Russian dolls

I posted that video on a couple sites about 6 weeks ago. I like both the modified skew and the hook knife they use, I have seen several Russian bowl making videos in which the hook knife is used for the hollowing. Keep in mind that the wood is almost always Bass known as Lime or Linden in other parts of the world. The skew has a few nifty features that we Americans don't have. A round shaft which makes rolling it on the tool rest easier. They get a wide cutting edge without the big flat bar we use and the point and heel are used more in their turning than we use it for. In Seiffen/Ertgebirge, Germany, where most of the nut crackers are made, (Once it was said that the town had more lathes than families.) They use a skew that is more triangular in shape Narrower where it exits the handles and wider at the blade edge. ) . It gives a similar wide cutting edge and is a little more able to be rolled on the tool rest than what we use. Alan Lacer in his videos about the skew advocates having a rounded edge on the skew more than a bar with square sides. The hook knife used by the Russian turners, seems to be made a bit like the farriers knives used in horseshoeing. A cross section shows the blade had a triangular shape so it has a strengthening rib running along the center, There is a video of the Russian bowl maker forging his own hook knife.