Got a question about some wood (osage orange) I plan on carving

[nadcarves]

Osage is hard, but can have interesting twists and turns to it. Starts off yellow, then oxidizes to a brown color..I used to sell a Vortex grinder, carbide teeth, much like the Arbortec 3 tooth. I use that to shape, then come in with a mallet and chisels..Edge angle shoud be up a bit from the 17.5 basswood edge,Used the old Swiss Made tools from 20 to 25+ years ago and they worked fine.Tried a new one and edge just broke off.. ????Can't explain, can guess..You may consider Ashley Iles, Stubi etc, for mallet work on hard woods..Due to their soft qualities, they will be less likley to lose an edge when you hit a HARDER THAN NORMAL spot.. I think the best finish is that of a mallet, without sanding..Have not done anything with Osage in the last few years, except burn it..I'll salvage several pieces and see why I gave up on it..

[maxmwill]

Well, I've started carving over the past several years(starting out with cedar, although why I gravitated toward osage is beyond me), and have been doing fairly small projects. The love spoon I have planned, from a block that is something like 8x4x19 is about the biggest, and will be the first time I'll be attempting bandsaw work as well(to rough out the spoon and handle).

But I do love Celtic knots, so am looking forward to carving this out.