A good traditional pattern for whittling that you might want to try out is the British Ettrick pocket knife. Arthur Wright & Son from Sheffield in England do a really reasonably priced Ettrick and I think there's a few places in the US that have imported them. It's got a single 2 inch wharnclife blade that's narrow with a wickedly fine tip, but has a fairly robust spine. It's an unusual pattern because the handle is relatively long for a short blade, meaning you can get a full four finger grip around it, and the bulbous back end of the handle is good for wrapping your little finger around so you have good leverage and control. I have really large hands but even for me I think it's quite acceptable for short periods of whittling.

Watching this again while experimenting with whittling with my various pocket knives and seeing how well the different blade profiles work for particular cuts, and I have another quick recommendation to make: The Victorinox Swiss Army 7/Pioneer 7/Harvester which has a main blade, wood saw, reamer/punch for drilling in holes, combi tool (great prybar), and a little recurved pruner blade. There's also the Pioneer Rancher which loses the saw, the Pioneer Pruner which just has a main spear blade and the little pruner blade, and I think there was a Harvester X which had scissors in addition to everything else. The little pruner blade can be used for many of the same tasks as a sheepsfoot/wharncliffe/coping blade, and in some cases it might even be a little better for certain details. The main spearpoint blade in the alox knives is more robust that the one in the red plastic handled Victorinox SAKs, it has a thicker spine which is more comfortable for thumb push cuts but still has a very nice acute edge. If you keep the reamer blade sharp it can be used for scraping surfaces in tight spots as well as making little holes, very useful. And of course the saw is great for collecting small bits of wood to whittle on if you happen to find a good broken or fallen branch while out on a walk. Just thought I'd mention it as it's cool to have something that has all that functionality in one small pocket tool.

I love the congress pattern. I have several old Boker Solinger knives but one of my favorites is an old J.A. Henkels that was made by Boker I also have a couple of Boker Solinger whittlers and a Case XX whittler. Those are all really nice examples you have.

Schrade 804. Fits hand and in pocket beautifully

I have many whittling knives. I always wanted the Case Seahorse whittler but the $200.00 price always kept me from getting one. Until I found at SMKW the Hen and Rooster knife brand and it comes in the whittler, identical to the case seahorse whittler for a fraction of the cost. It is now my favorite whittling knife.

Drop a note to a GemanKnife maker and politely ask. Thanks for the great info. Chi Miigwech

Nice work. I've been turning warn out vintage pocket knives into whittlers. That's a whole another Hobbie in itself😅

Those fiddles are beautiful. If I ever try carving I think one of those protective gloves would save me some pain.

I have to agree with you.German blades are some of the best ones to work with.

Love the snake's head and the eagle's head...great workmanship. I found it interesting that you mentioned converting the small pen blade of some Vic SAK's to a semi-Wharncliffe shape, but you didn't show one. I took that to mean that you weren't partial to the idea. I have a Recruit that I so converted and am quite pleased with it. Have you tried one?

That is amazing work and those are some great looking fiddles.All i do is sit and whittle on a stick until there isn't enough left to safely hold on to it and whittle anymore.LOL

I bought a rough rider sway back whittler and re did the edge into one that was easier to carve with. It does really well so far, and I also reshaped a swiss army knife into a whittling blade.

I think that you already cross the line between whittling and woodcarving. I was looking for a knife for me and ended up customizing the blades I already have. As many whittlers do. So the magic in the whittlers knife is in the edge that the owner gives to the knife. My perfect knife doesn´t exist yet. Is a sowbelly stockman with a pen blade on the same liner of the main blade. By now, I use a regular sowbelly stockman and a victorinox pen blade. For rough cuts an opinel number 8. Good video. Thank you for share!

I have a bunch of different Rough Ryder knives I carry for whittling. Started with the Congress and loved how it worked out so much, I just kept going from there. SMKW is the place to find Rough Ryder knives because it is their house brand. So they have much better whittlers available, like the seahorse whittlers.

Try vintage schrade 804 or craftsman made by schrade carpenters whittler. I think what's your looking for to fit your hand. My guess enjoy your channel

Wow, you do some amazing work. I'm very impressed. You lut together a really interesting video too. I'm searching for a pocket knife for whittling, but I can't quite find what I want. I'm in the UK and legal carry has to be under 3" and non locking - it is what it is. That Flexcut Whittling Jack may be what I'm looking for. I read that Flexcut blades are all 1075 steel hardened to about 60 Rockwell, which is pretty good. I have the Rough Rider Whittler which you show and I can't use it because the small blades scare me with the amount that they flex. They're just too thin and would break eventually. You should check out their Seahorse Whittler, but be aware that they make them in 440A, which doesn't impress me much, but also in a T10 carbon steel which should be better. Like yourself I would love a carbon steel Congress pattern, but an affordable one as I would definitely want to modify the blades. As yet all of the Rough Rider Congress knives are 440A as far as I know, but I'm keeping my eyes peeled and my fingers crossed. All the best from bonnie Scotland.

I use a small two blade penknife made by EC Wood of Sheffield in the 1930s. Works really well.

Very nice video! Good job my friend! Love that knife!

Wow, You do amazing work. How did you get the balls inside of the squares? I think the voline's are beautiful. Many thumbs up to your work and video.

Hello , do you have small hands ???