Author Topic: card scrapers  (Read 1834 times)

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Offline Deerhunter21

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card scrapers
« on: February 23, 2021, 12:27:19 am »
so im tired of using tools that aren't very good quality so im buying some new, hopefully better, tools that i normally use all the time. the three tools that are my lifeblood is my Drawknife, my Farriers rasp, and my scraper. My farriers rasp is dull but i can buy a new one easily and im looking out for a nice drawknife (mine was 5$ and is lacking in quality), but right now im hoping to buy some nice card scrapers. any suggestions? what should i look for?

any suggestions welcome, even if its not specifically about card scrapers!  ;D
« Last Edit: February 23, 2021, 12:31:32 am by Deerhunter21 »
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Offline Fox

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Re: card scrapers
« Reply #1 on: February 23, 2021, 12:35:18 am »
I bought a card scraper from highland woodworking. they only have a few and anything from them is usually really high quality... it worked great came super sharp too, although I’m annoyed because after lots of use it’s dull now and i can’t for the life of me get it sharp again which is really annoying, so now I just use my knife... which is super dulling but that I can sharpen (-P. and check eBay/Etsy for an old drawknife. My friend found a great old one she uses. The old ones are the best I think...  ;)
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Offline Hawkdancer

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Re: card scrapers
« Reply #2 on: February 23, 2021, 01:13:37 am »
Russell,
You might be able to find a good drawknife in the local flea markets, or yard/estate sales.  Remember, though, you often only get what you pay for.  I have one I started to make from spring steel(5160?) that needs finishing.  If I can find it :fp (lol)!  Pm me your email and I will send a pic as soon as I do.

Fox,
You should be able to resharpen the scraper with a diamond file or hone.  You can reshape the burr with a biurnishing rod.
Hawkdancer
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Offline Allyn T

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Re: card scrapers
« Reply #3 on: February 23, 2021, 08:54:33 am »
Deerhunt I bought a dfm card scarper pack off Amazon for 16$ and they work great I haven't had a problem with dulling at all. Came with a rectangle, a concave convex, and gooseneck
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Offline RyanY

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Re: card scrapers
« Reply #4 on: February 23, 2021, 09:14:57 am »
I often used my drawknife as a scraper before I learned to sharpen my scrapers. The ones I got were from woodcraft though I don't remember the brand. A scraper of any quality will likely work well for at least a short period of time after shaping would be my guess. Are you getting decent curls from the scraper after sharpening and it just doesn't stay sharp?

Offline Dances with squirrels

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Re: card scrapers
« Reply #5 on: February 23, 2021, 09:39:21 am »
I prefer the Nicholson Farriers Handy Rasp. It doesn't have the pointed handle tang, but has a rubber covered beavertail type grip. It has rubber on both ends actually. It's shorter and thinner without the screw on handle and I find it more maneuverable, or 'handy', for lack of a better term.

There are a lot of good drawknife brands and styles out there and personal preferences on blade shape and angle, handle shape and angle, thickness, length and such are so subjective, we can't help you much there. I've got several from Ebay, but if you buy used, study them carefully. You want no pitting, good tight handles, and a good blade bevel that doesn't look like someone sharpened them with an angle grinder.

Card scrapers... mine are Sandvik, now Bahco. They're good. But there are others equally good. Dean Torges goes into detail on how to sharpen them in his book, Hunting the Osage Bow, and there are videos on youtube. It is certainly worth the little bit of time it takes to learn to sharpen them properly. I followed Dean's book and squared, honed, and rolled the burr on my first scraper on my first bow when I didn't know ANYthing about scrapers. Knives make dust, properly sharpened scrapers cut ribbons.

I also wouldn't want to make bows without my Nicholson #49, #50 and a few double cut files. I'd give up my Farriers rasps long before that would ever happen. I don't use farriers rasps that much, and on some bows I don't use them at all.
Straight wood may make a better bow, but crooked wood makes a better bowyer

Offline lleroy

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Re: card scrapers
« Reply #6 on: February 23, 2021, 11:18:48 am »
I think the quality of a card scraper depends most on the quality of the sharpening.
It takes time to learn to sharpen them, but it's time well spent!
I use an old flat metal file, a cheap sharpening stone ($2) and the side of a wrench/spanner for burnishing and rolling a burr.
youtube has lots of videos of people showing how to sharpen a card scraper.

Offline eastcreekarchery

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Re: card scrapers
« Reply #7 on: February 23, 2021, 12:00:01 pm »
the dfm scrapers work really well. on amazon

Offline Mo_coon-catcher

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Re: card scrapers
« Reply #8 on: February 23, 2021, 12:07:21 pm »
I think the ability to get a good but on the scraper is more important than the scraper itself. I use a Veritos tri sided burnishing rod. It may be a little overkill but I like that it has three different radius on the rod so I can change how much pressure I put without actually Bach going to push down harder. My main scraper is a piece of old sawmill bandsaw blade wedges into a block of walnut. Tempered black locust eats the bur away very quickly, but on other woods it holds up very well and takes a nice bur. When freshly sharpened it’ll take ribbons of wood as thick as cardstock. The other two scrapers I have are a rectangular one with two flat sides and the other two are concave and convex. And a goose neck scraper that I got from Lee valley when I got the burnishing rod. I use these when chasin GB a ring on the back around dips and knots.

Kyle

Offline Pat B

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Re: card scrapers
« Reply #9 on: February 23, 2021, 12:54:03 pm »
Russell, a few years ago I bought a set of 4 scrapers with straight, convex, concave and a gooseneck scrapers from Lowe's or Home Depot. It wasn't expensive. An inexpensive scissor can be disassembled and will give you 2 scrapers.
Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline Zugul

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Re: card scrapers
« Reply #10 on: February 23, 2021, 02:54:54 pm »
I use a little sheet of steel ( 5 cm x 10 cm) 0.75 mm thick. I made my own burnisher, grinding down an old round file until it was smooth and then sanding it with increasingly fine sandpaper (120, 280, 320, 500, 800 grit)... This was the cheapest way I could think of  ;D

Offline Pat B

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Re: card scrapers
« Reply #11 on: February 23, 2021, 04:50:33 pm »
A round shank screwdriver will work for a burnisher.
Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline mmattockx

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Re: card scrapers
« Reply #12 on: February 23, 2021, 07:55:32 pm »
A round shank screwdriver will work for a burnisher.

+1, this is what I use as well. The best scraper sharpening video I have found:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L4Ij-xMuNU


Mark

Offline Piddler

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Re: card scrapers
« Reply #13 on: February 23, 2021, 08:03:34 pm »
Bacho is the best I have so far but its square. I also got a set from Lee Valley that had a few including the goose neck I was needing. Like the Bacho though.
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Offline JW_Halverson

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Re: card scrapers
« Reply #14 on: February 23, 2021, 08:09:37 pm »
Bacho is the best I have so far but its square. I also got a set from Lee Valley that had a few including the goose neck I was needing. Like the Bacho though.

Bahco, just in case you are searching it out online.
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