Drawknife

Drawknifes are used for shaving willow off the cleft quickly, and can also be used to take thin shavings depending on how the blade is angled. A drawknife must be extremely sharp to ensure it makes precise cuts, this means it often the most dangerous tool in a Podshaver's workshop. The drawknife is pulled towards the batmaker "shaving" off willow from the cleft. Batmakers usually wear leather aprons as it is very easy to cut yourself when pulling the blade towards you. Drawknifes usually take quite coarse cuts but these can be smoothed out using a good plane.