Greetings from mid-Michigan!
I have recently decided to try my hand at carving. For my first project, I chose to carve the snowman pin which appears in the Holiday issue of Wood Carving Illustrated, page 52. I selected a piece of what I was certain was 1/2' basswood. I had also purchased a copy of the book. 'First Projects For Woodcarvers' by Larry Green & Mike Altman, which spends some time explaining the process for correctly sharpening tools. I kept in mind the warning the authors issued: 'Most new carvers do not continue the sharpening process until the wire edge appears.' I used a diamond coated sharpening stone, followed by a power strop. I honestly thought that I had acheived the 'wire-edge' result described in the book, yet when I began to work on the project, the wood came off in great 'chunks', rather than the curled shavings I had anticipated. This was particularly true in areas where I was attempting to round over edges. Small details (such as the snowman's thumbs) broke away as I was working to shape them. Was my knife not sharpened correctly? Did I have material that was possibly something other than what I thought it was? What do you think?
Thanks!
I have recently decided to try my hand at carving. For my first project, I chose to carve the snowman pin which appears in the Holiday issue of Wood Carving Illustrated, page 52. I selected a piece of what I was certain was 1/2' basswood. I had also purchased a copy of the book. 'First Projects For Woodcarvers' by Larry Green & Mike Altman, which spends some time explaining the process for correctly sharpening tools. I kept in mind the warning the authors issued: 'Most new carvers do not continue the sharpening process until the wire edge appears.' I used a diamond coated sharpening stone, followed by a power strop. I honestly thought that I had acheived the 'wire-edge' result described in the book, yet when I began to work on the project, the wood came off in great 'chunks', rather than the curled shavings I had anticipated. This was particularly true in areas where I was attempting to round over edges. Small details (such as the snowman's thumbs) broke away as I was working to shape them. Was my knife not sharpened correctly? Did I have material that was possibly something other than what I thought it was? What do you think?
Thanks!
Comment