A pocket knife is an important working tool when you
live in the woods. From fashioning an
impromptu stake for buttressing a sapling during strong winds to making perches
for bird feeders to whittling shims to stabilize a workbench, the small knife
comes in handy several times a day. Yesterday I used my folding knife about a
dozen times on various tasks ranging from sharpening a pencil to delicately
removing bark around a bowstave’s knots.
Tonight I’ll use that same knife as a scraper.
The Trapper Model Clip Blade
The first time I handled a Trapper model folder I
knew it would make an ideal pocket bow-making tool. And because I’m currently making a series of
bows I’m using my Case Trapper frequently.
The clip blade enables me to perform woodcarving tasks associated with
sculpting the riser or fashioning string knocks or perhaps making an arrow
rest. But the spey blade is the real gem
on the Trapper folder. It makes an
excellent scraper. Keep it ultra-sharp and
you can scrape towards you or away from you to avoid chatter.
Trapper Model Spey Blades
I own two Trapper pocket knives both with carbon
steel blades. In my experience carbon
steel is easier to sharpen than stainless and it keeps an edge longer. When using the spey blade to scrape the bow’s
belly I keep a diamond stone handy and re-sharpen the blade often. By the way, the Trapper model also makes a good arrow-making knife. The spey blade's scraper function works great for shaping arrows.
