Can someone recommend a good draw knife?

[820wards]

I am going to be cutting down a 30' sugar maple this fall to use as a flag pole in the spring. Can anyone recommend a good draw knife for removing the bark? I'll be storing the tree/pole in my heated barn over the winter and want it to dry asap so that I can stain it or paint it before standing it up. I know, it might (probably) take longer than the winter to dry but we'll see.

Jim,

I made my own draw knife from a horse shoe file. I first put the file in my BBQ pit a BBQ'd most of the day with it in there. I let it cool off and then ground all the file marks down with a electric grinder.

Here I'm ready to cut the blade shape with my plasma cutter. A regular cutting torch works just as good.

Here you can see how it was cut from the file compared with an uncut file.

Using my six inch grinder with various grit wheels the basic blade is contoured and sharpened.

Here is a backside view.

Here is the finished draw knife. I welded 1/4-20 bolts to the ends of the file for attaching some handles I made from some Black Oak I milled. I re-tempered the blade and did a final sharpening with diamond stones and I still haven't had to re-sharpen the edge yet. I use it for removing bark and contouring pieces I'm working on. I took it with me this past year on a hunting trip with my brother. It's great for making small shavings when starting fires.

Just another option...
jerry-

 

[J1m]

Wow! Nice work, 820. Way beyond my tool-set/skill-set. Props for your handi-work! Rep sent!

 

[820wards]

Wow! Nice work, 820. Way beyond my tool-set/skill-set. Props for your handi-work! Rep sent!

Thank you.

jerry-