The Crooked Knife

I've had this idea for a long time and just never got around to doing it. I wanted to take a hoof knife and turn it into a more traditional crooked knife.

The crooked knife was widely used and it's strength as a one-handed draw knife shows why. These blades are typically gripped in the fist and used with the edge toward the user. The bent blade is handy for carving bowls, spoons, paddles, and poles. The flat portion can also be used as a plane to smooth down flat surfaces.

There is no single design for a crooked knife as the knives were typically made to suit the maker and/or user. This one, however, is made from the Mora 180-LH as an introductory project before I go to work on the blade I received from Abe Elias of Diving Sparrow Knife Works.

(Click for larger image)

	A page from Ellsworth Jaeger's "Wildwood Wisdom"
	First, I drew a line where my thumb would most naturally want to rest.
	Then I carved down to that line and continued to round and refine the shape by simply gripping the knife and determining where wood needed to be removed.
	An in-hand shot

Up next, I'm going to continue to sand the handle and then steep it in some strong tea to see if I can't darken up the handle a bit. Once I'm done with that, I'll burnish the handle with steel wool and then see where I stand.

I'm playing with the idea to rub some coffee grounds into the wood to give it an older look but that'll have no impact on utility.

Lastly, I need to get this edge sharp and then start putting it to work.

Thanks for reading,


B