A little history
The preparation of logs for the winter, or products for everyday life, were widespread not only in Rus'. But time passed and people who had a desire for beauty in their souls and hearts quickly realized.
That wood is an excellent material on which you can depict your feelings or the events surrounding them. Each nation had its own special techniques for processing wood, which was related to the culture, worldview and worldview of the people themselves. The higher the cultural heritage, the better and higher quality the work of the masters.
In Rus', elements of carving were present in everyday life, which carried a ritual component. Household and kitchen utensils were always decorated with carved elements.
The patterns that were applied to the hut had the meaning of elements and natural phenomena. Or to attract light forces that were a symbol of fertility and longevity.
Today this craft continues to live, perhaps the tools have become a little more convenient and modern. Knives for wood carving were and are now quite diverse. Let's try to take a closer look at a modern woodworking workshop of a master.
Set 23 pcs. BISON EXPERT 18377-H23
Photo: https://pokupki.market.yandex.ru
Professional cutters of various shapes and sizes meet the needs of any master. Convenient handles ensure comfortable work. They are used to perform precision and artistic design work on paper, cardboard, soft and hard wood, and plastics. The blades are made of improved tool steel. Three differently shaped handles provide a secure grip and comfortable operation. Convenient plastic box for storage and transportation.
Set 23 pcs. BISON EXPERT 18377-H23
Advantages:
- quality
- reliability
- convenience
- comfort
- safety
What a beginner carver can't do without
A professional in a workshop will have his eyes wide open at the variety of tools. This endless, incomprehensible equipment throws you off balance, but the master himself can easily tell you in which case which tool is better to use.
For beginners, it is not recommended to buy the entire arsenal of tools. In fact, this is a “profitable business.” Almost like any other craft. At the initial stage, you can get by with the most universal knives. It also wouldn’t hurt to use several types of chisels, and first learn how to use them.
Once you feel your specific style and direction, you can purchase additional tools in the area where your “heart” lies closer. Knives for wood carving have a variety of shapes.
The only thing they have in common is a short blade that can withstand quite heavy loads. Accordingly, the shorter the wedge-shaped part, the less likely it is to break.
I would like to talk about some of the basic and most functional tools.
Knife-jamb
It happens that it is quite difficult to buy a knife and a joint separately. It is usually included in sets. But if you look hard enough, you can find this good helper. Its design is distinguished by an elongated blade with a straight cutting edge. Characterized by a large blade bevel angle. Blade width up to 2.5 cm, butt thickness 1.5-2.2 mm.
Knife-jamb for wood carving.
Many carving techniques involve a wood carving knife. It can be subjected to heavy loads and due to its large cutting surface, its application is quite wide. It is used for flat-relief cutting, as well as for volumetric cutting. They have two types of sharpening: single-bevel and double-bevel. A beginning carver is recommended to have at least 2-3 of these tools, with different widths of the cutting part and methods of sharpening.
Geometric thread cutters
The knife is called universal and for good reason. Structurally, it is similar to a jamb knife, but the blade is longer and there is a curved cutting edge. It is used both for giving the main shape to the canvas and for cutting small parts.
It is also indispensable in relief cutting. They are comfortable working with geometric cutting, roundings and curved parts on the canvas. This knife cutter is often compared to artistic writing on canvas.
Cutter knife for geometric wood carving.
Bogorodsk knife Tatyanka
The Bogorodsk knife for wood carving, popularly called “Tatyanka”, is one of the types of cutters. With this knife you can complete the entire work cycle. From rough material processing to the finest details.
The model is quite simple with a smooth cutting edge and a curved butt. The applied forces are transferred quite well to the cutting part. In any workshop, the Bogorodsk knife is one of the indispensable inhabitants.
Bogorodsk Tatyanka knife for wood carving.
Chisels for wood carving
The design of the chisel is quite simple: a wooden or plastic handle and a sharpened blade of various shapes. But the blades deserve special attention. They can be used for quite a lot of manipulations, chamfering, applying threaded ornaments, etc. In addition to geometric cutting, they can handle all other types of carving. They come in different types:
- for processing workpieces and cutting out simple recesses, a simple straight chisel is suitable;
- the purpose of this tool is the primary processing of the workpiece and for making grooves; an oblique chisel with an angle of 45° is suitable;
- an angle chisel is used to create V-shaped notches; its angle can be different, so the notches can be obtained at different angles;
- The semicircular shape of the tool plays a very important role; various ornaments are cut out with it, serifs are applied and used to prepare the part;
- Cranberry has a very interesting shape, it resembles a semicircular one. But its main difference is that the working surface is rounded along the end of the blade and along the rod;
- gravers are used for cutting grooves that have a mushroom-shaped handle and an oblique cutter, and so on.
Set of chisels for wood carving.
Perhaps it’s worth stopping at this point, since in fact there are still quite a lot of their varieties. We must not forget that each chisel still has its own different variations. The ones listed above can be called basic and any beginning master should have them in stock.
Other necessary tools
There may still be quite a lot of auxiliary tools. A mandatory attribute, a vice for holding a large workpiece, clamps are necessary when gluing. It all depends on the professionalism of the master, but such things as:
- a plane or rasp is needed; they can easily prepare the surface for further work;
- a small hatchet will allow you to prepare rough blanks;
- to cut the workpiece you need at least a hacksaw or electric saw;
- a set of patterns for transferring the image is also quite important;
- electric or hand drill;
- You will need sanding paper of various grain sizes to complete the job.
For a beginner, these tools will be enough. There has already been quite a lot of it, but what to do with it? Let's paraphrase: “Art requires sacrifice,” which is especially suitable for our version. And don’t forget metal gloves with a leather apron, believe me, this is necessary.
We make a chisel-jamb and a Bogorodsk knife at home from the canvas of an old hacksaw for wood
I found an old hacksaw for wood one day on the balcony and decided to use it to make myself a “starter” set for a carver: a hatchet knife, a jamb knife, a Bogorodsk knife.
The steel in a hacksaw can be called “anyhow,” but I don’t have a special tool, any saw blades or machines to automate the metal cutting process.
Therefore, I use a marker to mark the shape of the desired cutters, and I’m going to cut the wood with a hacksaw with a hacksaw for metal, because I had a supply of blades:
From the starting material - a metal ruler, a hacksaw for wood, an old kitchen knife:
5 canvases were killed, at different times around 3 pm (after work, like a respectable neighbor, she made noise only until 9 pm), with grief, sawed in half:
- Notches, creases - everything is subsequently removed using a proper stone (for me it’s more like a dead block - kitchen knives used to be sharpened with it) and coarse sandpaper.
- I'm trying to sharpen it at an angle, as the masters advised, who sharpens on a machine - without handles for now. It’s inconvenient and the angle is off:
Even from a phone photo, deep scratches in the metal are visible during the first rough sharpening:
- The blank for the Bogorodsk knife
is formed with files and cleaned of rust: - And now I need to make handles.
To do this, I take a piece of board and cut the bars along the fibers: - I cut out a recess using a stencil of a metal sheet (this is where my grandfather’s old chisels came in handy, I used them to select fibers):
- Coat the inside of the recess with glue (I used transparent Titan Wild), place a metal blank and also coat the other half of the piece of wood with glue:
I used a little too much glue, a lot leaked out, I had to wrap it in newspaper and tape on top. In a good way, this would need to be clamped in a vice, but I don’t have one either and I work in a city apartment in the kitchen.
- Preparation for a knife-jamb:
- I also coat it with glue:
- Coat the second half of the wooden block with glue and tie it with electrical tape for strength, leaving it to dry completely:
- I don’t have a plane, so I hammer an old steel knife, cutting off the excess wood from the handle, also along the grain:
- The result is a rough pen like this:
- A little effort to wrap things up:
- A bunch of shavings from 3 handles:
And here is such a small knife-jamb
and
a pocket hacksaw for wood
are ready! You can leave the handles like that (just a little sanding), you can soak them in oil, paint them with something, and do whatever you want. The hacksaw still needs to be sharpened a little, there is a set of teeth here.
Of course, this is more like a hacksaw for drywall, because in reality it is impossible to cut something cleanly with it - it leaves too large “teeth”. The ideal is to go to the dacha, cut down small branches on trees or trim the stems of burdocks and sunflowers in the garden.
The handles can be left untreated; they will fit comfortably in your hand without slipping. In extreme cases, you can soak it in linseed oil and wipe dry.
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