Hi Mary, Thank you for your generous sharing of knowledge, I am in remote Western Australia and don't have anywhere I can learn to carve. Your videos and tool suggestions are just what I need.
I have a small set of japanese chisels which I love, and before discovering your information on tools purchased a set of mastercarver chisels. I do not like these at all. The blades are very thick and do not cut well. If it did not cost so much to return them I definitely would.
There has been some mention in a woodworking magazine about record power (brand) carving chisels. Do you know anything about the quality of these chisels?
Hi Christine. I'm so happy to be able to help! I spent a year in Australia when I was in my 20s and have some very fond memories of your amazing country.
I purchased one mastercarver tool to test it out, and was surprised that once they were sharp, they held a very good edge. But getting them sharpened may be the challenge and the angle of the bevel may need to be lengthened (angle should be about 23 degrees). They are not pretty, and yes are a little bulky, but if you follow the video on getting them razor sharp, you may find they work quite well.
I am not familiar with record power, but looking at photographs of them online, they seem to be rather heavy and bulky and these types of gouges tend to be more for larger sculpting rather than delicate, lighter carving. I believe you will be happier with the mastercarver set, so work with them for a while, maybe re-angle the back bevel, get them sharp, and you may find they work just fine. Sometimes the "ugly duckling" gouges become a favorite!
Hi Mary, thank you for taking the time to reply, it is greatly appreciated.
Sharpening, for me is an area of fear and hesitation. Hopefully after sharpening 10 mastercarver chisels I will have developed some skills and confidence. I am now off to watch your sharpening videos a few times to build up some courage before tackling what seems like a mammoth task. With many thanks, Christine.
Hi Mary, Thank you for your generous sharing of knowledge, I am in remote Western Australia and don't have anywhere I can learn to carve. Your videos and tool suggestions are just what I need.
I have a small set of japanese chisels which I love, and before discovering your information on tools purchased a set of mastercarver chisels. I do not like these at all. The blades are very thick and do not cut well. If it did not cost so much to return them I definitely would.
There has been some mention in a woodworking magazine about record power (brand) carving chisels. Do you know anything about the quality of these chisels?
Hi Christine. I'm so happy to be able to help! I spent a year in Australia when I was in my 20s and have some very fond memories of your amazing country.
I purchased one mastercarver tool to test it out, and was surprised that once they were sharp, they held a very good edge. But getting them sharpened may be the challenge and the angle of the bevel may need to be lengthened (angle should be about 23 degrees). They are not pretty, and yes are a little bulky, but if you follow the video on getting them razor sharp, you may find they work quite well.
I am not familiar with record power, but looking at photographs of them online, they seem to be rather heavy and bulky and these types of gouges tend to be more for larger sculpting rather than delicate, lighter carving. I believe you will be happier with the mastercarver set, so work with them for a while, maybe re-angle the back bevel, get them sharp, and you may find they work just fine. Sometimes the "ugly duckling" gouges become a favorite!
Hi Mary, thank you for taking the time to reply, it is greatly appreciated.
Sharpening, for me is an area of fear and hesitation. Hopefully after sharpening 10 mastercarver chisels I will have developed some skills and confidence. I am now off to watch your sharpening videos a few times to build up some courage before tackling what seems like a mammoth task. With many thanks, Christine.
Hi Mary,
I have noticed that a lot of your carving tools appear to be fishtails. Please explain why that is your preference.
By the way, I am going on second year as an online subscriber and I continue to learn more with each of your videos. My carving is becoming better the more I watch your carving techniques and listen to explanations as why you do certain things. I love you web site!
Hi Bruce,
Thanks! Glad you are enjoying the school. I started out with straight gouges, and they work just fine. Then I began to purchase a few fishtail gouges and discovered that much of the delicate carving that is needed for details work better with fishtails. The sharper corner gets into tighter areas. They are not as bulky. They are generally thinner but not more fragile. As long as you treat them well, they are just as sturdy as straight gouges. You may want to back off on some major mallet work or really hefty carving, but I generally use my fishtails for all types of carving. When I pack up my favorite tools to go teach, I discover that they are ALL fishtails.
Hi Mary, I am also having a problem sharpening a V chisel (surprise). In my case, I think I over sharpened the corner or apex. Or maybe I didn't keep the angle straight when sharpening the radius part. Now there is a tiny little dip right in the corner where the wings or edges meet the apex. So it's straight edge, little dip, straight edge.
Should I try just sharpening the just the wings to bring them even with the corner or apex? Or should I grind the edge flat and start all over with the stones?
Hi Marsha. You will need to sharpen the flat sides more so that the edges are even again. It reminds me of cutting my own hair - a little here, then a little on the other side, then I need to adjust it a little more - pretty soon I have 1/2 inch spikes. It does sound like the angle was not correct when rounding the outside corner. It is such a small amount of metal to remove, that it is easy to remove too much too quickly. Good luck!
Thanks, Mary, that's kind of what I figured. I just really took my time and now it is much better. Whew! I hope I improve the next time I have to do this!
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