

HELPFUL HINTS FOR THE WOODCARVER
These are topics I use when I teach beginning carving. I will expand on some of these over the next few months. Your tools must always be sharp. Use the wood grain to your advantage: (A) Strength (B) Aesthetics Never cut in the direction where your knife blade can go between the wood fibers. For a clean cut, sever all the wood fibers. Develop a mental image of what you want before you start carving. Analyze each cut before you make it: (A) Why am I making this cut? (B)


WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN BUYING CARVING TOOLS
There is no way to know how well a tool will hold an edge just by looking at it. A tool may look nice, but may be made from poor quality steel which will not hold a good cutting edge. So what can you do to insure you are purchasing a quality tool which will hold a good cutting edge once it is properly sharpened? One good way is to talk with experienced woodcarvers and get their opinion. Another way is to buy name brand tools. There are a number of good wood carving tool manuf