Snick

[AlArchie]

I was just down in the shop working on a small relief...maybe' I'll get it done and maybe not, but something between the wood and the tool happened that I thought I'd pass on to the board, here.

SNICK

Snick........ Snick....... Snick.......My gouge “snicks” it's way through the wood as I work on a simple carving. It's far more than a sound. It's a tactile input that flows from the cutting edge to my fingers and palms and winds it's way into my consciousness . Yet that sound continues as I carve. Snick........Snick.......Snick! Then the input returns to the gouge as it guides the wood into what my imagination sees there. Or perhaps it's what the wood tells me is there. Either way, Snick......Snick.......Snick!

When was the first time that “snick” found it's way into my existance? I think it was as a boy when I first whittled a point on a box elder stick. It didn't really register then, but it became ingrained into my very being. Snick......Snick.......Snick!

I hope most carvers get a chance to have that feeling as they wander through a stick or board. It happens whenever a keen blade reaches through resilient wood fibers, and tells the holder of the tool that all is going well. And it does not matter if the holder of the tool is an artist or an amateur, an experienced craftsman or a tool wielding neophyte, that “snick” transfixes the attention and bonds the carver to the wood.

It lets your soul meet with an oak that has reached through shaded forest air to a clear sky, to join with a willow as it hangs it's weary arms toward a stream side sandbar, or to stand with a white skinned birch on a hardwood ridge, overlooking the sylvan expanse.

It also tells you that you have mastered the steel, finally being able to hone that cutting edge to do your bidding. For long periods, you may not have felt it. Dull blades have a mushy feel as they wear, not cut through the wood. The tactile feel is missing and the cuts are rough and ragged. More time spent with the steel will bring a stronger connection with both tool and wood.

And finally, Snick........Snick.........Snick! The blade tells you you have done well, and from here on it will do your bidding, as long as you listen to the song of the steel.

Snick.......Snick........Snick!

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

I think its your hearing that is effected........I hear it too, but its saying "snickers'"snickers" lol...................nothing like a candy bar while carving!

[AlArchie]

Dave, that's another sound altogether,,,,,MMM,,,,,,,,MMMMM......MMMM
M&M's. No gooey chocolate mess on the wood!

Al

[Dull Knife]

Originally Posted by AlArchie

Dave, that's another sound altogether,,,,,MMM,,,,,,,,MMMMM......MMMM
M&M's. No gooey chocolate mess on the wood!

Al

wouldn't happen to me....as I'd lick the chocolate off the wood. I'm a choc-la-holic....yum, yum.

[Merle Rice]

Hey Al, I don't care what others say, that's well worded and I enjoyed reading it. Merle

[bigarm]

Nice poem. It says it all.

[Magicman]

As I have said before he should have been a writer of books, a novelist, he uses words like a sharp edged knife as he carves and shapes a story.

I enjoy reading your posts Archie

thanks
Larry

[AlArchie]

Thanks, Merle, Bigarm and Larry, and the two chocolate lovers, too hehehe.

Maybe I better get back to carving and stiffle this verbal stuff.

Al

[bigEd_H]

That's it! Al, you put into words what I have been thinking for some time now. The tactile "snick" as a sharp tool cuts through the wood. That's what keeps me wanting to carve more.

[Paul_Guraedy]

Hearings gone, Al. So I can't relate to the "snick". But, by golly, I can relate to the tactile part. I do a lot of power carving (forbidden during my current cataract surgery status) and I thoroughly enjoy what it lets me do.

However, I am currently carving a cardinal on the end of an aspen walking staff. It is well seasoned and the knife on that crumbly bark makes me wince. I can feel the blade dulling. Then the bark is gone. I work the blade on the strop. Now, it starts sliding through that aspen with almost no resistence, wood curls away leaving a smooth shiny finish..........! Nothing quite like it visual or tactile. Sound is probably nice too.

Keep posting this type message. It is what wood carving is all about.