Drawknife

A drawknife is a traditional woodworking hand tool used to shape wood by removing shavings. It consists of a long, straight blade with a handle at each end, and the user pulls it toward themselves to slice off thin layers of wood (hence the name “draw knife”). This tool excels at quickly stripping bark or rough-shaping a piece of wood: for example, a drawknife can remove large slices to flatten a surface, debark a log, or round out a carving blank in short order.

For beginners, a drawknife can be incredibly useful for the early stages of a project. It removes wood much faster than a small knife or chisel, making it ideal for roughing out the basic shape of a carving. If you’re carving something like a spoon or figurine, a drawknife lets you quickly shave off corners and excess wood to get closer to your desired form. Using a sharp drawknife, you can peel off wide, curling shavings with each pull – this saves time and effort before moving on to finer tools. Beginners do need to practice proper technique (always secure your wood piece and pull with controlled, steady strokes) since the blade is exposed and both hands are on the tool. With a bit of care and experience, a drawknife becomes a go-to tool for efficiently pre-shaping wood, allowing new carvers to focus on details later.

In our BeaverCraft tool lineup, the drawknife holds a special place as a versatile carving instrument. We offer models like the DK1S drawknife, which come razor sharp with comfortable handles, perfect for those new to the tool. This practical two-handle knife lets you shape wood and remove shavings efficiently, whether you’re preparing a basswood block for a relief carving or thinning down a walking stick. By including a quality drawknife in your toolkit (or starter carving set), we enable hobbyists to tackle larger wood removal tasks with confidence. It’s a supportive way to speed up the carving process – quickly roughing out a blank – so you can spend more time on the fun part: refining the details of your carving.