flexcut-left-right-handed-hook-knives-ax792874

Thoughts and suggestions welcome. As regards the Ray Iles I am unsure as to whether to go for the deep or the shallow!

[bowinhand]

Re: At least one new knife needed - advice please!

I\'ve never used either of those hooks. Try Robin Wood he has what you need and he is close to you.

http://www.robin-wood.co.uk/product-category/tools/

[mpounders]

Re: At least one new knife needed - advice please!

I think some confusion may be from not knowing what you are carving. \"Finger grooves\" on a bow or a walking staff might be best done with a different tool than grooves between fingers on a caricature. A hook knife is great for hollowing out spoons and bowls, but a simple gouge of an appropriate size would work better for grooves on a staff or a caricature. An upsweep knife is useful for making some concave cuts, but I find a gouge gives a better finish when used across grain. You can sit and use a gouge, but I bet you\'ve already convinced yourself on the hook knife. Won\'t hurt a bit to try it!

[Lol999]

Re: At least one new knife needed - advice please!

Sorry about the lack of clarity in my post I\'ll try to explain. I recently started \"carving\" wood and plan to do a number of clinging crosses as you may have read in my introduction post. Whilst I was carving my first and only I wanted to carve some \"grooves\" for want of a better word for my fingers to nestle into whist I held the cross.

I managed to butcher it a bit with my knife as you can see in my post in the \"work in progress\" section which I then finished off with a Dremel type tool. There was however quite a bit of chatter an the cut and it wasn\'t the smoothest or easiest cut to make, more a scratching at times, hence the thoughts as to a hook knife.

I\'m going to be doing most if not all of my carving with the item in my lap, often away from home at a craft fair whilst my wife sells her jewellery and I like the idea of cutting it with a knife, I think I will have greater control than with a chisel in those environments.

Cheers, Lol

[joepaulbutler]

Re: At least one new knife needed - advice please!

To muddy the water a little . One (notice I said one) of my favorite knives I go to is the #3 at different widths.
. . .JoeB

[Lol999]

Re: At least one new knife needed - advice please!

That\'s really muddied it because I have no idea what a #3 is, regardless of the width

[joepaulbutler]

Re: At least one new knife needed - advice please!

Excuse me, There are two of classifying knife sweeps., London`Pattern & the Swiss or maybe Pheil. They are different. It has to do with the sweeps of the gouges. Go to the internet had you should be able to pull up the charts. It would be a good thing to know.
. . . JoeB

[mpounders]

Re: At least one new knife needed - advice please!

Excuse me, There are two of classifying knife sweeps., London`Pattern & the Swiss or maybe Pheil. They are different. It has to do with the sweeps of the gouges. Go to the internet had you should be able to pull up the charts. It would be a good thing to know.
. . . JoeB

I think JoeB is talking about a #3 gouge in different sizes. Knives aren\'t classified by sweeps; more by blade style & thickness, blade length, and handle style. But there are no standards to compare from one maker to another.

[Guest]

Re: At least one new knife needed - advice please!

I will reinforce that a good knife and a few good palm tools will let you do many things. Over the years I have gathered too many tool. On most of my caricature size carvings which are on canes a walking sticks. I us a 1 inch detail knife. a 1/2 inch detail knife, a 1/4 inch\" 60 degree V tool, a 3/8 inch #5 gouge and a 1/4 inch\" #9 gouge. And after seeing Lynn Doughtys site I added a Stanley box cutter to the mix. Which has almost retired the 1 inch detail knife.