| woodcarvingsupplies.com | CROOKED & STRAIGHT KNIVES |
"KESTREL" TOOLS(1999/12/03 - Pictures will follow soon. Please order a catalog for more details.)You don't have to be working in the Northwest coast style to appreciate a fine crooked knife. At home in hard or soft woods, they are especially useful for hollowing. Treen makers love them, and they are unexcelled in sculpture. Both convex and concave surfaces can be carved with ease. End grain is no more a trick than cross grain. The knife is a dream for fitting two curved surfaces; boat builders, and cabinet makers who lean toward the flowing line, also make ready use of these tools. The Kestrel knife is a refined version of the traditional crooked knife using fine tool steels hardened and tempered to close tolerance. Like all crooked knives, these tools are intended to be held with the palm up. In this position the wrist has its maximum motion and power. The knife's hardwood haft is formed to give powerful grip and perfect control. The haft's unique curved shape allows the carver's knuckles to stay out of the way. A major advantage of these tools is economy. The double edge cuts with a draw or a push stroke. The bent shape allows access to areas in a wide variety of configurations. There is probably no more versatile wood carving tool. By turning the knife in your hand and using different areas on the blade, the work of many conventional tools can be accomplished. The crooked knife is one of the two most useful tools he average carver could own, the other being a good straight knife. In the European tradition, a craftsman might own 100 or more carving tools. Northwest coast aboriginals did work at least as inspired and certainly as competent with a half dozen tools. Kestrel crooked knives shown with a Bella Coola "carpenter" mask. This mask is the first for Adrienne Rice who started it in a Wolf Dancer seminar with Duane Pasco. The crooked knife is offered in two basic shapes. The standard bent is the most versatile. This blade is bent in an ever-increasing radius of curvature, like a French curve, so hat almost any radius can be carved with it. If you have doubts about which tool to order and do any sculpture or recessed work, order this tool. The not-so-crooked knife hasn't a straight place on it. Use it for detailing and where the recurved tip of the standard bend would interfere with the work. The not-so-crooked is great for planing in areas of limited room. A major advantage of these tools is economy. The double edge cuts with a draw or a push stroke. The bends shown are approximate and are reduced slightly for space considerations. For many more options in blade shapes, refer to the Components section. Our crooked knives come with a fully-honed razor edge which will give several hours of carving before needed maintenance. These tools are sharpened on the inside of the bend using slip stones. Each knife comes with a comprehensive explanation of use and sharpening which will enable the average woodworker to maintain he keen edge that makes such magic of wood removal. We sell a variety of stones for edging. Please refer to the Sharpening section. If you have not yet tried a Crooked Knife in your carving,do so and I am sure you will find it so useful that you will retire many of your conventional gouges and power tools. Kept sharp, they are a wonderful tool and one that you will great pleasure in using for many years. We suggest that you start with the "Standard Bend" in either the small or large size. The blade shapes shown below are the full range that are available from "KESTREL". We stock most of them as blades and as finished knives although some will have to be special ordered. Blades only are numbered or lettered as shown below their shape. When ordering a complete knife, be sure to add the prefix "C" in front of the digit. The most popular knives are the "C-E" full size standard bend with the "C-3 3/4" size standard bend. Each blade and knife is heat treated, honed to razor sharpness and comes complete with blade guard and sharpening instructions. Knife hafts (handles) are made of Yew or hardwood. Blades come with rivets. These are, undoubtedly, the finest tools of their type on the market today. Blades H, 4,5 and 6 are relatively straight up to the bend area. To make the blades more functional throughout their length, they exit the haft with a slight bend. For the purposes of these drawings, this approximate 3 degree bend is not shown.
Length of the standard knife is 10" overall and the 3/4 size 8" overall.
Hafts are available for all crooked knives. They are inletted to fit the blades, drilled and made from Yew. You must whittle to shape and fit rivets. The finest detail straight knife is the "K-6" (lower left). The graceful shape and beautiful hardwood handle make this knife a pleasure to use and my favorite. here are two other straight knives available, both come with high quality leather belt sheaths and are exceptional blades. The work on both is meticulous. |
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