Chris,
Thanks for the link and speedy recovery.

Great Rick. I think I will use the three glove approach. My fingers and hands are very valuable to me. They are my bread winners.
This subject is very creepy! :'(

Brad

[AlArchie]

Chris, those chain mail gloves mentioned by Rick are a great safety consideration, but not very comfortable. I do wear one when I think I might get careless or am using some unreasonable power tools. If you would like to try them and can't seem to locate them, check for 'butchers supply', they have been around for years for meatcutters, but are not well known in other quarters.

Hope you repair well in the near future!

Al

[Callynne]

Chris, I'm so sorry you had such a bad accident and hope you heal up perfectly well!! I have done the very same thing so many times, we probably all have, seen just that 'one more' little bit that needs removed.
Wishing you a speedy and complete recovery!! Callynne

[Colin_Partridge]

Chris,
I can relate and you know it is always when your not thinking straight that these things happen. I have done it when I get too agressive and try to make too deep of a cut. As and old carver told me one time make sure your hand is behind the cutting edge. I dont have that problem now as I only carve large carvings anymore. I recently took a carving course though where we carved using a carving arm and carving screw I would really recommend that that way you dont have to hold on to the carving.
Again I wish you a speedy recovery and as someone on this thread said you will eventually get most of the feeling back deep wounds take a long time to heal.
All the best
Colin

Here goes my 2 cents worth now on the subject. I must admit the only really bad cut I had on my hand was when I was first carving and tried to push it one night using a rather dull knife...and learned my lesson. I remember the look my wife gave me when we got home from the Hospital...with my pointer finger all stiched up and bandaged...and I headed right back into my shop to work because it was still frozen and it didn't hurt ( that last about 30 mins. until the freezing came out!). Anyways, one thing that has really saved me is a 12'x12' leather pad that I wear on my right thigh. I do alot of my detail carving by holding it on my leg. A couple of years ago, the knife slipped twice, putting nice little slice in my upper thigh ( bled like a sucker too!). This pad really ups the safety factor, and also the mental security too. Like Colin just mentioned in the last post, a carving screw, and a carving arm really make the World of differance too. I use this technique on about 95% of my carvings and it really speeds up the process too because you don't have to worry about holding the carving, thusly leaving you 2 hands to hold the tools with. I can really make the woodchips fly when I'm roughing out carvings. I've tried a reciprocating tool to rough out, but I can do it twice as fast with the carving arm and the carving screw holding the wood. Give it a try if you can, you may enjoy the 'hands-free' technique. Dave

[icarve2003]

Colin and Dave,

I am not familiar with a carving arm and carving screw but they do sound like just the thing I need.

I'm still not really able to hold a carving in my one hand and I don't mind admitting that I'm a bit nervous to do it, right now anyway.

I was thinking that I would try some relief carvings right now until my hand heals up, but I'd love try the arm and screw you mentioned.

Do you know of any links where I can see one? ???

Thanks guys,
Chris.

Chris,
I know I am butting in, but here is what they are. Click link and scroll down till you see it.


http://www.fandfwoodcarving.com/misc-items.htm#Vises and Carvers Screw

Brad

[icarve2003]

Brad,

There's no such thing as butting in here.

I suppose I could make something like that. Doesn't seem to be much to it.

I'd like to rig up something to do smaller carvings like songbirds as well. s anyone?? :

Chris

[woodenleg]

I use a carving vise almost all the time and love the secure feeling it gives me and the time it saves (because I can work faster). Mine has two different platforms, one for larger pieces and one for smaller pieces. On a very small piece, you may have to leave a little extra wood on the bottom while you do the initial work and remove it at the last minute.

I got mine at Lee Valley (catalog). It will greatly enhance your carving enjoyment! [Note: I still use a carving glove on my left hand.]

One other quick point: it seems to me that most of my 'accidents' have occurred when I was 'finished' carving and taken off my glove and then decided to make one last modification before quitting.... Maybe my guard was down just a bit. :-[

Hi Chris. I checked out the website link above, and saw the carving arm and screw they have there. That should do the trick for you. If you search around you may be able to find smaller screws for your smaller carvings, but I can do quite small carvings with mine. I actually just built my carving arm out of a couple of 2x4's and some stovebolts, probably cost me about $3.00. I keep mine at a fixed angle that works best for me, but if you buy one of the fancy ones, you can change the angle to whatever you want. They really are worth the investment though. Between the safety factor and the time savings you get, they can pay for themselves quite quickly. I carve for a living, so the time is a big factor for me. the time may not be as much a factor for you, but the safety end of it is well worth it. Good luck, and let us know how you fair with it. Dave