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As many of you probably already know, I prefer power tools
over hand tools in most cases, however, I still have a small but growing
collection of hand tools, and in some cases, a good hand tool is MUCH
better than a power tool for performing a particular task. One of the
first "hand tools" I bought when I started woodworking was a basic marking
knife. It has served me well over the years, pretty much replacing my shop
pencil for layout and marking.
When I saw Chris Vesper's Joinery Knife however, it
appeared my humble old marking knife might soon be superseded with
something better.
Chris Vesper's Joinery Knife
Chris Vesper is a Melbourne (Australia) based toolmaker producing a
number of fine hand tools utilizing some magnificent native Australian
timbers. The Joinery Knife reviewed here is made from select Tasmanian
Blackwood, and you can see from the photos, that visually, it is stunning.
I am told by Chris himself that this particular knife I received is not
special, at least not in terms of the quality or figure of wood used. He
assures me all the tools he creates feature equally stunning and figured
wood! Other wood species are also available to order (dependant on
material availability) and include:
The knife measures roughly 200mm in length from the blade
tip to the butt of the handle. The shape of the handle resembles somewhat
of an elongated pear or teardrop shape. This provides a larger, wider
surface for gripping the tool in use, particularly when using it as a
chisel, where control becomes more important, as well as resistance to
twisting of the blade. This wider shape nearer the blade provides that
added control and twist resistance needed in chisel or joinery refinement
tasks. The body of the handle begins as flat stock, then the edges and
rear section of the handle are turned round. Doing it this way saves much
more wood than turning a larger piece round then flattening the faces. The
Chris Vesper logo is engraved into one of the faces. The tools is then
hand polished with shellac to make the wood's natural figure "pop". As you can see by
the photos, this brings out the true beauty of the Blackwood and adds
durability to boot. A brass ferrule provides the transition from handle to
blade, and adds greatly to the overall aesthetics of the tool.
The blade is crafted from tool steel and features double 20
degree bevels ground to form a sharp diamond-shaped tip. The back side of
the blade is ground flat so the knife can be used as a very precise
marking knife, the sharp diamond tip point ensuring a fine, clean result
for both cross-grain and with-the-grain marking. You can virtually
guarantee a scribed line as close to the edge of a square or other marking
ruler/guide as possible with the joinery knife. It sure beats the
precision of even my finest marking pencil! The knife's sharp point and
edges also helps reduce splintering and chipping on edges as it scores the
fibres prior to cutting. You might also notice that the blade itself has a
curved shape on its edges. This provides a curved surface to place your
forefinger comfortably in a pen-style grip for better control when
marking. Additionally, it also allows pressure to be exerted on both bevel
angles of the diamond shape for particular chiseling or planing cuts. Because of standard bevel angle implemented, the
knife is also very useful as a small chisel, its shape allowing it to
reach into tight places and into corners to clean out mortises or dovetail
pins/tails as needed to refine a joint fit. This is just a few of the
practical applications in which it could be used of course.
In Use
It is probably pretty obvious how this tool is, or can be used just by
looking at it. And this is very true with the joinery knife. I use it to
undertake pretty much all my marking tasks on projects these days,
gripping the knife somewhat like a pencil, as can be seen by the photo on
the left below. This grip affords me good control over the tool and allows
accurate marking. The beauty of the tool handle's shape is that it can be
gripped in many different ways, and what works for me, might not be the
ideal grip for you, and indeed, in certain circumstances, the grip of the
tool might need to be changed to angle it appropriately for some marking
tasks. As a marking tool however, I cannot really fault it. It works
perfectly. The photo below on the right shows my preferred grip on the
tool when using it as a chisel for joint refinement tasks. My left hand
grips the edges of the handle while the right provides to pushing force to
push into the cut. Again, your preferred grip may vary.
Left: Gripping the tool for marking. Right:
My preferred grip for chiseling.
Conclusion
I must say that I enjoyed using this tool. Not only does it look the
part, but it works very well too. It is the type of tool that will greatly
complement a good set of chisels, or completely replace your marking
pencil. It is an excellent tool for working with dovetail joints, or
joints with odd shapes where a standard square edged chisel simply wont
work. But perhaps the most appealing feature of the tool is its price. At
AUD$60 (price may be higher for some wood species), the joinery knife is
very well priced for a hand-made woodworking tool featuring fine figured
Australian native timber and an odd-shaped blade with a diamond-shaped
tip. If you are looking for a nice little joinery knife, or just a quality
marking knife that is well made and finished, the Chris Vesper marking
knife might just be the thing to add to your hand tool shopping list.
Left: Using the joinery knife as a marking knife
Right: Refining a dovetail joint.
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Joinery Knife
Photos
All photos copyright onlinetoolreviews.com. Use without prior
written permission prohibited
The Joinery Knife
The dual bevel forms a diamond tip
Flat back provides accurate marking and chiseling capability
The Chris Vesper logo engraved into the Tasmanian Blackwood handle
Rounded tool butt. Note the great figure in the Blackwood
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