I look at the end of the stave and choose the ring I want. I remove all the bark and sapwood with a regular drawknife. I then put it down and pick up my Swedish drawknife and some cooper's tools. The Swedish drawknife can be used pulling towards me, away from me or as a scraper. Often the rings on osage are not the same thickness. That's why I use the cooper's tools. They have curved edges. You could substitute a regular scraper and a gooseneck scraper because it is curved. Anyway, I get down to the ring I want right on the end, proceed up the left side, down the middle and up the the left side. I take my time. Handling knots is also easy and I can go into that if you have any on the stave. Jawge