Chamfer knife

[Moses Yoder]

A cousin gave me a box full of tools and the first time I looked inside I was so disgusted I simply relegated it to a dark corner. Rusty wrenches etc. The other day I saw it again and the box used to be a medicine cabinet, kind of neat, I thought maybe I would make a shaving cabinet out of it. (Nixed by the wife) I sorted through the tools and actually found some good stuff, among them what Eric Sloan in "Museum of Early American Tools" calls a "chamfer knife." In the hand drawn picture it shows the spoke shave like tool being used to put a bevel on the top inside of a barrel. Here is a pic of it; it would have wooden handles on both ends; ever seen anything like it?

Chamfer Knife.jpg

[Bill Houghton]

I've never seen anything like that in the flesh, but have seen the same drawings you have. It looks like an interesting tool.

[James Conrad]

Also called a pommel knife. I've used one when making windsors, removing the waist on either side of the seat pommel where the legs rest, although this can be done with a regular draw knife.

My Grandfather was a patron and friend of Mr. Sloane's so I was introduced to his work at an early age, along with inheriting a library of his books. They are a great reference.

[Moses Yoder]

Which books are better; Eric Sloan's or Graham Blackburn's? (ducking and running) I envy your library.

[James Conrad]

I may have a bit of a bias, but I prefer Sloane's writings and illustrations. Aside from being a historian, he was an artist and philosopher which I think can be felt in his writings and other works.