No. 12. Paper-Knife.
(Requiring [Exercises] 5, 7, 12, 8, 9, 10, 22, 16, 6, 23, 13, and 24.)
Cut from Beech a very straight-grained piece, 14 in. long, 2 in. wide, and 3⁄8 in. thick. Plane one side and one edge at right angles. Then, on the planed side, to the size and shape indicated, draw the whole of Fig. 1 of [drawings No. 12], letting the straight edge serve as the line from A to B. With the smaller turning saw cut round all the curved parts, carefully adhering to the drawn figure. Then gauge all round for thickness, as shown in Fig. 2, plane the rough side down to the gauge lines, and with the knife trim the curved edges where required. With the set gauge, mark the centre of the straight edge from A to B, and guided by that centre, pare down each corner of the straight edge, so as to make a straight chamfer on each side about 1⁄8 in. wide, terminating with a sharp edge at the place where the gauge line was drawn, as shown in Fig. 2. Pare down the corners of both chamfers, and pare each side symmetrically, so as to produce a blade gradually diminishing throughout from a back 3⁄16 in. thick to a sharp edge. Then pare down the end of the back to a lancet-shaped point, as shown in Fig. 2. Round the corners of both edges of the handle, so as to make them symmetrical throughout, and also pare the corners of the back of the blade so as to round it on both sides very slightly. File judiciously with a light hand where required, and then, for the first time using the scraper, complete the blade with great care by scraping, finishing as usual with sand-paper.