While ordering some other things from Highland Hardware, I browsed around their web site (a costly thing to do!) and stumbled across the Flexcut 5" curved blade draw knife. It looked to be the perfect size for shaping paddles, gunwale boards and the like, so I ordered one. VERY NICE! The blade is extremely sharp and mirror polished right out of the package, It even has a small backside bevel. Too bad all cutting tools aren't this nicely sharpened from the factory!

I don't have any woodworking projects in the works right now, but I couldn't resist slicing away at a piece of 2x cedar, just for grins. The knife cuts very smoothly and can easily go from an aggressive "hog it off" cut to creating paper thin shavings, with just by a slight change in the angle. It will undoubtedly take me a while to develop the proper touch, but the initial results with it are encouraging. At $39.95, it won't break the bank, either.