Mary, I notice, more in this particular video than any others, how your lower hand works on "pulling" the tool, even though, based on the upper hand's position seems to indicate that your in a "pushing/forward" mode of motion. I get the feeling that the bottom hand's lower three fingers are controlling the force as well as braking, when necessary (sort of an insurance against an inandvertant slip with the tool). The upper hand, while it does push, seems to be mainly controlling direction. Did you have to learn this set of motion/grip in proportion to direction, depth of cut? Is it just a personal style or is it a learned technique to put in your muscle's sense memory. Is it possible that I am making more of an observation than is really there?
At a very young age, I started to learn about fencing with foil blade and we were very specifically taught about the lower three fingers on the hilt of the foil were dominant in controlling where the blade point ended up on your opponent/target.
This seems to be the same sort of thing. I hope I am not making much out of a little, but as a technique to put into one's hand's sense memory, I think it is a very valuable tool.
I am learning quite a bit while watching you. Your videos are as important as a favorite tool 🙂
Hi Jillian,
It is a delicate balance between both hands, and your observations are correct.
I'll try and explain it without getting too complicated. The hand holding the handle pushes and also guides the tool direction. This hand also positions the tool at the correct angle and adjusts according to how deep you want to make the cut. The hand holding the metal braces against the wood for support, "resists" or "brakes" and holds the tool from getting out of control. This hand also guides the tool by pushing or pulling with the fingers and is more of the "controlling" hand. Both hands are sort of working against each other. One pushes, the other tries to hold it back and guide it. You would think they would cooperate! But they work together into a wonderful dance!
The bottom line is, the more you carve and have the tools in your hands, the more natural these movements come, and you don't have to really think about it.
Thank you for the excellent instruction. Do you find that it is generally enough to simply strop to maintain sharpness or are you regularly going back to the stone?
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