Handsaw Hack Drawknife

Every woodworker has them. Toolboxes. Drill bits. And saws.

Old toolboxes. Used drill bits.

And used saws.

They are all too emotionally loaded to be thrown away, but long gone replaced by more performant stuff.

But they are still there. Stuffed in a corner, hung on the wall.

We see them almost every they. They remind us good moments and mistakes, but more than their decorative purpose they aren't useful anymore.

Untill someone comes up with a not so bad idea to hack them and give them a new life...

Most handsaws are single use only. We use them until their teeth are as dull as can be and they end up at the wall of our workshop.

I'm in the building process of a canoe, these days. And so my head's full of chisels, adzes, shavehorses, saws & drawknives. And calm waters, crossing cargo ships, icebergs, insurance fees and a potential divorce.

Haha.

I don't really know whàt gave me the idea of transforming the one into another - I guess it was the Bernardus, or the Wastmalle, or the Duvel, the Rochefort, or maybe the Chimay, but I guess it must have been the Talisker after all - but fact is that in less than half an hour I made a drawknife from two saws.

Really.

Take two similar old saws and dismantle one of them. Copy the shape of the one you won't use on the other, cut the excess and drill the two holes. You might need a decent drill bit since the saw steel is quite hard.

No more than that. Two bolts. Done.

Cut down the teeth on the grinding stone by holding your drawknife parallel to the stone, and change direction once all those teeth are gone.

Get it sharp. Nothing pays more off to a woodworker than razorsharp tools.

Use your out-of the box drawknife responsibly & with love.

It's kinda particular in use, and I'm still trying to get the best way to use it but hey, that's just part of the challenge once you leave the beaten tracks...

Cheers to the woodworkers and creative carving.

bart