Fuzzy Chip Holes

[Dryad]

I'm new at chip carving and I've run across a problem. My first chips were... horrible. I sharpened my knife, got some more light on the subject, drew more lines and practiced. I've 'chipped up' two practice boards now. My chips look much better now, but occasionally I have holes with little fuzzy bits of wood that are nearly impossible to clean up (at least I've had no luck.) I'm very careful to avoid prying out chips that don't come out clean, going back and re-cutting when necessary. My knife is sharp... I'll have 10 in a row that are fine and 10 after that are fine, but the middle one is fuzzy. Any idea what I could be doing? Is it the angle? something else?

Thanks!

[CarverFromNoWhere]

Sounds like ya might have a knick in your blade but you said it is sharp, there isn't worm holes in the woodis there?
Dryad could you post pics of this up close it would be easier to find out what is going on unless someone else knows.
Carl

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

sounds to me like you need to fine sand the board before starting...that and maybe hone your knife. ?

[Irish]

Dryad, I am wondering as a new chip carver if perhaps you are taking too steep an angle into the wood so not quite cutting a nice joint line in the center of the chip. Steep walls mean that your knife blade is running very close to the grain of the wood. This could leave a small strand of wood fiber.

Try cutting some practice chips with a more shallow angle between the knife blade and the wood. Hold your knife as if it were an ink pen or pencil ... that's the deep steep angle. Make note of how much air space is between your knife blade and the wood. Now lay your hand over until your knife blade is at the half way point between the wood and the pencil/ink pen angle. Cut a practice cut.

You want your blade edge tip to go just a one or two hair's depth deeper into the triangle slice then you want the bottom angle lines in the cut chip.

Hope this helps!

Susan

[Dryad]

Originally Posted by Irish

Dryad, I am wondering as a new chip carver if perhaps you are taking too steep an angle into the wood so not quite cutting a nice joint line in the center of the chip. Steep walls mean that your knife blade is running very close to the grain of the wood. This could leave a small strand of wood fiber.

Try cutting some practice chips with a more shallow angle between the knife blade and the wood. Hold your knife as if it were an ink pen or pencil ... that's the deep steep angle. Make note of how much air space is between your knife blade and the wood. Now lay your hand over until your knife blade is at the half way point between the wood and the pencil/ink pen angle. Cut a practice cut.

You want your blade edge tip to go just a one or two hair's depth deeper into the triangle slice then you want the bottom angle lines in the cut chip.

Hope this helps!

Susan

I think this may be the problem. I've noticed that my cuts seem deeper than pictures I've seen. I'll try your angle-estimation/adjustment technique.

Thanks Susan!