Wood Spirits Carving

[rnooraei]

Hi,
I would like to start carving and what I would like to do carve wood spirits. I bought Lora S. Irish book (Relief Carving Wood Spirits) but I don't have any tools to start with. I am living in Canada and since tools are really expensive (eg.pfeil), I want to buy the good one. I was wondering if somebody can help me with choosing the ESSENTIAL tool for my project. below are the list of suggested tool by Lora. I really appreciate any response.

1- Bench Knife
2- Chip Carving Knife
3- Small round gouge
4- Large round gouge
5- wide-sweep gouge
6- 1/4" 45-degree V-tool
7- 1/8" 45-degree V-tool
8- 7/32" Straight chisel
9- 3/8" Straight chisel
10- 3/8" bull-nose chisel
11- 1/8" U-gouge
12- 1/8" dogleg chisel
13- 3/8" dogleg chisel

[brent]

Pfeil are quite costly, but IMHO worth the money. You can acquire them over time and not put out so much money. Give Flexcut a look see. .

[Bob K.]

I totally agree with Brent...always try to buy the best you can afford...after all you will probably have them for a lifetime.

[Steve Reed]

Ok. my opinion only, others may differ. Good sharp knife, V-tool (1/4" 45 deg), #11 veiner, #7 gouge, around 10mm, and maybe a #3 about 1/2 inch. If you can do it, a #9 at about 1/4 to 1/2 inch will help. You will be set. DON'T buy a "set", buy the best individual tools you can afford, as stated above. Most importantly, learn to use your V-tool.
Best of luck and post some pics!

[Steve Reed]

Forgot to mention, learn to sharpen, and strop often!
Happy Carving

[rnooraei]

Hi
Thanks for everybody response. Since I am new, I have couple of more questions.

Bob,
when you mentioned that #11 veiner, you are not referring to my list am I right?
e.g
#11 veiner is not 11- 1/8" U-gouge OR
#7 gouge is not 1/8" 45-degree V-tool

Is there any standard chart that I can follow to find the mentioned numbers?
For example, I was looking on web and found that
PFEIL "Swiss Made" 3mm No. 11 Veiner or PFEIL "Swiss Made"1mm No. 11 Veiner

Also,I found this chart but I don't know how do I mach your numbers with their numbers
http://www.woodcraft.com/Articles/Ar...eId=396&page=1

Brent,
you mentioned about IMHO. How do you find this in Canada(I am living in Toronto) what IMHO is stand for.

Thanks
Ramin

[Steve Reed]

Ramin, the number i.e. #11 refers to the sweep of the tool. 1mm vs 3 mm refers to the width of the tool. Some of the less expensive tools call a "U gouge", what is normally a #9. By sweep, we mean the depth of cut. For example a #1 gouge is really a flat chisel. The higher the number the deeper the gouge cuts, e.g. a #11 will go deeper than a #7. Most of the websites that sell carving gouges have a picture that shows what the gouge will look like when pressed into the wood at 90 degrees. I've attached a pic to illustrate this point.
Happy Carving!

[rnooraei]

Hi Steve,
Thanks for clarification. So I am going to buy above suggested knifes following
the suggested numbers.
Ramin

[Shaysreb]

What ever you buy, I suggest a Slip-Strop to keep them sharp, Works for me!
My Wood Spirit Gallery
- Woodcarving Illustrated Photo Gallery

[LMiller]

IMHO = In My Humble Opinion... I suspect it means the same thing in Canada as it does anywhere else (Grinning like a jokester!)