If you are thinking of hiring crafts of the crooked knife, we recommend doublechecking their license status with the license board and using our bidding system to get competitive quotes. The crooked knife is a tool of native american origin, easy to carry and always on hand, used for working wood into any shape for any project, perfectly suited to a nomadic life. Some pet shops carry them with the horse equipment. For a righthanded knife, sharpen on the left side as shown, but reverse this for a lefthanded knife. The curve is neccessary if you want to do any hollowing. The crooked knife is essentially a one handed draw knife. The tip fits into the contours around the frog, which is the living part of the underside of the hoof. Primitive net making from carving your needle to weaving your net. This large crooked knife blade, as used by ray in his northern wilderness series, functions as a onehanded drawknife and gouge. Facts and fantasies about file knives knife expert. Knife making making knife handles knife top knife the knife victorinox knife womans knife woman knife jo nesbo knife karambit knife crooked knife knife edge knife fighting knife sharpner shadow of the knife hook knife vonshef knife sharpener victorinox knife 2018 crafting with the pocket knife uncle fester knife. Song of the crooked knife by f w goode blurb books. The steps in making a crooked knife are shown, left to right.
Making crooked knives a handmade tool offers simplicity and satisfaction text and photos by doug stowe providence, rhode island, and among the activities planned for the meeting was mak ing crooked knives. There are many details to the blade design and handle shape that lie outside of any other knife making, and since not many people in this country know how to make or use them anymore, i had few people to talk to about it. It achieves this by having a blade bent at or near the tip combined with a handle with a special shape to make it easier to use one handed. The curve on a crooked knife allows the user to work on the far side of a wide board without picking up the board and turning it around. Id read numerous references of the hudson bay company stocking crooked knife blades and knives of the long, thin variety, at company posts. Sep 07, 2017 students will be guided through the process of making their own crooked carving knife. A crooked knife, sometimes called a mocotaugan, is a special type of wood working tool that can perform many of the jobs that would normally require a plane, draw knife or gouge.
From the pacific northwest, british columbia, canada. I dont have the metalworking experience of yourself and rippy, but made 2 of my own crooked knife blades from old files as well. If the blade is straight it is used for whittling and shaping wood, making splints for baskets or incising patterns. When i set out to make my own crooked knives, i undertook an ancient tradition. Hafting choice for crooked knives woodcarving illustrated. Now take your crook knife and press the blade against the main thicker piece of wood to make a slight indication as to where you would like the blade to be inserted. Crook knife case tutorial with the crook knife being such a popular and useful tool for carving out spoons and bowls.
A weekend making a traditional crooked knife and chip carving. I have used the mora knives to the point that the blades loosened in the original handles little tap will do ya, but, i will try the rivets, having destroyed a couple of sets with mora hook knife blades. This book has improved my skills at knife making and i am looking forward to making a wooden sheath. The crooked knife is an historic tool that is still used today by innu and mikmaq in. Hook, crooked or bent whatever you like to call them, these knives are exceptionally versatile tools that you can make yourself. The thumb rest is angled to follow the thumb, and has a little tilt, too. Kestrel tool is a small artisan run tool shop on lopez island, in washington state. A hoof knife is similar to a crooked knife in that the blade features the same onesided bevel. Get menu, photos and location information for the crooked knife in new york, ny.
Jan 10, 2008 making a mocotaugan couteau croche crooked knife. Im trying to take the same approach to knife making. The few times ive ever tried to use a crooked knife it was pretty hard to control. A weekend making a traditional crooked knife and chip carving blade. Aug 29, 2011 knives are a major gateway drug for many a young maker. Make this knife j3308 440c satin finished blade, k333 brass guard, 18 brass pins and g3350 olive drab g10 sand storm textured handle. The crooked knife restaurant new york, ny opentable. A gas torch is used to heat the steel to bend into a crook and to harden the blade. The crooked knife is a really great tool, i dont know what id do without one at this point. The mocotaugan crooked knife was a manypurpose tool, uniquely adapted to the native mans life of hunting and gathering deep in the boreal forest. Its a shame they dont come with any kind of sheath. Crafts of the crooked knife currently holds license 1096684 dwelling contractor, which was inactive when we last checked. This set by step process deals with making a hook knife, crooked knife or bent knife from high carbon saw blade steel and could apply to a straight knife as well.
In the 1840s, with a considerable effort of heating, hammering and grinding, a person could have converted an old file into a knife blade. For four decades we have been making wood carving tools in small batches, by hand, supplying artists and craftspeople with some of the finest blades available. Building a crooked knife is the really easy part carve a handle, haft the blade and youre done. Handle sizes and shapes are really personal to hold and work with. Making knife handles how to make knife handles knife making 100 things with handles resistance bands with handles workout the knife knife knife asking top knife bowie knife shadow of the knife womans knife woman knife hook knife victorinox knife crooked knife knife sharpner karambit knife knife fighting. The curvature of the blade, especially at the tip, facilitates carving concave surfaces. I really like them for carving, well, almost anything reall. Your liability risk when hiring crafts of the crooked knife licensed contractors in wisconsin must carry both general liability and workers compensation insurance, request a copy of current insurance certificates for each. He includes instructions on several methods and i am looking forward to it. The nativeamerican mocotaugan couteau croche crooked knife. J3438 cpms 30v satin finished blade, k343 brass guard, 332 brass pins, and g3460 blue black g10 sand storm textured handle. Their buildzoom score of 0 does not rank in the top 50% of wisconsin contractors. Tip prepper checklist pdf swords and daggers, knives and swords, best.
Having some prior expe rience in making and using the knives, i looked forward to the chance to see how. A gas torch is used to heat the steel to bend into a. Depending on your ability with a hand plane, making your first paddle will take the better part of a weekend. You can download a pdf copy of the very rare book mocotaugan it is a. Traditional hook knife canadian woodworking magazine. One of the first things i ever remember being proud of making was a cocobolo replacement handle mounted with homemade mosaic pins to repair my mothers favorite paring knife. You dont have to work in the northwest coast style to appreciate a fine crooked knife. What makes the knife crooked is not the upturned tip. Students will be guided through the process of making their own crooked carving knife. See more ideas about knife making, carving tools and green woodworking.
Most chapters in the book contain a summary at the end. Mora of sweden makes their morafrosts equus 180 wide blade hoof trimming knife. With its upturned tip, the knife could be used for cutting, carving, shaving, gouging and smoothing. Blade sweeps are no different from the usual gouges you go with what works. Primitive net making from carving your needle to weaving. You will be provided with a flat ground 01 tool steel blank and a new file for shaping the blank. Jul 03, 2016 the making of a crook spoon knife duration.
The nlas is making an exhibit in a suitcase that contains. The process of making a knife is relatively simple. It seems that the function of the blade is just about like that of a draw knife. Most knife making steel has a carbon content between 0. And with a similar effort of heating, hammering, and grinding, a person could have converted a silver teapot into a doorstop. The old woodcraft books describing the crooked knife always included an illustration of the long, thinbladed type and that image became my idea of what a real crooked knife looked like.
I find it so versatile and comfortable to use, but only if it is customized to your own needs. This is a mocotaugan, or easternstyle crooked knife. The crooked knife is the traditional woodworking tool of the northern indians and inuit. If you cut in a slicing motion you can make a smaller hollow than the radius of the curve in the blade. Not only does a sheath keep a blade out of harms way, but it also protects the cutting edge from damage when its not in use. You can speed up the initial blade planing process with a power planer, but the rest of the shaping is best done with hand planes, a spokeshave and maybe a. One of the uses was to hollow out the centres of logs that had first been burned to destroy the tough fibrous interior.
Some grinding speeds up the process but you have to be very careful not to burn the steel. In this instructable i want to go through the process of net making from beginning to end, starting with carving the net needle to weaving the net itself. Using a file from about eight to ten inches long and about threefourths of an inch wide, the steps to make a blade for a crooked knife are these. Carving a traditional burl kuksa the folk school fairbanks. He explained that many native cultures had a version of the crooked knife and that his travels and studies had led him to the far north, where he learned the making of crooked knives from an eskimo boatmaker. It may not seem like a lot of carbon, but it makes a big difference. In northeastern america, this style of tool was much used by the first nations of that region to fashion everything from canoe paddles to snowshoes. Hafting choice for crooked knives i dont give a sweet rats patootie in this regard. Coincidentally, both skills are covered in this roundup.
Photographs of a circa 1880 native american crooked knife in the shape of a. A crooked knife is one thats made with the handle set at an oblique angle to the blade. You simply lift the handle up, point the blade at a downward angle, and then you can have your working hand directly over the board instead of off to the side while you carve with the subtlely rounded tip. Your finished knife will be fastened to a handle with rivets. A curved blade is used to hollow out bowls, masks and ladles.
Bend the blade to the desired shape, carefully avoiding kinking. The carving crooked knife, carving hook knife, bent knife and crook knife blades are all made with the same method described here. Making knife handles how to make knife handles knife making 100 things with handles resistance bands with handles workout the knife knife knife asking top knife bowie knife shadow of the knife womans knife woman knife hook knife victorinox knife crooked knife knife sharpner karambit knife knife fighting jo nesbo knife. For this part you need a metal kebab skewer or a similar strong thin rod of metal. However, in 1977, he and his associate todd crocker videotaped sam rabbitskin the snowshoe maker in making beavertail snowshoes making a crooked knife from an old flat file in the cree village of. The first diy step by step instruction on how to make a hook knife. Or book now at one of our other 32879 great restaurants in new york. Knives are a major gateway drug for many a young maker. Woodlore are pleased to now sell this resurrected knife blade without a handle, allowing you to finish the.
Dec 18, 2012 the quickest way to make a crooked knife is to modify a hoof knife from a farm supply store. Northwest coast aboriginals did work at least as inspired and clearly as competent with a half dozen tools. Its prehistoric predecessor was the incisor tooth of a beaver mounted in a handle made of wood or bone. Crooked knife making with rick wolcott thursday, september. The crooked knife you purchase is a truly historic woodworking tool, reproduced in fine sheffield steel and bearing authorized, historic trademarks. Making a crooked knife 1 wood craft on a budget part 7 duration. I have used the mora knives to the point that the blades loosened in the original handles little tap will do ya, but, i will try the rivets, having destroyed a. Mar 08, 2015 this feature is not available right now.
The quickest way to make a crooked knife is to modify a hoof knife from a farm supply store. Of course with a draw knife you have a handle on each end which for me gives much better control. With this ingenious invention, these nomadic hunters fashioned canoes, kayaks, snowshoes, toboggans, sleds, paddles, and the many other wooden items used in their subsistence economy. The crooked knife is really an underappreciated tool today and was once a valuable part of the canoe trippers kit. Just as salt changes the temperature at which water changes between the solid phase and the liquid phase, so also the amount of carbon dissolved in iron changes the temperature at which steel changes phases. Knife talk, the art and science of knifemaking ed fowlers. The crooked knife sometimes referred to as a curved knife, carving knife, or mocotaugan. The kestrel knife is a refined version of the traditional crooked knife, using tool steels hardened and tempered to close tolerance. Differences include a more tightly curved tip, handles that lack an l shaped handle and the temper, which tends to be more brittle. There were many names, the most widespread being the variouslyspelled algonquin mocotaugan, which is one of the names that still sticks today.
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