Here is the evolution of my acquiring woodcarving tools over the past 20 years. For the first few years of carving, I only had about 5 woodcarving tools. I was taking classes from Konstantinos Papadakis in Minneapolis (he is a master woodcarver from Greece), and he recommended the Dastra (Frank Mittermeier) tools. 20 years ago these tools came unsharpened, […]
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How to prevent those little leaf tips from breaking off
A question has come to me: “What is the key to not breaking off sensitive parts to a carving? I am carving an acanthus leaf and have had some trouble w/ the small tips of the foliage. It seems to me that if you set in 1/16″ – 1/8″ from the design completely down to the […]
Chisel Storage
I have had several questions as to how to safely store chisels so they don’t rust. Here along the coast of SC, there is a real issue with humidity. I have had students who bought really nice shiny new tools, bought a beautiful tool roll, and packed them away in storage after the class. 6 […]
Sharpening a V-chisel or Parting Tool
I think the most difficult chisel to sharpen is the v-chisel. There are so many ways it can go wrong, since it really is like sharpening 3 chisels – 2 flat ones, and a small gouge at the corner. They all need to work together to create a smooth, clean edge. I generally leave the […]
Sharpening Curved Gouges
I put together this 2 page explanation of how to sharpen a curved gouge in the traditional way. You should be able to print each page. Before you start to carve anything, it is so important to make sure your gouges are razor sharp. It can be very frustrating to try to carve when […]