Draw knives have become rare and expensive. It is worth your time as a smithy to make this woodworking tool as a stock item on your sale table as well as for your own use. Draw knives are valuable for those who are building log cabins or making rustic furniture. Edge angle, hardness and blade configuration are the most important factors in a well-made draw knife.
Instructions
1. Don wrap-around eye protection and heavy leather work gloves. Heat one end of your piece of 01 tool steel to orange, as seen in dim light. Draw out a 3-inch to 3.5-inch rat-tail to one side of what will become your blade by placing the spine of the blade edge-up on your anvil while you hammer. Reheat to orange as needed and repeat on opposite end as in Figure A in "Graphics for Making Draw Knives" in the Resources at the end of this article. This makes your two knife tangs.
2. Bend the left and right tangs to between 80 and 90 degrees, 1.5 inches from each end of your blade, depending on your desired grip, as shown in Figure B in "Graphics for Making Draw Knives" in the Resources at the end of this article.
3. Forge the edge of your blade to a single edge angle of approximately 30 degrees, as in Figure C from "Graphics for Making Draw Knives" in the Resources at the end of this article. Normalize your blade by bringing it back to orange and allowing it to air cool to ambient air temperature at the edge of your forge.
4. Have a large, fully charged ABC fire extinguisher within hand's reach. Fill a metal container that is deep enough to immerse your entire knife with vegetable oil. Heat the oil to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat your entire draw knife to bright orange and quench it in the heated vegetable oil. Quench outdoors or in a well-ventilated area, such as in the doorway of your shop. Wipe away excess oil before proceeding to the next step.
5. Heat your knife in your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour to temper the blade. Allow to cool to room temperature. Repeat three times.
6. Use a belt grinder to bring your blade surface true. The blade must be perfectly flat from left to right and from spine to blade edge. The blade angle should be 30 degrees. Finish grind using 36, 80, 120 and 220-grit sanding belts.
7. Use a leather or wooden mallet to drive file handles onto each knife tang as you would for a file, as shown in Figure D from "Graphics for Making Draw Knives" in the Resources at the end of this article.
