Cajun style "Cane Knife

[cappyr]

Äs I was mucking out all my frost bit banannas with my trusty cane knife I thought about a;ll the forums I belong to and all the knife/garden tool stuff on them.  So on a lark, I told Peg who was taking pictures of the process to video and I made a lil off da cuff video about my trusty cane knife.  I hope you gardeners find it helpful or at least entertaining.

 

[foamheart]

I see you prefer the new style curved blade and with the short handle. You ever work in a cane field using one? The hooked end is used when "Striping" cane, no that doesn't mean cleaning the leaves off, Stripping is how you plant cane which is replanted on average every 3 to 4 years. Its also used when after a hurricane, the cane has to all be cut by hand due to the cane swirls and it laying down all over the place. You can't just walk away, it has to be cut and hauled so next years cane can grow.

I spent a day or two in the cane field.

You are right it will sharpen, you are right its a Louisiana tool, and it carried on nearly every sportsman's boat you'll see.

Versatile ? I was 16 before I knew they made a motor driven lawn edging tool! It was a engineering marvel! Imagine building a machine that could edge using a gasoline motor...... Course Pop didn't need one till I went off to college.....LOL

 

[cappyr]

Foam I have used the short handled one like in the vid for many many different tasks.  more than I have time to recount now before supper.  I have never worked in a cane field but oil field maintenance I used both the short and long handled we called the long handled one a briar hook and the short a cane knife. 

 

[daveomak]

Cappy, afternoon..... How thick is the steel on that cool tool.... I have a couple old hand saws that might need modifying into something useful...... Do you think a hand saw would be "adequate" to make a tool like that..... I may have you outline the design and mail it to me.... It would do "real good" on my corn stalks in the fall......

Dave

 

[cappyr]

Funny thing Dave I posted the video on one of my outdoor camping type forums and a guy commented that up north they call same knife a corn knife.  If ya wanna go through the trouble an old saw would work this blade is thicker for chopping saplings up to 6 "with no trouble.  They are very cheap too google cane knife ya can get one for like 10$  I don't think I can post a link for em but there are plenty on line retailers.  Picked that one up a few yrs bback from local feed and seed store.  Have a much older rustier one in bow of my boat.

 

[daveomak]

The corn knives they sell up here have a blade about 1 1/2" from edge to back.... that "thing" you were swinging would make crocodile Dundee take notice...

 

[foamheart]

This week its been nice enough to start in on the yard and I came across one of my misplaced cane knifes. This is the old two hander I talked about on one of your other posts where you were about to wack frozen banana plants back.

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• foamheart
• Mar 14, 2014

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• foamheart
• Mar 14, 2014

Generally they have a shorter handle, but these were used to reach high in the buggy to catch cut cane and drag them out upon the ground into the furrow for planting. Nearly ever flat boat has one, camp has one, and it used to be the primary tool for trimming the grass from the sidewalks....LOL