Making carving knives using blades from old junk pocket knives has been a fascination for the Wood Bee Carver.  The four knives in the photo above are the result of rescuing four blades from a well-worn old souvenir knife with “Paris” and the Eiffel Tower etched on the plastic handle cover.  The only clue as to its origin was the etching on the master blade of the name “PRADEL”  which is a famous cutlery company founded in 1920 in France by Mr. Pierre Dubost. The first photo below depicts what a similar pocket knife looked like in better condition showing it multiple blades while the second photo is the junk knife used to make four carving knives.

The first photo below shows the reshaped master blade inserted into a whittled mahogany handle.  The second photo shows the reshaped can opener blade inserted into a whittled mahogany handle.

The first photo below shows what once was a small blade and the screw drive blade while the second photo shows each of those blades inserted into mahogany handles yet to be whittled and blades shaped and sharpened.  The third photo shows the two knives completed and ready to carve. The four PRADEL bladed “Other Knives” met the test in their carving ability in their own unique “feel of the cut.”  Basswood strips were added to each of the four knives to build up the handles for a more comfortable fit in the carving hand.

Making “Other Knives” continues to be an adventure in experimenting with functional blade designs as well as the serendipity discovery of the way each of the blades from various knife brands have their own unique “feel of the cut” that makes each one have a distinct characteristic of slicing ability. It would be “splitting hairs” to say one was any better than the next when it comes to the test of slicing and carving ability.  “Other Knives” are made for function more than appearance and are for the personal use of the Wood Bee Carver in his own little world of Whittle-Carving.  “Other Knives” is to distinguish knives made from a variety of blade material whose name is not always known but whose function is to carve in a slicing action while shaping wood in the carving process. To see more click on this link ~  Other Knives -Redux 2