[Manteo]

I seem to be developing arthritis in my hand which really vexes me since I have recently taken up carving as a hobby. I have spoken with a couple of carving veterens and they have some trouble but cope. Would anyone care to share their thoughts and experiences on this? Thanks.

[Thomp]

30 minuet hot water soak for immediate relief, with massage, then get back to carving and keep active, aspirn, alieve seams to help....

inactivity seams to bring on most of my spells of pain & cramps...

and work a tention squeeze ball often as you can it seams to help when my grand son isent around, ya see he loves to play ball....
hope it helps ya ...

[Alice in Wonderland]

Hi there just thinking about it makes my fingers hurt :-)
I had do give in and become a power carver ,even that can be painful if the tools are to big to hang on to, flexshafts are a blessing, but you can do just as good a job than the knife carver. It is truly "mind over matter."
I hope that helps
Alice

[jillsy]

Manteo, I posted something just like this about a year ago you might wanna look up. I believe it was called "Newbie feeling Bluebie". There was lots of advice and just encouraging notes from others that really made a difference.

Don't despair, there are lots of us out there who can relate.

Jillsy

[Nancy-ID]

Thom has given you good advice. Aleve, hot water, exercise. When/if it becomes way too painful, give it a rest for a few days.

[rick-in-seattle]

Manteo,

I sharpen thousands of tools each year and see many solutions to the problem. A few carvers I know find some relief by enlarging their handle size and adding "whipping" to their handles.

"Squbrigg" may be of some help explaining whipping.

It seems the idea is to reduce the amount of grip required to use a carving tool.

Good Luck, Rick

[Just Carving]

It may not necessarily be arthritis. I too have been bitten by the aches and pains in the last few weeks. For me, I doubt it's arthritis since I'm 49. I'm guessing it's more like repetitive strain since the more I do it the more it hurts--the less I do, or when I don't do any carving, the aches subside. It started with an old injury in my left thumb/wrist joint being aggravated from holding the carving. Then I started getting aches in the left elbow. Now I've got aches in between the knuckles on the right hand. I just take Advil, use Sportscreme, moist heat, and take breaks more often. In the meantime, I'm using clamps and bench holders to hold the carving. I'm also in the process of making a mallet. Next, I'll be switching my tools over to mallet tools--mostly changing or modifying the handles so I can add ferrules on the top and bottom. I'm too stubborn to switch over to power tools. Besides, the dust will do me in completely with my allergies.

I've also gone back to doing more sketching since that doesn't cause me any pains. So, if and when I get my touch back, I'll start posting some patterns. Who knows, eventually, that might be the extent of wood carving for me.

[Eddy Smiles]

The key to arthritis is to use it or lose it! And the secret, if I may paraphrase Clint Eastwood in Heartbreak Ridge, is to "improvise, overcome and adapt!" So far my hands are okay but my wife has RA and she refuses to give up her stitchery. She's on some heavy meds but she still has to use heat and often wears gloves. I think I remember an article in Wood Carving Illustrated a ways back where one carver carved his own tools to the shape of his hands so that he could hold them. Now that's what I call spirit and motivation.




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[rick-in-seattle]

Manteo,
I built a webpage showing one method to enlarge a handle.

http://www.littleshavers.com/LargeHandle.html

[squbrigg]

Great write up Rick, and a great looking handle. The whipping looks super.

Whipping can be done on most existing handles, to improve your grip on them and prevent them from sliding in your hand without having to expend more energy to grip hard. The easiest way is to drill a small hole at each end of the handle, size the hole in relation to the size of the material you are going to whip with. Hemp twine works well, or sailmakers tared marline, but improvise. Glue one end into the hole close to the tang , once dry wrap tightly and evenly the length of the handle. Then glue the leading end of the line into the hole at the other end.

The other way is to whip it like a seaman whips the end of a rope, no drilling. It is done by laying out the beginning of your line along the handle and double it back forming a loop and leaving a small amount to the beginning end of the line sticking outYou wrap the handle tightly and evenly and at the end, slip the leading end of the line through the loop and pull from the end and knot, this pulls the line under the handle and makes your ends invisable.

I'll see if I can find a diagram online and link it. It's harder for me to describe, than it is for me to do one! Sorry. Google knot work and you might find a "how to" faster than me.

The other option, is to make a new handle to fit your hand. I did that on my skew knife, and it works super. Grip a roll of plastercine in your hand to give your handle a model to work from and carve one to match it from wood, insert your blade tang and epoxy.


Bob