The effect of tools on wood?

[Dricood]

Greetings,
Considering this is my first time here and I'm just picking up woodcarving as another fun hobby to go along with my airbrushing. I have looked online for many tutorials and videos which many of them are worth reading others not so much.
But something very important I'm having trouble finding is the proper effect of your gouges and knives on wood. I know that it is possible to watch carving videos but usually those are shown far away or on how to do the carve and not the effect of the tool.

So seeing/finding a tutorial that shows just how the tool should affect wood is what I'm looking for.

Currently I'm learning how each works on it's own but from what I've experienced is that I have one tool doing something but what is it supposed to be doing. These questions stem from my inability to get my bench knife to do more than just slide across the side of the wood (kind of like scraping). Now I know it isn't sharp enough but what is it supposed to be able to do once sharpened?
Same thing can be said for my gouges, also I'm using a 1'x1'x1'' board made of pine if my whole problem is right there.

Note: I posted this in questions for authors to see whether it would be a good tutorial idea, then realized after I posted that it probably fit more in this section, sorry for the mistake.

[BeaverDon]

Interesting question. First, know the the job of all carving tools is to remove wood. Large tools and deeper gouges take away more wood. Smaller tools are for smaller size piece or for detail work. I have collected most of my tools by simple working with what I have until I find I can't "reach" a certain area without damaging nearby areas and then I search for a new tool that might get me into that tight spot. Tools selection is really a matter of personal taste and style, but the type of carving and scale of your project will guide you toward the tools you need. If you can connect with another carver who has a lot of tools, maybe you can try some of them to get the feel for what each can do. I would start with a bench knife. Get a good one. Get it really sharp. Many places sell them very sharp and ready to go, so you can see & feel what "sharp" is. Then practice basic cuts on some scrape wood. Learn the push cut, paring cut, stop cut and try them in various combination. You can get a lot of mileage out of those few cuts. Get some basswood if you can and please get and use a carving glove. Keep watching video tutorials and blogs.

[Whittled Thumb]

Its funny how in the beginning you say some tutorials and videos are worth watching or reading then you ask how to get the knife to do what it needs to do. Perhaps its the tutorials that you neglected that might have the answer? Any knife can make all cuts needed to carve a peice of wood. You have to learn to make the cuts by watching and reading the tutorials, even the ones you might think are worthless have value.

Good luck

[Inadv]

Dricood,

The wording of your post is confusing, but it seems that you are asking about the mechanical relationship between the wood and the tool one is using to carve it. There are several tutorials on sharpening that preface their "how-to" with an explanation of what the tool is actually doing to the wood and how a carver's goal to create something from a piece of wood is maximized by making the tool more effective by sharpening it. Smokey Mountain Woodcarvers has a tutorial that is a good place to start.

If you never learn to properly sharpen your tools you're likely not to learn wood carving as it is the most essential aspect of it period. Dull tools will cause accidents faster than sharp ones will, and are not likely to produce anything of value to you or anyone else.

L.P.

[Mark Dellinger]

I guess my first question would be what is it that you are trying to do with these tools. My next question would be what type of carving is it that you are trying to do. I use a knife for probably 90% or more of my carvings. Then use the v-tools and gouges to add necessary detail. I have seen carvers who do a large amount of their carvings with gouges and v-tools only to use a knife for taking off larger areas of excess wood.

In order to help us help you, why don't you take some pictures of what it is you are trying to do along with the tool you are trying to use and then post them. I'm sure if we were to see what you are trying to accomplish we could tell you what tool would be best for that particular cut. I will warn you now though, you may receive a lot of different opinions of which tool would be best for what you are doing. As I stated earlier I mainly use a knife and have adapted the knife to the type of carving that I do, but there are some things that are better done with a gouge or v-tool. That is what makes each of our styles somewhat different. You will find the answer that you are looking for if you give us some more specific direction. There is a lot of talent and knowledge here right at your finger tips.

Safe Carving and God Bless,

Mark

[Sam]

HI, and welcome,

If you have the tools or some tools, try them on wood and see what they do. They might do something different in someone else's hands, but what they do in your hand is what you need to be aware of. You will learn later how to do other things with the tools. Some European apprentice carvers are only allowed to use one tool for everything - maybe you could try that also. Change tools once in awhile and stick to that one for everything.

Look up the basic carving knife cuts and practice those - look at the blade profiles of any gouges or v-tools you have, and that's what they will shave off wood. Hold gouges, knives, and v-tools against wood so that they are starting to bite into it - don't hold them so flat that they will just scrape over it - different bevels need to be held at different angles.

Learn to strop your tools properly - lots of places on the Internet to help, + search this forum. Then learn to sharpen your tools in case you damage the tool edge. Learn the difference between strop and sharpen.

You have your work cut out for you, but it is fuuuuunnnnn! Get some good basswood too.

[mobjack68]

on first reading???

Think WEDGE...

the thinness and sharpness of the edge allow to tool to "bite", the amount of bite is determined by the angle of the tool as it is presented to the wood surface. The ultimate depth of cut is controlled by the push of the tool and and again the angle of the tool...as the tool is pushed, the angle of the tool will change and the heel of the chisel becomes a pivot to allow the chisel to "exit" the cut thereby allowing the carver to put the chisel down to take a swig of adult beverage......then repeat!!!

[cedarshavings]

Littleshavers.com and woodcarvers.com...both have tabs with good beginners information.
Go ahead and and buy a good knife to start with. You can get one starting at around $25 and up. Both of those sites sell several good knives. Start with Basswood. Those two things will make it much more enjoyable and avoid many frustrations.

[Steve Reed]

Like the folks above, I'm a little confused by your questions. If your knife is "scraping", it's not sharp enough. A knife should be able to "peel" a very thin shaving of wood, same with your gouges, v-tools etc. The more aggressive the "angle of attack" the bigger the sliver, generally speaking. If you're using yellow pine, there are hard "rings" and soft spaces. Also the problem with sap or pitch. Eastern white pine is much better, Basswood is the best. Work on sharpening it is the most valuable skill you can have.
Happy Carving

[Dricood]

Thanks for the responses I think my question has been answered, but let me see if I can clarify a little bit more on what I mean. To give a better understanding about me. I come from a more technical based background which includes computers, programing, mathematics, science, etc... where you have many tools that each do a different job. So using one tool for everything is a little hard for me to understand.
Now I am currently doing a relief carving of a sea turtle and the wood from what Steve says is probably yellow pine which explains why it is so hard for me to cut into.
But also I'm understanding that my tools still aren't sharp enough. The one tool that is sharpen enough is a small u-gouge but I would like to have something bigger for the size of the project. Since I also just bought a little beginner 6 piece set of gouges and a bench knife they didn't come nearly as sharp as you guys are saying that I need. With the bench knife I am using a sharpening tool that comes with a pre-made angle so deviating from that isn't really an option. I've made a Gouge Honing Board but it looks like a lot more time is going to be spent with each gouge to get it where it's supposed to be.
I'm going to see if I can find a woodworking place where I can get a good bench knife and also see about the other tools for sharpness. Getting a piece of basswood also seems to have moved up on my priority list to make things less frustrating.
Thanks for the help.