Me or the wood??

[therenow]

I have been chip carving every day for the past 6 months and every day a new problem appears. Knife not sharp enough, etc. Now I see the basswod (1/2 inch Heineke) crumbling at the peak of some letters. Example: on the letter M, the wood crumbles, not undercut at the tips of the letter. I think the wood is too dry even after keeping it in a cooler with an open glass of water. I spray it with a 50/50 mixture of alcohol and water and it helps but the feel of the wood is really soft. I don't think I should have to spray the wood but?? I keep my knife sharp with ceramic stones and occasionally hone it with a leather wheey on my drill motor. As they say "if it ain''t one thing it's another" and I throw away a lot of "decorator firewood"

[Claude]

Is your knife made specifically for chip carving? I could be wrong, as I'm not a chip carver, but I thought chip carving blades were much thinner than "regular" carving blades. Supposedly, the thinner blade exerts less force to each side as it cuts through the wood, and less side force means less chance of "peaks" breaking off...

Claude

[aulddiy]

nothing is perfect, nd woods no different.
But as usual I agree with the above post. It took me a year to sharpen at an acceptable level for carving, and I've used knives most of my life.

I get good results when I slice cut.
Keep at it.

[therenow]

Originally Posted by aulddiy

nothing is perfect, nd woods no different.
But as usual I agree with the above post. It took me a year to sharpen at an acceptable level for carving, and I've used knives most of my life.

I get good results when I slice cut.
Keep at it.

Beautiful carvings. One appears to be shallow cut? If my knife is not sharpend properly, what is a good test method?

After looking at your carvings: "Now thats what I'm talking about"

[therenow]

Originally Posted by Claude

Is your knife made specifically for chip carving? I could be wrong, as I'm not a chip carver, but I thought chip carving blades were much thinner than "regular" carving blades. Supposedly, the thinner blade exerts less force to each side as it cuts through the wood, and less side force means less chance of "peaks" breaking off...

Claude

Thanks Claude; My knife is a Barton chip carving knife. I think it is sharp enough but then at my experience level????. I try a cross grain edge cut to check sharpness and it seems to cut as well as my caricature carving knives which I have not had any problems with sharpness. Frustrating. No progress, no keepers.

The air strike is getting closer!!

[aulddiy]

I got a tip here that helps me.

When I've finished all the original cuts in any sector I go over them with my eye. Any irregularities are spotted and I shave off the offending cuts. I use a WB knife and a single edged razor to trim up.

There are others on the board who are chip carvers maybe they'll add to my limited knowledge.
Oh I heard that learning to ship crve was easy, but learning to master the art is hard.

[Robson Valley]

I use a Moor chip knife to get into low corners.
Total included bevel angle is 12 degrees, 15 for really hard woods (so Moor tells me). Anything more and you're trying to "punch" the knife edge through the wood.
In western red cedar (which crumbles while you look at it), the wood seems to crush
ahead of a dull knife edge. If there's a ding/nick in the actual knife edge, I see that when I make
a steep cut across the grain = a white scratch on the freshly cut wood face. Time for the 4000 grit water stone and stropping. I have some home-made wooden wedge angle guides.
Each side is 6 degrees. That is no thicker than a dime at the spine of the blade.

[Steve Reed]

Another problem could be that you've developed a bevel in the blade. This can result in what I call a "belly". Meaning that instead of a flat blade from back to edge, you can get a slight or "micro" bevel behind the blade edge. Hope this makes sense? Even though the blade is "sharp" the belly or additional bevel forces the wood away, which causes the edges to fracture. Just my thoughts, others may differ.
Best of luck

[therenow]

Originally Posted by Steve Reed

Another problem could be that you've developed a bevel in the blade. This can result in what I call a "belly". Meaning that instead of a flat blade from back to edge, you can get a slight or "micro" bevel behind the blade edge. Hope this makes sense? Even though the blade is "sharp" the belly or additional bevel forces the wood away, which causes the edges to fracture. Just my thoughts, others may differ.
Best of luck

Thanks Steve. I am a bit confused. Your recommendation is to sharpen the blade flat from back to front. But, I see that Barton and others suggest a 10 degree angle.

First, I should say of all the methods I have tried/used. TOMZ knife massager, 800/1200 grit Water Stones. Paper wheels, ceramic stones.
WOW. do I need consistency. So, do you recommend a flat grind, front to back? And the micro edge you refer to would be a final grind at 10 degrees?

[Claude]

Here's a link to three drawings that should help to explain graphically what Steve said: Few Problems

Claude