I have been hand-carving hunting bows (ie: simple selfbows, straight backed
bows, steamed static recurve tips, etc) for a couple years. I used to do all of
my carving with a set of nice drawknives and push knives. I've moved into a new
place where I no longer have a set of vises to hold my timber so that I can
rapidly do a rough carving with the draw knives. I am sadly reduced to whittling
on my tiny sundeck, and there are no coop/public shops where I can get bench
space in this neighborhood.
What tools would be recommended for the following:
- Rapidly shaving down a wooden stave to a bow shape
- Fine removal of tiny amounts of wood during the tillering process
The only knife that holds up against these oak, osage, and especially hickory
boards, is my USMC utility/combat knife. I've bought a few nice whittling knives
from Lee Valley Tools, and while they work nice, they don't seem strong enough
to shave off large chunks without risking damage to the knife, especially the hickory, which seems to hold a blood grudge against keen edges. I'd like
something more efficient than this big knife though.
Another important factor is the ability to create a flat, consistent cut/scrape.
This was very easy using the draw blades or a jack plane, but much harder with
just a big knife. This is even harder now that I have to hold onto the wood rather than clamp it down in a vise or with some C-clamps.
Also, for the fine removal parts, I'd need something with a very hard blade,
especially when trimming around knots. I'm considering a cabinet scraper, but
they seem to remove too little.
Best Answer
Have you considered one of the portable workbenches such as the Workmate?
They fold to a pretty small package and come in a variety of sizes and prices.
Black and Decker used to make several Workmate vises in a benchtop and toolbox version such as these
They appear to be discontinued. I found mine at yard sales, but they show up online occasionally.
If one of these suits, you may be able to continue to use your preferred tools.