What should I look for in a whittling knife?
I want to start whittling, and I know that I will need a good knife for it.
I already have a knife on my multitool, but that is not what I want to use... I would prefer that that blade stay sharp and only be used in non-recreational situations.
I also already have a pocket knife that I got way back in my scouting days, but I haven't used it in many years and the blade is very dull because I never sharpened it properly.
I have some scrap maple and scrap pine around the yard and house, and I know pine is rather a hard wood. So I want my knife to be safe for me to use (ie, not so dull that I'll end up cutting myself) and effective when whittling. But I also don't want to spend any money if I don't have to; I'm on a very limited budget.
Can I whittle with my old scouting knife? Should I keep my multitool away from whittling? What other tips do you have for a beginning whittler?
To me a knife is a knife. The key things are comfort in your hand, ability to control the blade, and most importantly sharpness. A dull knife is much more dangerous than a very sharp one. Small blades are usually best, since you have better control. For instance if you are using a typical 2 or 3 blade pocket knife, you usually want to work with the littlest blade. Sharpening is an art unto itself, but you can google for some pretty good guides to that.
PS: gauze pads, medical tape, neosporin, and bandaids 
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