Good morning, and Happy Holidays to All.
My wife gave me a starter set of Pfeil carving tools for Christmas. I did a little honing and they cut very clean and easy in the piece of walnut I tested them on. I was reading some information by Pye (I think that was his name) in which he stated that the Pfeil V tool was the only tool by a major carving tool manufacturer that was not really shaped right on the apex of the cutting edge. He went on to describe how to correct this. I still am not sure how to properly correct this tool. Do any of you experienced carvers, who understand this issue, have any suggestions for a complete greenhorn like me?
Bob, Tupper Lake, NY
Replies
I have a few Pfeil V-tools and have never altered them and they work fine for me. But I’m certainly no authority like Chris Pye.
Thanks Napie,
I'll give it a go like it is, and worry about changing things if there seems to be some problem.
Bob, Tupper Lake, NY
Bob,
I'm about to begin a carving adventure and, like you, have been reading Mr Chris Pye's very extensive and detailed website with its huge amount of information about everything carving. I noticed that double-asterisk warning agin the Pfeil V-tool, although Mr P never makes it clear what exactly is wrong with its shape (albeit he gives many checks and procedures to make sure the shape is as it should be).
I wish you luck in sorting your V-tool but I wonder if you would mind giving a report on how you find the Pfeils in use, after a trial period? I'm particulary interested in how the tools feel in your hand. One or two other carvers publishing stuff on the web opine that the faceted handles are not so good for extensive work, as they are designed so they do not roll off a bench rather than for comfort............?
It would be very interesting to hear the findings of another new Pfeil user, before I opens my own wallet. :-)
Lataxe
Edited 12/26/2008 8:47 am ET by Lataxe
Good morning Mr. Lataxe,
As of this moment, I have only taken the set out to the shop and touched up their business ends a bit. I made a few simple test cuts in some walnut. These cuts were clean and very smooth in all grains, including end grain. I did notice that the handles, which look like some sort of ash, were a bit rough. The finish was not very nice either, some sort of oil I think. Anyway, I don't like any kind of finish on the handles of my chisels so, I went at them with some 220P followed by 320P and they do feel better. As for the facets, I am still mulling that one over. My first thought was that they did not feel just right, however, I think I will try them for awhile as is. I can always round over the edges of the facets a bit if they are not to my liking. Happy Holidays to you.
Bob, Tupper Lake, NY
I own quite a few Pfeil tools and I like them. I have not found their handles objectionable (otherwise I'd quickly change them as I make many handles and do it with ease). I have found the v-tools to be the most challenging ones to sharpen (not a brand related thing though). They need to be slightly rounded at the bottom like a VERY slightly broken edge on a molding or plank. When regrinding the edges they tend to develop a spur at the point of the vee that is not compatible with good cutting action. This spur can take some effort to hone out (but it MUST be done). On the whole I am happy with my Pfeil tools but I do have a soft spot for Henry Taylor tools. The Henry Taylors are very haphazardly ground (compared to the Pfeils) far from ready to use as bought (while the Pfeils are either ready or very close to). Even so I love the steel in the Henry Taylors and when I take the trouble to regrind/shape them and to hone them carefully they are often favored tools thereafter (this is probably part of the reason why used carving tools have traditionally sold for more than new ones).
I may not notice the handle fit too much as I usually am holding my tools by the shaft and using a pulling wrist action to power them or driving them with a soft mallet. I also will sometimes use a two handed grip where my left (off hand) guides the tool tip as the right powers it from the handle. For full sized carving tools, (as I usually use) handle only gripping is too far back from the edge to give me the precise control I seek. You could sand the handles smooth (especially at the butts) or turn and install new ones in only a few minutes per tool though.
Just speaking generally I find that carving lots of fine shavings quickly is a superior technique (as compared to taking heavy cuts). The exception that is most common is when I am roughing out and splitting off the bulk of my waste wood. This controlled splitting effect is a major key to working efficiently... especially on larger works.
BF,
That's interesting about the Henry Taylor steel and also their relative lack of finish to the cutting ends when new. It's these details that help a lad to make some kind of informed choice.
According to my reading so far, the steel used for a carving chisel should relate to the wood carved as well as some other matters such as the type of carving (delicate or whapped). Once you know, it seems obvious; but when I first read "softer steels for hardwoods & harder steels for softwoods" it seemed counter-intuitive.
I suppose there must be a different optimum steel condition for different woods, at which the chisels take and keep a good edge for a reasonable time but are not too brittle for the kind of carving being done. Perhaps carvers of hardwood furniture need softer steel than do in-the-round carvers using lime or basswood?
Pfeils are said to be relatively soft .... and therefore intended for hardwoods, I presume? But do modern manufacturers all just make one hardness in their chisels and assume its good for everything? In all events, it seems we have to "do a Mel" and try several different marques before we'll find what suits us personally. Sigh - I had hoped tool choice was going to be easier than that.
Lataxe, reading his head off concerning carving stuff.
The Pfeil steel does seem softer than the Henry Taylor steel... but I have used both for carving hard and soft woods. I have become a maker of carving knives and so I do pay attention to the steels and hardnesses of my tools. I think that super hard steel is overrated. Edges that are too hard are prone to chipping in use which quickly leads to grinding away the hardest parts of the chisel... sometimes also causing loss of temper (due to so much grinding). The harder steels are also more time consuming to hone and may last longer... OR may NOT last as long! In summation I'd have to say that a good edge is the goal and good steel hardened to "just right" is an important part of realizing that goal (but far from the whole picture). The Pfeil steel is (IMO) very good the Henry Taylor steel (IMO) better. Aside I might mention that I like the Sorby steels also (I'd rate them between the Pfeil and Taylor steels).
Generally modern carving tools are heat treated in ovens/kilns to a uniform hardness throughout the tools length... and yes to a single level of hardness. This actually works fairly well though. I can zone harden my handmade carving knives (and I do) to get harder edges and softer spines. This makes them work in ways superior to most all manufactured knives. I can clearly see why it is impractical for a manufacturer to do it this way though.
I once bought a small (new) rabbet plane which had a blade so soft that it would only hold an edge for a single stroke! I held a torch to the edge and quenched it when the edge began to glow! Voila! The edge now cuts nicely (I left it full hard... but only at the edge). But this sort of repair is best left to experts such as myself... I'm a professional edge driver... DON"T try these tricks at home! (;-)
BF,
At some point I must buy a chisel or two and try them. The list so far has a Henry T and a Ray I on it but no Pfeil (merely because of the handles). I have two octo-handle chisels marked "Marples" that look like they might be rebranded Pfeils. They are well-finished, take a very good edge and cut well but I don't like them lumpy grips (I am the sensitive one).
Two Ray Illes gouges have long been in my green woodworking toolset. These are big gouges but work very well in greenwood - take superb edges, are well balanced and finished. I also like their simple round-bulbous handles. So maybe this is the marque to try first in smaller sizes.
There is a flexcut set lying about the shed so I also played with that. Again, very good edges and cutting performance but there are two handles for all the chisel blades, requiring them to be swapped out constantly. Also, the tools seem too short for me.
Aurirou make carving chisels but I've heard nothing about them and they're rather expensive to buy, just to play with one. Still, it seems experimentation is the only way to find out what suits one's individual preferences for feel, steel and so forth.
Tomorrow I'm going to make a relief carving - "Two acorns mark II". Mark I was a bodge. Play: the only way to learn, it seems.
Lataxe
Ahh you are moving fast as I knew you would. You are smart and focused and your progress will be very swift! I have enjoyed your sharing it with all... many would be too shy/proud to show anything until their work was perfected. Sadly this sometimes means that they NEVER share and their work suffers as a result. They become bitter wannabees that jealously criticize the work of others while keeping their own efforts secret... a sad fate theirs.
Re: the Flexcut tools, they make them with permanent handles too (ONE per tool). I'd much prefer that style myself... so if you like what you have you could upgrade with the attached handle style.
Personally I dislike the lack of rigidity in the flexcut tools... it gives me less positive control of my cuts. There are situations where it can be advantageous but I find them rare.
Regarding the aquisition of chisels: keep an eye open in the flea markets and watch classified ads in carver's journals, tool shop bulletin boards, etcetera. A good bargain may lead to a favorite tool that you'd never have discovered otherwise.
salam,
My experience counters that of bigfoot. I prefer a sharp corner on the outside of the apex of the vee. This is I guess a matter of preference, or what you want the surface left by the tool to look like. Since the inside of the vee is slightly radiussed (even a "knife edge" slipstone-used to hone the inside surfaces- is slightly rounded on its edge) and the outside bevels meet at a sharp corner, this translates to the presence of that nasty looking hook or spur right on the tip. I have learnt to ignore its ugly appearance and just use it.
I like to have the edges ground slightly back at the point; that is, not square to the axis of the shaft when seen from the side, but ground so that a square held along the top of the shaft and hanging down from the tip would touch at the top and have a gap at the tip of the vee. My experience is that a square-ground tool wants to either break out the stock, or bury itself when used to make a deep cut. If ground back so that the tops of the vees are cutting along with the tip (and not after the fact), things go more smoothly for me. Actually I have my deeper sweep gouges and veiners ground the same "weak-chinned" way.
As far as the swelled faceted handles go, for me the primary factor for comfort in using a carving tool is the length of the handle. I have cut off many of my Pfiel handles and rounded over the butt ends for that reason. More important to me is having the handles of similar shaped and sized tools distinctive in some way (shape, color) so that I can easily pick up the one I want from the assemblage that accumulates on the bench during a carving session, without having to squint at their edges.
Ray
Ray,
You would be the one to make a strange grind on yer v-chisel, now woudencha!
The stuff I read about that v-chisel seems to say it is a mainstay of all carving styles and therefore one must learn to deal with the rascal, despite its reputation as a difficult one to sharpen well. So far, all the authors (Chris Pye in particular) seem to be saying that a pointy nose will cause steering difficulties, which is why a rounded nozzle needs to be introduced there.......? Perhaps you avoid the steering problem by doing that grind you mention so that the top ends of the V are cutting (and steering) before the pointy end?
Gawd - I have all these esoteric and arcane matters to experience and understand yet! Perhaps it's best to stop reading now and git to some more chiselling. :-)
Lataxe
Gawd - I have all these esoteric and arcane matters to experience and understand yet! Perhaps it's best to stop reading now and git to some more chiselling. :-)
Yes, that is always the best thing to do, Master L. Armed as you are with varying information, it is easy to try both ends of the V-tool sharpening spectrum. Trust me, you'll have the opportunity just by the practice of sharpening the bugger.
fwiw, I have v-tools with and without the dreaded nose, with a sharp outer V and with a slightly rounded one. None are any harder or easier to use than the other. At least as long as they are sharp.
There is reason to have the rounded outer edge, though. At least if you are creating classic lettering. Tis nicer looking if/when painted. Easier to get the paint to flow without weird pooling.
Carving tools can be their own slippery slope. Have fun.
Take care, Mike
Thanks for the wisdom fellows. I spent the better part of the day today putzing around in the shop with the new Pfeils. I tried all kinds of cuts in whatever scrap I could find. Later I set out to carve some letters, my wife's monogram. Well, I selected some nice soft pine (mistake) and traced the monogram onto the wood. I then proceeded to go to town, as they say. The pine chipped out between parts of the letters and caused me to swear a bit, but over all, the monogram was not half bad. I am going to try again another day using walnut; the walnut seems to be the best carving wood I have.
With regard to the handles; other than the roughness and the smelly oil finish, they rally are not that bad. Like I said, I simply sanded them sooth as a baby's butt and I like them allot better.
Bob, Tupper lake, NY
Lataxe, mate,
The grind is only strange if you are unfamiliar with it. I can't take credit (blame) for inventing it. It was shown me by a full time carver at one of the shops I used to work in. Like the old Quaker said to his wife, "Hanna, thee knows, everyone is strange, except for me and thee. And, sometimes, Hanna, I think thee is a little strange." Sorta like those strange planes with the bevel on the wrong side of the blade, if you are used to them, they prolly aren't so weird after all.
Seems to me, if you round over the bottom of the vee, you end up making a round bottomed cut, which you may as well do with a veiner. Speaking here of shallow vee cuts in particular, delineating the rays in shell carvings, separations between overlapping leaves, vines etc, etc. Your, and others' mileage may vary. Carving is such a subjective thing, it is an exercise in futility to say, "My way is the right one," the next fellow may not want or need sharp bottomed vees at all for his work, lettering for instance or large scale figures.
Ray
The way I heard the old Quaker saying is basically, "The whole world is queer but me and thee, and even thee is a little queer." Ah, brings back memories of preaching in a Quaker church...
Take care, Mike
Ray,
Well, me - I'm just blowing breeze on the carving front as I know virtually nothing from experience. Natchurly I like to goad an old carver into giving up his lore........ :-)
Today I pharted about in the shed doing a relief carving of two acorns in oak. The result is something of a mess but the experience was a happy one as something of how blades of various configurations work (and don't) is becoming clearer.
I have a set of five o' them flexicut thangs, amongst other randomly-acquired carving implements, that has been lying about the house for years (must have been a present in the distant past) so have been playing with them. I wonder if anyone would recommend flexicut as a "system"? They are very sharp out of the box but it seems a fadd to have to swap the blade out of the hande for a different one all the time.... Also, they are a bit short.
****
There does seem to be a number of common themes emerging from all my reading about carving. One theme is unfortunately in line with Mel's bleat about how the tool user must find his own preferences and solutions. It seems that carving is such a personal thing that each carver comes to prefer his or her own combination of steel, grinds, techniques and sharpening regimes - much more so than with mere planing or sawing. That Mel will be grinning a leer of smug.
This means (as Mike Wenzloff has just mentioned) that one must get various chisels and play with them until "the right one for you" turns up. Cuh! What a nuisance!! I am wanting to get on with some carving but have to spend gawd-knows how much dosh and time just finding "the right chisel for me". Double cuh!!
Lataxe
Hi David,
Well, I'm not certain I was advocating buying until the ones that are just right pop out at you.
Personally, I prefer the "makes yer choices and use 'em" approach. I have some HTs, Pfeils, some 1960s era Marples and a few "who knows" brand. I like them all. The HTs are good tools. For whatever reason I do prefer the Pfeils over them, handles and all.
How about I send over a small selection? I'm not using them at the moment nor anytime in the foreseeable future. Just a tad too busy to get to projects on the personal list. Sometime after you've had a chance to make an informed choice, send 'em back.
Take care, Mike
Mike,
You have made me an offer I can't refuse. :-) However, I must pay the postage both ways.
Perhaps this is a a good precedent and a stimulus to begin a tool-lend/swap exercise in Knots? I too have a tool or three that is lying neglected because superseded. I am moved by your generosity to expand the behavioural model, as Mel might put it after a serious bout of Skinner-reading.
Moreover, such a tool-lend will certainly accelerate the drive to learn, as one cannot waste such opportunities.
Lataxe, a grateful carving student.
PS I am putting a tool-lend/pass-on list together. Watch this space.
Very good!
I'll pull out the rolls and swap tools around tomorrow (if and) when I get to the shop. Been a little dicy getting out. We had as much as 24" of snow just prior to Christmas. Main streets are now plowed. Residential areas are unfortunately not.
I did make it out today--first drive out since Wednesday.
Sounds like a fun way to give tools a spin. Hope it does encourage others. They'll go out on Monday--assuming we are back to having postal service. The postage will be on the box, but David, no worries. If you really feel compelled to pay something, consider finding a local food charity feeding those in need.
Lest you think that is being beneficient, no, not really. I am only doing what Crown Tools in merry ol' England once did for me. They sent me some parts to make some gifts for the carpenters who worked on my house and refused direct payment asking instead to consider making a donation to a local (to us) charity.
Take care, Mike
Mike,
I'm looking forward to that parcel. :->
I will pay you for the postage, so you can do the charity thing if you like. Meanwhile, I'm wondering about whether this parcel could become "Mike's travelling chisel triers" as I could possibly post them on to another lucky trialler, should you feel able to spare them for a bit longer..........?
It wouldn't be too hard, I'm thinking, to set up a few of these trial packs, in which some tool type or other is sent on a merry round by those of us who have"spares" not in use. It would take goodwill all round; but perhaps this might be a good way for potential buyers of this or that tool-type to try before buying, for the cost only of posting on the trial pack to the next recipient (or back to the owner).
Meanwhile, here is a pic of some badly executed acorns in relief. I've decided to do these agin and agin (perhaps with the odd embellishment, such as an oak leaf) until I get a decent rendition. The final one may go on that Barnsley table I'm planning.
Lataxe, still making a list o' his underused tool items.
Meanwhile, here is a pic of some badly executed acorns in relief. ??
Way better than mine!
EDIT: I try to carve but think I will give it up or get me a Carvewright if I ever get rich.
I however did improve, more than a little bit, from watching some carving video in Taunton. The person had his carving tools whapped in what looked like 3000 year old mummy wrappings.. Very thick handles.. Worked for me .. Now, if I only had some artistic skills!
Edited 12/29/2008 11:37 am by WillGeorge
Edited 12/29/2008 11:38 am by WillGeorge
Lataxe -- you get a ten stroke handicap for carving those acorns in oak. One of the more difficult woods to carve IMO. You might see if you can locate a scrap of mahogany somewhere and try them in that. I'll bet you like what you find.
Pek,
I do have some much more carver-friendly woods in the store, including a big chunk of lime and some bits of mahogany. The reason I used the oak to practice is that the first "carving in anger" needs to be in an oak piece. I do have another piece on the to-make list which will be in walnut; but that requires a more elaborate carving so I'm trying to do the simple stuff in oak first.
After some more reading I discover that those acorns would do better if I made a deeper background, to give a bit more depth to work on the acorn relief. Also, I need to use proper tools - those acorns were largely done with bench chisels, although I did use a V-tool to outline the initial drawing and to make other defining lines. Also a nail punch to texture the cups.
It's a happy time, learning something new. But I feel I need a bit of guidance from a carver sat at the elbow. For now it's just more play/practice, though.
I have an exercise from a Graham Bull book to carve a tudor rose in oak. This sounds like a worthwhile afternoon or two when I get bored screwing a zillion Adirondack parts together. :-) The exercise specifies the required chisel profiles and how to apply them, so I'm hoping for an improvement in quality over those acorns.
Lataxe, carving pupil.
Ahh I see, practicing in oak sort of like training to sprint using ankle weights.
You're dead on about using deeper relief. I like to use as much as I can get away with without making the piece look too "rococco" and cheesy. Gives me more "meat to play with for the spatial positioning of the forms, especially when forms will overlap as in your acorns. Please don't hesitiate to tell me to shut up if I'm being presumptuous here, I'm by no means a master relief carver, but I do notice one thing on your acorns that you might try that I think will help you when you go to your rose. (A rose in oak was one of my first carving projects, very fun and a very good illustration of the spatial principles involved in carving.) Lots of overlapping forms on a rose.
I see that the area where the two acorns overlap is defined by a steep bevel cut which runs up to the main mass of the "lower" acorn, the top of which occupies the same plane as the surface of the "top" acorn". A little more true to life, by my eye, would be to first make the background a little deeper, then cut the lower acorn so that the whole thing occupies a lower plane than the top acorn. I.E., have the top acorn in deeper relief and the lower one more shallow. Not sure if I explained that very well, sorry.
Very cool that you're on fire to learn to carve. For me it's been a kind of "cheat" to make my otherwise average woodworking stand out a little more, get a few more "oohs" and "ahhs", and for me it's way more fun than alot of the more nuts and bolts areas of the craft like finishing. Look forward to seeing more of your work!
Pek,
I done plunged in a bit to the carving; but my subsequent reading is throwing illumination on the mistakes I made, as is your post. Learning often goes a bit like that with me - have a try with only a little understanding, to get a feel and avoid the tradition-traps. But once that stage is over, it's off to the tradition anyway (via reading or even a class) to get a proper understanding of the subject.
So, I'm begining to grasp the fact that a 2D drawing on the surface of the wood is just a start, even with relief carving. There's all that planning about the various levels and what goes in front of (i.e. above) what - as you say. In furniture making I generally have a drawing with only approximate dimensions, no detailed plan or model. I likes to feel my way and often this allows the freedom to adapt a piece en route and to avoid the "bad-look" that sometimes comes with someone else's plan.
So I want to do the same in carving - no super-detailed 3D plan, except in my head. Some carving books I read do a plan drawing but also several "setions" through the carving at various points. This seems overkill, although I suppose a very detailed carving might need that degree of blueprinting..............?
****
Anyway, I'll be doing the tudor rose after I get some other less interesting WW out of the way. And then I'll have to do some "for real" carving on a piece of furniture!
Lataxe
EEEh Lud,
I takes hat off to you, self teaching the carving like......Still if tha has the artist's eye that is most of the battle, or so I would like to believe. See, I always regret not being taught by a master when I had the opportunity to get it for nowt too.
Surely there is a tame carver around there who could impart a few lessons which would speed up the process?Philip Marcou
Philip,
Well, that carvin' is not so esy to pick up by oneself as, say, making joints or even operating planes, chisels and handsaws. The carving lore is extensive and one of those activities that requires not just a vast understanding of this, that and t'other but also a great deal of practice.
Or so I read and so it seems from my playing about so far.
So, I will be seking a teacher in due course. Howevr, my long experience of learnig a zillion new things when at work (spit) tells me that 99% of people cannot teach - they cannot explain or demsonstrate. Worse, many often have a string of bad habits which they will pass on to you given half a chance.
So, I will eventually cough up a wodge to spend a week with someone who is known as a good teacher as well as a good carver. That Chris Pye is at the top of my list just now. But I want to have some meaningful experience before I go, otherwise I will spend all week asking stupid questions of Mr P instead of intelligent ones. :-)
Lataxe, a difficult pupil.
Still if tha has the artist's eye that is most of the battle.. I'd say it a 99 percent of it!
I can hold a tool.I can make it sharp.I can follow the grain.I can do it without loosing a finger.
But I still cannot carve worth a hoot!Although I have never tried to carve a Screech Owl.
Lataxe,
"So I want to do the same in carving - no super-detailed 3D plan, except in my head. Some carving books I read do a plan drawing but also several "setions" through the carving at various points. This seems overkill, although I suppose a very detailed carving might need that degree of blueprinting..............?"
Most of my carvings begin with a two dimensional representation. The rest, height of relief, modeling of various leaves etc, is either in my head, or done ex tempore as the work goes along. I believe the detailed drawings in those books, with sectional views are done so that you the reader,may have the opportunity to see what was in the writer's head, not so that he could envision what he was going to do before he did it. Now the exception is in an exact reproduction, where the draftsman's job is as important as the carver's, to end up with a faithful copy.
Ray
Ray,
Why is it that this carving thang has t'be so teknikal, unless yer trying to make a reproduction? Aren't a lot of the techniques used for speed and efficiency rather than, let me say, artistical requisites?
Would you say an artists eye is necessary or can one attain artistry through practice?
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 1/2/2009 8:12 pm ET by KiddervilleAcres
Bob,
I don't know that you can separate the speed and efficiency from the artistic element when it comes to carving. Seems to me that the best old work was done in a way that combined the best effect with the least effort.
I believe that with practice and attention (focus) what we call a good eye for curve and proportion can be developed. Looking at a lot of other's work, putting what you see to use in your own work. Over and over. Someone just told me of a theory that with 10,000 hrs of practice, anyone can become a 1st chair level musician. I believe there's a lot of truth to that, but the artistic spark must be there, the desire (need) to create.
But what do I know? I'm not an artist.
Ray
I agree with this post!
Truer words never spoken.. OK, on Carving an Art.
what we call a good eye for curve and proportion can be developed....
I was a boy that looked at ALOT of girls and then I saw HER! Art in it's finest form.
I could never carve her or ever want to try to duplicate her!
As an example. My Son-In-Law is a wonderful man. A good father and husband. A PHD something in early childhood education. He is WAY smarter than than I could ever be but he HE does his thing.. I do mine and we get along.
He can also play many instruments, write poetry, great piano player and many other talents. If he needs something fixed he calles me! I work for free so maybe he is also good at Banking?
We are the same in our God given talents. Just I have less money and a bit dumber on his subjects and he on mine.
Sure wish I could play something, or sing, or carve!
Hell, it took the sea creatures million of years to look for land to crawl on! My time is much less limited. A carver or artist I'll never be!
Lataxe old bean,
No need to find your own way at all. Just listen to what I tell ya, and do only as I say. For instance, those flexcut things. Might as well try and shoot pool with a length of rope, to paraphrase George Burns.
If you learn (have) to make do with only a half-dozen or so carving tools, those will prolly become your favorites. Here are mine:
1/2" or so skew-- sizes are all approximate
3/4" shallow sweep gouge
1/2" deep sweep gouge
5/8" very shallow fishtail
3/8" vee chisel 45*
3/8" med sweep gouge
1/16" veiner
These few were enough for me to do any shells, fans, acanthus, balls and claws or gadroons that came along, for quite a while. I know, just what you are wanting to carve ;-))
Now mind you, an assortment of sizes and sweeps is handy for setting in (carvings), and cutting out and inlaying things like bellflowers in veneer. But these things can be done freehand with the point of the skew, or by rocking the fishtail while twisting it.
Like Mammy Yokum used to say, Ah has spoken.
Ray
Not I carver by any means but I remember a video about sharpening a V tool.
Video by David Sabol. How to sharpen woodcarving tools.
http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesArticle.aspx?id=30227
Hope it helps.
Hello Will,
Thanks for the link, however, I did already watch it. A good lesson on sharpening and a good explanation of exactly what I was talking about regarding the apex of the V tool. He hinted that he uses a belt sander to re-shape the apex, I wish there was a demonstration of that. Anyway, I'm sure I can figure it out, I am a Knot Head, after all, and we Knot Heads are a resourceful lot.
Thanks again.
Bob, Tupper Lake, NY
Buy a bargain basement 5 dollar V tool to practice on. Soft steel that shapes quick so you can see the effects immediately. Junk for carving with, but great to develop a light touch on a belt sander.
I suspect that like me, he is talking about a 1" wide belt sander. I do most all my carving tools on one if I have chipped an edge (and all my knives as well). I leave a 220 grit belt on it just for that purpose. Honing the result (by hand) is quick and painless.
Take care, Mike
Not sure if you found this on Chris Pye's site: This is where he talks about sharpening the V tool:
http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/slipstones/v1.html
The big problem with all modern v-tools, and Pfeil in particular, is that the manufacturers ground way too much metal off the keel so that is ends up very wide and fat. With a fat keel one can only do very shallow cuts as the fat keel ends up riding on the edges of the cut. Consequently, the user ends up 1) applying more force and 2) tipping the tool higher in an attempt to get the cutting edge engaged. Both of these result in poor cuts. If you look at an old v-tool such as an Addis you will see the keel very narrow - not knife sharp but very narrow and rounded like a super small veiner. Consequently, one has to do a LOT of shaping as described by Chris Pye to get the tool working decently.
FYI:
Chris Pye's site will take you to a download site where you will need to download a .exe file. If you have decent browser security protection this will be blocked. You can rename the file to "vtool.1" or something (i.e. get rid of the .exe extension). Once downloaded you can rename to vtool.exe. You may also need to look at the file properties (right mouse click over the file) and unblock the file so it can be executed.
Q,
All that Chris Pye info (and he has published lots of it free on his website) is now available in pdf as well as in the "small exe file" format. The pdf files are a better format than the exe versions I think - although one does need the (free) Adobe pdf reader to acces them whereas the exe-file versions are self-opening.
That being said, some security software (such as mine - ZoneAlarm) treats even pdf files as potentially harmful so won't download them unless you alter the "what's allowed/disallowed" filter pertaining to the website that contains the pdfs.
Lataxe
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