11/08/2016
Hi all. I've recently been looking into the Mocotaugan as a carving tool. For those that don't know, this is a native american Indian crooked knife. Designed to be used as a one handed draw knife. I looked into purchasing one. They seem to go for around the £60 mark. The sort of money that isn't excessive to pay out for a tool, if you know you like using it, and it'll get used frequently. However for me this was too much, having never used one before. So I set about trying to find a common man alternative, that may not do the job quite as well, but could still be workable. That's when I came across the hoof knife. A knife used buy farriers.
At first glance these knives look almost identical. Hoof knife handle is a slightly different shape, the blade is central in the handle and the bevel is a different grind to the blade. The Mocotaugan blade being positioned at the underside of the handle, the handle having a thumb rest in the grip and the blade being of a single bevel like a chisel.
I decided the hoof knife was the closest shop brought tool I would get to a Mocotaugan and at a fraction of the price. I Payed £4.50 including postage for mine. So I set about addressing the differences. Firstly regrinding the bevel on the blade, secondly reshaping the handle, not just to produce a thumb rest, but also tho reduce the amount of wood on the underside of the handle.
The pictures show my outcome. Have tested a little and seems to work reasonably well. Tho I don't know how it compares to a purpose built Mocotaugan having never used one. But as a cheap alternative it might suit some of you that want to have a play.
Please comment below.
Nomad Tree Craft
