Question on carving tool

reinhart_menken · #1 05-01-2008, 08:49 PM

Hi all,

New carver around here. I asked some questions a couple weeks back and got me a bench knife, a glove and everything basic. I had finally received my wood a couple days ago and started carving. I had chosen to start with a knight chess piece, because I thought the knight had most "character", a seem to be more challenging.

I've gotten to this far.

But I'm a little unsure - hold on, make that no idea at all, of which tool to use for those tight little area just under the knight/horse's chin and between the neck (as well as its opened mouth). =/

I'm pretty determined with using only a bench knife for whittling, but it seems that one more tool is absolutely required for tiny areas.

Thanks!

Just Carving · #2 05-01-2008, 09:32 PM

Believe it or not, you can carve all of those pieces with just a plain ol' bench knife. It's just a matter of adjusting as you go a long. You got a tight little crevice? Use the tip of the blade and take small slivers off. Sure, it'll take a bit of time. But when you get done, you'll be pretty proud that you faced up to the challenge and was able to create what you set out to do. Want to get 'er done fast? Okay, use a small gouge to scoop out whatever wood you need to remove. But trust me, it is a great accomplishment when you carve a piece using a simple knife--even if me and a few others, it is only a Stanley fixed blade utility knife which we've come to know as "Ol' Reliable".

Bob L

reinhart_menken · #3 05-01-2008, 10:03 PM

Oh thanks! I wasn't sure if I could do it with just a bench knife, because some spots on my knight is rather vulnerable. I need to cut open the horse's mouth, and the horse's bottom lip seems a little thin as well. And then there's this O spot that is at the very end of the horse's mouth as well.

I've been using my bench knife to chip small pieces of away before posting, and I'll continue to do so. Is there any knife that could make that easier though? Although I really wanted just a single knife in the first place (ease for travelling), I wouldn't mind haven't another one just for tight spaces.

I looked around a bit, should I use some type of skew or dog-leg skew?

Just Carving · #4 05-01-2008, 10:15 PM

Askew would probably only be beneficial in pushing in a "stop-cut" as opposed to "slicing" a stop cut. The mitered angle of the skew might be of some help. Probably, you best bet would be to use a "v" tool or a "u" gouge to make the horse's mouth. The hole could be made with a gouge by "drilling" or twisting the gouge in a curcular motion, and then flick the "round" chip out with a knife. You can also use the knife to do the same thing. You can change the carving to suit your own desires--and in this case--to the abilities you have as a carver and your tools. Try doing different things to a piece of scrap--experiment until you find what suits you and accomplishes what you want.

Bob L

William · #5 05-02-2008, 12:28 AM

A set Dockyard Micro Carving tools are really nice for detail work and tight places but a 5 tool set will cost between $35 and $40, they can be tricky to sharpen but I really like those gouges.
Another inexpensive option would be a surgical blade holder ($4.00) and a box of surgical blades (100 blades $7.99) those prices are from Demetech medical supplies, you may find them for less but that is where I got mine, I have several different blades but find that the I use the #11 the most, it has a slender point and very sharp.

reinhart_menken · #6 05-02-2008, 11:11 AM

Surgical blades? That's interesting. I'm not sure if I want to get surgical blades though, because I want to get things that I can keep at home and traveling. I'm not sure if I want to get caught carrying a surgical blade and try to explain I carve/whittle with surgical blades

But then again, I could just keep those in my luggage. That price is cheap though, 7.99 for a hundred blades? Whoa, at least I'll have spares (for 50 years). On second thought I think the price warrant a checking-out.

To Just Carving, are the blades of the gouges small enough for those tight spaces? Note that I'm only carving something as small as chess pieces though =/ This might sound funny, but I don't even have any palm tools (just my bench knife) because I never planned to use another tool. I did try to clean out the tiny spaces with just the bench knife last night, but I was literally clearing out fine grains of wood a little at a time. If there is a tool that would make that job a lot faster I wouldn't mind getting it. But then again, as I've said I only want a couple blades because I want to take them with me when I travel, but not carrying around even 6 different knives, so I'm only going to get what I really need/want.

Thanks for all you guys' help!

Hi_Ho_Sliver · #7 05-02-2008, 11:40 AM

a small V tool would do the job

Just Carving · #8 05-02-2008, 01:59 PM

If you get a small gouge--like the Dockyard set, I think you would do alright. But like William said, because they're small they can be a pain to sharpen. Take a look at the Flexcut microtools. THey might be useful to you and I think the Flexcut SlipStrop might be tailor made to sharpen their microtools. You might want to check with them on that if you're interested.

Bob L

markken5889 · #9 05-03-2008, 01:53 PM

cape forge has a nice set of micro-tools and travelling blades as well. You might be interested in that...

-Mark

reinhart_menken · #10 05-03-2008, 03:43 PM

Oh wow the Cape Forge micro tools are a bit steep. I'm not sure if I get that correctly but a single micro tool is around 40 bucks?

I like the Dockyard ones, they seem to suit my need. I thought palm tools are supposed to have those round semi-globe like handles? How do you hold those then? Maybe sort of like holding a pen?