Oar Carver Pocket Knife

Re: Oar Carver Pocket Knife

Speaking of Warthers; have you seen the railroad engines he has carved? they are absolutely the most remarkable carvings I have ever seen!

Got a chance a few years back to visit the factory and museum, and spent a most incredible day there. I'll get back again just to see the carvings.

And thanks for the input on the blades. I'm not in favor or out of favor with either type, just wondering if there was an actual difference.

Al

[WhittlinWit]

Re: Oar Carver Pocket Knife

Al,
I really don't know the alloy you are using, but my experience with stainless is the bench knives from Europe.
When ever I get one to sharpen, they are always in terrible condition. They take longer to sharpen, and I don't believe they hold an edge as well as high-carbon steel.

I understand there are some new stainless alloys being used.
D2 was supposed to be a real improvement over the older alloys. Some companys are using 400 stainless which they say is great.

I wouldn't attempt to disuade you from using a stainless knife, but the only one I own is a Warther whittling knife from Ohio. (only because Ernest M. Warther and sons made it)

Re: Oar Carver Pocket Knife

Rick, maybe you can help me out here......just what's the beef with stainless blades? I've used and made knives with carbon steel, high speed steel and stainless. Other than stainless being a little more difficult to sharpen, I see very little difference in the performance. In fact I seem to prefer the stainless. It hones really nice, polishes to a non drag fininsh and holds an edge like a diamond. Once it has a good edge it is no more difficult to touch up and hone (strop) than any other steel, in my opinion. In spite of all this, I hear comments deriding it as a 'second rate' steel for blades.

Is there really a downside to the material that I'm not picking up on?

Thanks,

Al

[WhittlinWit]

Re: Oar Carver Pocket Knife

I talked to the rep. from Case yesterday about the 'seahorse whittler' concerning the metal used in the blades.
Turns out to be a stainless, although I have seen it described as different materials on other sites.

Re: Oar Carver Pocket Knife

Al,

I checked out the Camilus but think that for my use a modified wharncliff like on the OAR and Case models is more useful than the spear as a main blade. I find that use the pen and sheepsfoot on my Imperial far more than the spear. I suppose I could reshape the spear and save $$ but you know how that goes.

Good whittlin, Cliff
Charles City, Iowa
http://cliffordparker.tripod.com

[millhoused]

Re: Oar Carver Pocket Knife

Cliff, I use a three bladed folding whittler from the boy Scouts. It's US made by Camilus and sells for just under 25 bucks. Best buy for the money that I've see! It has two whittling blades and a 'coping' blade, much like the case but for around half the price.

Al

Re: Oar Carver Pocket Knife

Ok, now after carrying and happily using an old three bladed Imperial for years I find out about the Oar knife, the Little Chipper, and today the Case Seahorse whittler. The price of the Case is about the same as the Oar but it has three blades. A 2 3/16' wharncliff, a 1 1/2' pen, and a 1 1/2' coping blade.

Looks like this could get confusing ??? LOL

Good whittlin, Cliff
Charles City, Iowa
http://cliffordparker.tripod.com

[WhittlinWit]

Personally, I don't see the advantage of a folding chipcarving knife.
Chipcarvers tend to require good light, top quality wood, pencils, rules, compass, protractor, a seat, magnifiers, and sharpening equipment, not to mention preparing the wood prior to layout.

With those factors considered, I doubt many chipcarvers will be doing enough spur-of-the-moment chipcarving to recover the cost of a $200.00, Ivory-handled, folding, single-bladed, chipcarving knife.

But........ I could be wrong.

Re: Oar Carver Pocket Knife

Hey Rick check out this site and tell us what you think.
Cheers
Ric

http://littlechipper.com/s-cart/cate...3012312381cc0f

[Kenny_S]

Re: Oar Carver Pocket Knife

See what you all have done to me, My fingers where so excited that they couldn't type correctly. That should have read Oar Knife instead of par knoke.Hehehehehe.

[Kenny_S]

Re: Oar Carver Pocket Knife

The par knofe looks great. But I still carry a Boker that my darling little bride and daughter got me for father's days many years ago. If the old bean is correct, it came very sharp and only strop it it.
However, I do like the looks of the blades on the Oar. May have to look deeper into it.
Y'll are going to cause me to see stars again. :
Thats it. I'll blame you all for the knife.
Happy and safe carving
Ken

Re: Oar Carver Pocket Knife

Thanks for the tip. I ordered mine today. Always looking for a good pocket carving knife.
Cheers
Ric

Re: Oar Carver Pocket Knife

Al is correct, it is not a lock-back, but the spring is healthy and with the configuration of the knife I doubt it would close accidentally. That seems to occur most on thin blades, these are .586 inch wide by .142 thick at the spring. The blade length is nearly 1-3/4' which doesn't provide much leverage for accidental closing.

I wouldn't say it could not happen, but I feel pretty safe using it. I currently have about 2 hours carving with it, I have been carving medium-hard and dry 50+ year old wood.
I still prefer my detail knife when making fine cuts. I have found one very small nick near the tip of the blade. That is fairly common with new knives, which may require two or more sharpenings before they maintain their edge consistantly.

I would not rate the edge-holding ability of this knife without at least 30 hours of solid use on a variety of woods.

Last year I found a 'whittler' that I thought was very impressive. When it arrived I sharpened it and the first cut I made on a piece of basswood, the blade chipped, and then broke in half. Now it may have simply been a bad blade, but I returned the knife for a refund. It had a very well known name and a retail price of $90.00+. In that case, I rated it immediatly. :P

Re: Oar Carver Pocket Knife

Check the site provided by Cliff; it has a good photpo and description of the OAR knife. It is not a lock-back knife.

Al