My first try at carving, don't laugh ;)

[jessio]

My friend let me try out his rotary tool for carving. He gave me a couple pieces of wood and left me in his garage for a while. I wanted to make a simple relief-type picture to practice.


I'm really proud of how it turned out! I'm excited to make more stuff, and I'll try something a little more realistic next time.
Does anyone know of a good place to get some tools to try out relief carving, like with chisels and gouges? The beginner sets I've found online are more than I want to spend on something I might not stick with. I found a little set for 5.99 at a discount hardware store (Harbor Freight, idk if it's regional), but they were terrible! They didn't really cut the wood, only dented it like any metal object would.
I hope this is the right forum to post this!

[doris]

hi welcome jessio, yes you are exactley right place here :-) ... this is a cute little carving and i can see you enjoyed doing it :-) ... as i live on the other side of the big pond, i cant advise with where to buy tools, but just want mention that the cheapy tools you saw were not sharpened, thats why they dented the wood only.. they are blunt, and need be sharpened first. good quality tools like pfeil come shaprpened, cheapies not...

though it is not very advisable to start with cheap tools, i did too, for the same reason you said. it was good in that i learned sharpening, had to, since they came dull... but it took me several days to learn that, and maybe some might be bored by that already, since what you want is try carving, and not sharpening ... the cheapy tools i have have good metal however and keep their sharpness pretty well,,,, but they lost their handles only after an hour use for example, and showed lots of other problems.....but, after the first carving, i got good tools, very old used tools from a friend, and the difference is just amazing........maybe you know one who has some old tools too ?

[Joy]

Welcome Jessio! I'm glad you are getting started. Unfortunately, it is expensive to get good tools. Many people who try to carve with cheap tools give up because they can't get good results.

One option would be to start with just a knife and carve the little people shown in Gene's videos. After you have done several of those you should know if you want to stay with carving and can start investing in one tool at a time.

Good luck!

[Paul_Guraedy]

Jessio, Joy and Doris are giving you some wonderful advice. Cheap tools = cheap performance. Take a look at RicK Ferry's "Little Shavers" site. He has a starter carving set for around $50 (last time I checked) that contains all that is needed to get started (knife, gouges, glove, etc.). That is a wonderful deal.

Also, you did a creditable job on your first carving and no one should be laughing. I do have a second recommendation, the wood in your photo looks like pine. If so, in my estimation, it is one of the most difficult woods to carve (with a few exceptions like white pine). Try some basswood, I think you will be much happier with it.

[cannuckcarver]

"Also, you did a creditable job on your first carving and no one should be laughing. I do have a second recommendation, the wood in your photo looks like pine. If so, in my estimation, it is one of the most difficult woods to carve (with a few exceptions like white pine). Try some basswood, I think you will be much happier with it."

Paul is right so are Doris and Joy.
This said, welcome to the board.

[Lonewolfcarver]

Good job, everyone has to start somewhere! I would like to suggest that you keep your first carving so you can go back and compare as you gain experience. I look forward to seeing future works.

[arbarnhart]

I know the set you are talking about; I bought one of those also. I still have a couple of pieces from it; they aren't that bad if sharpened and honed. But they aren't that great either. The bevels needed regrinding as they were way too steep.

You are off to a good start!

[CarverFromNoWhere]

Not bad my, first attempt at power carving looks something like that. I hear a lot about Rick at little shavers and his beginners set is mentioned all the time so it must be good. I like flexcut they fall under good quality with a reasonable price, it is what Joy said many new carvers start with poor tools and have a hard time learning to carve and then give up.

So Jessio just get some decent tools or sharpen up those HF and give it another go, this is exactly the right place to be asking questions about a thing like this. You should get a ton of replies all with varying opinions.
Carl

For Beginning Carvers from Little Shavers
Carving Tools - SK106 5-Piece Craft Kit « Flexcut Tool Company
Carving Tools - SK107 11-Piece Craft Kit « Flexcut Tool Company

[Irishman]

If only you saw how many of us started out...we certainly would not be laughing. Great start...stay with it...and keep challenging yourself. Yes good tools can make a difference but you don't have to start by buying a full set yet. Kits may save when you add it all up but some tools you may not need or use. A good knife and one or two gouges may be fine for starts. When I took a carving course a few years back, my instructor used one maybe two tools for the majority of the carving class. Remember tools do not make the carver. Good luck
Patrick

[Robert Cahill]

you have gotten some good advice already and from your post you seem interested in relief carving you might find Woodcarving Patterns, Classic Carving Patterns Online, Wood Carving Designs & Patterns Online interesting as they have free tutorials for relief carving