Can't shave with it, can't cut with it. The larger the draw knife the easier it is to shave with. No other tool will give you as smooth a cut along the grain or on end grain on all woods and in a multitude of applications than this one. I bought it in 1972 at the Woodbury, Ct. flea market and have put thousands of hours on it, and you'd never know it. It could be used for generations more ! Everything is thousands of hours when you've been working more than five decades. The blade alone is 15" long.