My Kingdom for a Knife

Every person who starts carving has to start somewhere.  I am only going to cover the absolute basics here on how we started.  Mainly because I don't have the knowledge to go into heavy detail about obscure types of carving.  The tools you will use depends on the "type" of carving you want to do and your experience level.

The type of carving is important since usually "whittlers" only use a knife or selection of knives.  Different carving genres have different tools, i.e. whittling, relief, chip, power, etc.

The experience level comes into play as you become better at carving you start to buy or utilize more specialized tools.  Instead of making do with a select number of gouges you may go buy a few extras to do special tasks.

Combine the experience level and carving type with personality and you get an even bigger variety.  Someone who loves to carve Santas will have slightly different tools from the person who loves to carve Duck decoys. The methods used in each will become specialized over time.

We started with whittling and moved on to start using gouges and chisels as we determined the type of carving we wanted to do.  Today though, I am only going to talk about knives.  There is a large variety of types depending on your preference.  There is the folding blade, fixed blade, or interchangeable blades to name a few.

A folding knife or blade is as simple as a pocket knife.  It comes in locking and non-locking blades.  There are different sizes that will affect carving comfort especially if you plan to carve for long periods of time.  There are many blade shapes but usually for detail work a sheepsfoot blade is really good to have.  This blade type has the tip of the knife  aligned with the cutting edge which is straight and not curved.  The blade design allows for carving of small details that a typical curved drop-point blade will not.  There are two issues I have with a pocket or a folding knife:

1. The factory ground bevel is not shaped properly for carving.  I personally don't have the patience to re-shape the blade bevel.   This can be done easily with a sharpening stone, diamond stone, or even sandpaper.  
2. I tend to push the back of the blade with the thumb as I carve.  The blade doesn't lock so there is a risk it could close even if this is unlikely.  As a result we moved on to fixed blade knives.  Once we started using them we never went back to the pocket knives.

Fixed blade knives have the benefit of stability.  Usually you can also purchased them pre-sharpening with the bevel correct for carvers.  Also a very common secondary benefit is the handle is typically shaped for extending carving session comfort.  Our preference is a fixed blade knife.  We own the Flexcut "Whittler's Kit" and a Flexcut Roughing Knife and love them.

There are interchangeable knives like Warren Cutlery's Interchangeable kit or X-acto Woodcarving Set.  I have never used a knife from Warren Tools.  I do see in magazines and other blogs a number of carvers using Warren Tools.  I have used X-acto knives and my preference is with the fixed blade knives.

Whatever blade you find works best with you or for you is the one you should use for you.  I will be following up with a more detailed blog on a review of the knives that we own and have used.

-Dave

Sharpening Basics

I learned a lesson the other day.  Izzy kept telling me the knife didn't seem as sharp as it used too.   I had not used a strop in a while on the knife and it needed a little polishing.  At that same time I remembered some advice on sharpening that will help others in this situation.

Sharpening is used to repair the blade or reshape the bevel.  A strop is used to polish the blade to give it a very smooth cut.   Sharpening is only needed when the blade is damaged or needs to be reshaped.  Polishing with the strop should be done after every 30 minute carving session. Polishing is also needed after sharpening.

To sharpen a blade here are the basic steps:

1. Starting with a 200 to 320 grit sandpaper (grinding stone, diamond stone, whatever your preference is).  
2. Place the knife with the edge facing away, then lift the blade slightly and push the blade away from you. 
3. Turn the blade over to face the edge towards you, lift the blade slightly and pull the blade towards you.
4. Repeat until the desired bevel (angle) or the nicks are removed.
5. Move to 400 grit sandpaper and repeat steps 2-4 to remove visible scratches
6. Move to 600 grit sandpaper and repeat steps 2-4 to remove visible scratches
7. Move to the Strop

To polish using a leather strop here are the basic steps. 

1. Apply polishing compound to the strop.  This is readily available.  I use Flexcut Gold.
2. Position the blade with the edge facing away, then lift the blade slightly and pull the blade towards you. NOTE: the direction is opposite to sharpening.  This is because the blade can damage the leather.
3. Repeat motion about 50 times.
4. Reposition the blade with the edge facing towards you, lift the blade slightly and push the blade away.
5. Repeat motion about 50 times.

Note the two lessons learned here is that I had forgotten to: 1) polish the blade with a strop after each 30 minute carving session and 2) teach Izzy to polish the blade with a strop after each 30 minute carving session so I wouldn't have to.  Fortunately both are easily corrected within 10 minutes.

-Dave

Review: Case Seahorse Whittler

In order to allow both of us to carve at the same time and not fight over our one knife, we bought a Case Seahorse Whittler from eBay.com.  Sadly Case doesn't make them anymore so they are hard to find.

Pros:

• Three different blade shapes allow you to carve different areas.
• Large blade for fast stock removal.  Large blade is also nicely shaped for detail work.
• Sheepsfoot blade is great for general and detail carving.

Cons:

• Stainless steel blades
• Blades do not lock open.

Bottom Line:

This is a very popular knife for whittling and I can see why.  We only used the sheepsfoot blade here.  The knife has a good weight and feel the only downside is the angle of the blade is not good for whittling since I have not the patience to reshape it with the proper bevel.  The main issue I had with this knife is the fact the blades do not lock open.  However the open and close action is stiff so it is a very minor convenience.

Dave

Review: Schrade Uncle Henry Folding Whittler

The first knife we used was a Schrade 9TRT Uncle Henry Folding Whittler from Amazon.com.  This was the knife that started it all for us.

Pros:

• Three blade shapes allow you to carve different areas
• Large blade for roughing, i.e. fast stock removal
• Sheepsfoot blade for general carving

Cons:

• Stainless steel blades (holds edge for a long time, but sharpens slow too)
• Blades do not lock open.
• Blades have a very smooth action for open and close.

Bottom Line:

I love this knife.  It has a great feel, the sheepsfoot blade is the perfect size for small detail work.  The bevel isn't perfect for whittling but that is my fault for not reshaping it.  I liked the weight and feel.  I did not use the other two blades as much.   The biggest concern I had was the blades not locking open.  I kept feeling like I was going to close them on my hand or finger.

Dave

Safety, Safety, Safety

Safety is very important.  It is no fun recovering from a cut, or having your spouse take you to the hospital for stitches.  Trust me I have been there.  Growing up as a kid and not getting good sound basics in whittling I had a few cuts.  Fortunately none were serious.


The basics of safety can be split into 3 simple rules:

1. If you are not in the right frame of mind don't carve.  Being angry, tired, or frustrated may lead to carelessness.  Putting too much pressure or not paying enough attention can have disastrous results.
2. Wear protection.  Finger and thumb guards are very inexpensive.  Usually they don't last so buy some extras.  The finger guards we use are from TreelineUSA.com.  They are less than $2 and are great in my opinion.  Not too mention the Customer Service is very good.  I also like Treeline's Tuff-Knit Gloves.  These are gloves with stainless steel cords and synthetic fibers to provide cut and slash protection.   Be aware no cut or slash resistant glove will provide protection from a stab (from a gouge or knife).  I find them a little tougher and stiffer than my preference but overall I appreciate the safety aspect.  One caution they love wood chips. 
3. Be aware of your surroundings.  If you have small kids and frequently have to get up for whatever reason, it is not a good idea to carve when you might have to leave a tool behind that small fingers could access.  It is better to wait till the kids are in bed or someone can watch them for you.  Also pay attention to what you are doing with the blade.  There will be cuts away and towards you.  If done properly they are safe.  Things to pay special attention to are density changes in wood, a knife slip, and where are your other body parts (or someone else's) in relation to where and how you are cutting.

Dave


mrs.izzy's notes

I want to add my appreciation of the safety glove. I find I have more control carving away from me than going towards me, but sometimes I have no choice because of the grain of the wood or because of the obstacles in what I'm carving. More than once, while carving towards me, my knife had slipped and poked through my glove. The extent of my injury is a shallow poke. But had I not been wearing a glove, I would have ended up in the ER.

As far as the $2 finger guard, my thumb guard stitching started unraveling. The leather part is stitched to a black elastic and that's where it came unraveled. While I can stitch it back by hand or by sewing machine, I'd rather not stop take time away from carving and do that. 

carving a wizard

First off, welcome to iD Carver. We are a husband and wife team delving into wood carving as beginners. My husband, Dave, has carpentry skills and is very handy at home but he has never taken up wood carving before (except to try it out when he was little). I am Mrs.Izzy, and I have never ever carved anything.


How did we pick this hobby? A few months ago, Dave came home from Lowes with a carving magazine that he thought was interesting. He wanted to try and carve one of the figures. He showed it to me and I thought it would be fun, too. So here we are...a few hundred dollars lighter, with different sizes of basswood, pocket knives, carving knives, gouges, etc.


I watched Dave carve a 5-minute wizard, and so I tried one. Here is my first carving. Although it took more than an hour, I did have fun. I must say, I was pretty proud of myself. I can't draw, I can't paint, I can barely make stick figures, but here I am with a wizard! Painting it was fun too, but I did have some trouble with the eyes, as if I've never seen eyes before. My wizard looks a little scared, but Dave said it looks fine. So I will leave it at that.


In this blog, we hope to chronicle our journey into wood carving; our failures, success, progress and injuries (no major ones so far!). Both Dave and I will post here and post many pictures. We have differing talents and experience but we're both having fun.


mrs.izzy

What's in a Name?

Welcome to iD Carver!  We hope you enjoy this blog and find it useful.  iD is obviously the initials for Izzy and Dave.  Izzy and Dave have been married for over 15 years and have only just started carving as a hobby together.

 iD is also a play on words based on Izzy's psychology background.  The "id" is the unorganized part of the personality structure, essentially it is part of our basic drive.  It acts on the "pleasure principle" seeking to avoid pain or tension.  We want to bring out in ourselves and in you the reader the joy and pleasure of carving and make it an essential part of your life.

iD Carver started when Dave brought home Woodcarving Illustrated's "Complete Starter Guide Whittling" to which Izzy promptly said "That looks like fun let's do it".  Obviously we are beginners and learning along the way but we want to share our journey with you.  Follow your heart and let's all have a little fun Carvin'.

Dave