James grew up on an Ozarks farm where tools like axes and picks were still used in the daily routine and the blades of stockman's pocketknives served their original functions. Receiving his first pocketknife at age four he got it open by himself nearly a year later and spent his formative years wandering the woods with a succession of ever larger knives, a book of matches and a rifle.
A veteran of Vietnam, James also served in Alaska during a stint in the Army, receiving his first intensive culinary training by setting a record for extra KP at Ft. Richardson.
Settling in the Pacific Northwest after his discharge, James crewed on sailing yachts in local races, backpacked hundreds of miles of mountain trails in search of good trout fishing, and occasionally attended college.
His first serious job as a civilian resulted from answering a Seattle Post Intelligencer want ad requesting someone who could lift 120 pounds repeatedly and wasn't afraid of fire. James apprenticed to John Frazier -- the most knowledgeable traditional foundryman in North America at that time -- for the next six years.
Returning to the Ozarks James made his living by growing ginseng on a hand-terraced wooded hillside and selling handmade wood turnery, furniture, sculpture and architectural carvings. James harvested trees from his own land, processing logs into posts and beams and turnery billets with saws, axes, froes and planes. Since many tools he needed were no longer available, James built his own forge from a barbeque grill, a vacuum cleaner and a 55 gallon steel drum, found a chunk of railroad track for his first anvil, and taught himself blacksmithing -- creating his own knives and tools from scrap steel and sweat.
Changing economic pressures eventually forced James back to the restaurant industry in Branson, Missouri, and later to even more success as a maintenance engineer for one of Branson's largest condominium resorts. Finally escaping to Indiana, James now makes his living telling true stories as a freelance writer.
Two Cherries Drawknife Carving Straight Blade | Woodworking Sculpting Knife, 9 Inch 225 mm 500-1320
1 min read
With the proper hold-down tools, the Two Cherries 9-inch Drawknife helps the craftsman rough out chair legs, rungs, tool handles, and more. You’re sure to appreciate the ample handles of natural wood and the quality of the German steel.
This nine-inch drawknife is handy for debarking small logs, but with the shorter blade comes less hand clearance and more skin left on the work. For smaller applications such as shaving down a tool handle, a shorter cutting edge can be easier to handle than a timber-sized drawknife. The knife works well either with bevel up or bevel down, but the two positions have very different cutting actions. Bevel up, the knife cuts deeply and shears a straight layer of wood or bark if you have steady hands. Bevel down, the drawknife can make shorter chipping cuts, levering out of the cut on the bevel’s back edge.
The wood handles are permanently fixed to the steel tangs and if not abused should last for the lifetime of the knife. A drawknife’s thick blade holds up to heavy work, but may be very difficult for beginners to maintain. If you’re lucky, you may get a knife with a perfectly ground edge, but often considerable work is needed to put a drawknife into razor-sharp condition.
This old tool requires special skills, a good sharpening system, and a reliable hold-down device such as the shaving horse if you intend to get much work from it. Drawknives such as the Two Cherries model are mainstay tools of the nearly extinct cooper’s trade — you’ll probably need to build accessory devices yourself, since many are no longer in production.
For a lighter style of drawknife with less cutting edge to control and maintain, see the Woodcarving Drawknife by Flexcut.
James grew up on an Ozarks farm where tools like axes and picks were still used in the daily routine and the blades of stockman's pocketknives served their original functions. Receiving his first pocketknife at age four he got it open by himself nearly a year later and spent his formative years wandering the woods with a succession of ever larger knives, a book of matches and a rifle.
A veteran of Vietnam, James also served in Alaska during a stint in the Army, receiving his first intensive culinary training by setting a record for extra KP at Ft. Richardson.
Settling in the Pacific Northwest after his discharge, James crewed on sailing yachts in local races, backpacked hundreds of miles of mountain trails in search of good trout fishing, and occasionally attended college.
His first serious job as a civilian resulted from answering a Seattle Post Intelligencer want ad requesting someone who could lift 120 pounds repeatedly and wasn't afraid of fire. James apprenticed to John Frazier -- the most knowledgeable traditional foundryman in North America at that time -- for the next six years.
Returning to the Ozarks James made his living by growing ginseng on a hand-terraced wooded hillside and selling handmade wood turnery, furniture, sculpture and architectural carvings. James harvested trees from his own land, processing logs into posts and beams and turnery billets with saws, axes, froes and planes. Since many tools he needed were no longer available, James built his own forge from a barbeque grill, a vacuum cleaner and a 55 gallon steel drum, found a chunk of railroad track for his first anvil, and taught himself blacksmithing -- creating his own knives and tools from scrap steel and sweat.
Changing economic pressures eventually forced James back to the restaurant industry in Branson, Missouri, and later to even more success as a maintenance engineer for one of Branson's largest condominium resorts. Finally escaping to Indiana, James now makes his living telling true stories as a freelance writer.
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With the proper hold-down tools, the Two Cherries 9-inch Drawknife helps the craftsman rough out chair legs, rungs, tool handles, and more. You’re sure to appreciate the ample handles of natural wood and the quality of the German steel.
