wood whittling: Is a pocket knife good enough for whittling a knife?

Question

I have this great piece of drift wood that I've had lying around for years, I've managed to carve the general shape of a blade, and even a nice thumb grip. I don't want to destroy the wood, so before I commit, is it possible to carve a fine and sharp blade from wood using only a pocket knife? How long did it take before you became good at the art? Can an amateur create a nice and functional piece?

Answer 1

Friends who carve all use different kinds of knifes.
Some use a cheap little knife that is sold for peeling potatoes. Others use craft knifes.
And others again use their pocket knifes.

As long as the knife is sharp size and shape are just personal preference.

People who do real fine detailed work in hard wood sometimes use files, like they use in detailed metalwork. You could use a file in the way people use a sharpening stone.

To make a wooden blade sharp is much harder, it can be done to a certain point, by fire hardening.
Hold your wood over the hot coals, (not the flames) or bury it in the coals, till the outsides are getting blackened. You next scrape the black away and do it again.
So you need to start well before the blade is in its final shape.
Even if the blade gets rather sharp and hard it will not be strong compared to metal blades.