>>214074http://youtu.be/pJTfWmCsasgYes, this video perfectly illustrates the versatility and general awesomeness of these knifes for craftsmanship. That knife also looks like the business, will mos def check it out. Thanks!
>>214092I had to google "whittling", but I'm still not sure what you use the belly for. (Pic related are examples of whittling knives from Wikipedia, and they have no belly.) Could you illustrate? Now, I'm a builder-carpenter, not a cabinet maker, so I deal in roughly shaping lumber to form big constructions. As such, I don't often need to carve very fine details and consequently do not have much experience with it.
As for making holes, you have a good point (huehue). Making small holes in wood with a chisel knife is not going to happen, but even when drilling in wood with a pointed knife, the hole will be quite big by the time you reach any sort of depth, unless the piece of wood is very thin. And you could only make the hole so deep. A chisel knife and some sort of mallet will allow you to make holes as deep as the blade is long, although it would have to be as as wide as the blade, which is a serious limitation.
For making holes in fabric I always fold the piece first one way and then the other, so that where the folds meet is exactly where I want the hole, then I cut off the corner. This makes for a neater hole with less fraying than by twisting the tip of a blade into the fabric. If I wanted to make a hole without cutting the fibers, I'd sharpen a twig and push it through.
My well used and oft sharpened chisel knife has developed the tiniest of bellies where the edges meet, that is true. Good call. Still, the radius of this belly is very small and could be eliminated without grinding away too much of the blade.
