Here is a Carving Tip from an old carver with over fifty years of “learning by doing” as the Wood Bee Carver.  Carving is a journey that is filled with “practice to make progress” experiences from which a carver can “learn a thing or two.”

One such learning experience has been centered in the process of knife carving by experimenting with the shaping, sharpening and slicing with the cutting edge of the carving knife blade.  The best way to learn the carving tool is to use it as often as possible to discover its many hidden secrets of what it can do which in this discussion centers primarily on the blade of a carving knife with only slight comparative mention of the skew chisel.

Disclaimer, the Wood Bee Carver has carved using the traditional carving tools of gouges, V tool, and skew chisels in the use of carving large mallet driven tools to power the carving while being a student of carving instructors of large bust figures. However, carving using only knives became the dominant pursuit in the personal development of Whittle-Carving using only knives.

As a farm boy in the late forties and early fifties, like every other boy my age, we all had a pocket knife to whittle, play mumble peg and use as play opportunities dictated.  Subsequently, I was drawn to displays of whittlings and carvings as viewed is Popular Mechanic type of magazines with a growing appreciation to try to whittle and carve on my own without having any one to teach the craft relying upon self-attempts of trial and error. A few items were carved by using ice cream sticks and scrap of wood to carve little rifles, boats and other play subjects.  It was then in the mid-twenties that I met a wood carver who taught me the A-B-C’s and 1-2-3’s of getting started into carving that a life long pursuit was born.  There were very few carving books available other than some in the library on classical style of carving and sculpture which were studied to learn as much as possible.  Carving tools were minimal so it was natural that the lowly pocket knife became the tool of choice in the beginning of this carving journey. Old and battered pocket knives were rescued at flea markets and junk stores along with some old and rusty carving gouges from time to time. These with cleaned of rust and dirt and repairs were made as best as could be understood how to do at the time.  Some pocket knives were beyond repair even though the blades were salvaged to be installed in wooden handles. Sharpening and reshaping were done as best as was understood at the time using hand tools with no motorized tools.  Sharpening by hand was a valuable lesson within the proven trial and error method of learning by doing and experimenting.

A small blade was salvaged from one pocket knife handle and handled into a small Rosewood piece of wood.  The blade possessed a curved cutting edge that was simply sharpened and used in carving small projects and became a favorite.  A couple years later I became a member of a carving club and noticed that the other carvers were using the common carving knife with a straight Wharncliffe blade shape with a “needle point” that was much different from the curved cutting-edge blade I was using.  This fork in the road of my carving journey caused me to shape future salvaged blades or restored pocket knives into the straight cutting edge of the Wharncliffe shape.  Thus, learning took on the direction of learning to use the straight cutting-edge blade for carving which was done for the next several years.  However, occasionally the curved cutting-edge knife was used and appreciation for its slicing function and versatility of maneuverability continued to grow over the straight cutting edge.  A little later the switch over to the curved cutting-edge blade shape will be discussed as it has replaced the use of the straight cutting edge for this carver.

The first photo below is from fifty years ago with three old knives utilized for those early carving days. The top knife was a rebuild transferring three blades from one handle into another and crudely sharpening the blades.  The middle knife was the first favorite pocket knife for whittling and the bottom knife was the curved blade replaced into the rosewood handle and later expanded with oak to lengthen the handle.  The second photo is of recent modifications of the shape of the curved blade into a “soft point” with a turned-up tip that are of favorite design.

[CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE]

Back to the study of the library books in those early days there is one observation/lesson that was learned that began the appreciation for the reshaping of a “Soft Point.”  In a sculpturing book the author suggested a modification to the Skew Chisel that made sense.  The “upper” point of the cutting edge of the skew portion of the chisel has to tendency to cut into the “saved” portion of the project like an arrow projectile.  To correct the “point drift” the author illustrated how to round off to back edge of the point to make a “soft point” for smoother cutting action that does not “drift” into the saved wood.

The first photo below illustrates the “soft point” modification to the three skew chisels to the right of the regular shaped skew with a “needle point” on the top of the skew cutting edge. The second photo illustrates the same principle is used to modify the wing corners of gouges for efficient slicing cuts.

This was the beginning of the concept of the “soft point” that has been remembered and applied to the carving knife blade by rounding off the “needle point” of a straight cutting-edge blade.  This concept was learned by carver and knife maker Ron Wells who would do the same when making his knives by rounding off the back edge of the blade to strengthen the tip of the blade by making it less of a “needle point” but still a point backed up with the thickened back.  This move does not affect the use of the blade but does strengthens the tip point and slows the drift into adjacent saved wood.  The “soft point” on the Wharncliffe cutting edge are illustrated in the photos below.

The Wood Bee Carver utilizes this basic concept of the “soft point” to the next advancement of this concept by making the cutting edge at the tip end of both the curved cutting edge and the straight cutting-edge blade by making a quick turn up of the cutting edge which moves the “tip point” up a little but is still there to serve in its tip’s purpose in the slicing action. The new position of the “soft point” tip reduces the drift of the cutting edge into saved wood in the project.

The “soft point” is even more important in that it increases the effectiveness of the slicing action at the front end of the blade.  After any blade is sharpened to its proper sharpness, the cutting edge is made up of microscopic cutting teeth that works most effectively in a slicing action with either the push or pull slicing stroke of the cutting edge. The two photos below are using saws to illustrate that the cutting edge of a knife is similar to the cutting teeth of a saw.  The first photo is of a “fret saw” that is used to cut frets in the neck of a stringed musical instrument with its mini teeth.  The second photo show a common carpenter saw and an antique “flooring saw” that cut flooring on the curve of the saw blade before the electric circular saw and electric key hole saws. The flooring saw mirrors the curved cutting edge of an upsweep or scimitar knife blade with mini teeth making up the entire length of the cutting edge.

These cutting teeth are also a part of the curved “soft point” that does its own slicing work in tight areas and as a follow through of the slice and roll stroke of a slice.  Of course, the “soft point” works best with a curved cutting-edge blade but it can be adapted for special uses when a straight cutting-edge blade has been modified with a “soft point” as will be illustrated in photos below.

To modify a straight cutting-edge blade, it is suggested that this process is to be done as an experiment to one of the less used and favorite of a carver’s knife collection of carving knives.  The process is to use a diamond hone with coarse grit to round up the tip of the needle point of the straight cutting edge.  Place the point on the diamond hone at a forty-five-degree angle and rub it back and forth several times to round up the cutting-edge portion towards the back edge. Since it is an experiment, use your own judgement as to how for up the tip will be rounded.  Once you have a suitable amount rounded, then lay the tip front of the blade flat on the diamond hone in order to begin to thin the “soft point” rubbing it back and forth in a half moon slicing action across the hone and then do the other side.  Continue until the cutting-edge portion of the “soft point” begins to form a burr edge and continue by blending that new cutting edge in with the original cutting-edge portion of the blade.  Once the burr edge has blended, do the same with a finer girt of diamond hone and then strop to remove the burr edge and polish the blended portions of the blade together.  Test out the cutting edge by making a stop cut on a basswood block followed with an angled cut on one side of the stop cut.  Notice that the “soft point” does not drift into the saved side of the stop cut as much a needle point would. Next test is the lay the “soft point” portion of the blade into the area adjacent to the stop cut and make a slice and roll cut to scoop out a chip in order to get the feeling of the curved cutting edge’s action in make such a slice.  Make other experiments cuts to get the feel and how this one knife modified can be used in making some unique cuts in a carving project.

The two photos below show the modified wharncliffe blade with a curving “soft point” with a Santa face carved using this modified blade. The first photo shows the curvature of the “soft point” being used to texture the beard with a “slice and roll” cut nicknamed the “ice skate cut”. Imagine the cutting edge at the curve as being like the blade of an ice skate and as the blade is sliced forward is also rolls on it side to create a shallow groove.  This is done with light pressure with a slow slice forward and a roll of the blade at the same time.  Done randomly side by side in curvy grooves will give the texture to the beard as well as the hair and even a light couple of passes across the forehead will create wrinkles in the skin.  It takes practice to lget the feel for this technique which when accomplished creates a nice appearance.  The wooly texture of the fringe of the hat is performed in a similar manner by using only the tip of the curved cutting edge to make a small scoop “C” slice in a series of slices across the top and bottom edge of the fringe.  The eyes were carved using only the tip of the curved cutting edge to make slicing cuts to form an eye mound and then to open up the eye mound with eye lids to round the eye ball.  Once again a practice procedure even with a large blade whose tip is the detailing portion of the blade. The second photo shows the detail of Santa and the blade at its side.

The curved cutting-edge blades have a variety of curves to the arc of the cutting edge like a quarter moon shape.  The front tip end may have a “needle point” low and high on the arc.  The feel of cut in the slicing action and the slice passed through the tip end is different for each level between the low and high position on the arc.  The Wood Bee Carve has discovered through experimenting that a higher position makes for a more functional action during the slicing process.  One knife design is designated as the “Turnip” meaning “turn up tip” as is seen is photo that follows.  This same concept is adapted in various degrees of the “turn up” even to include a “Round-About” tip end as in photo below.  Keep in mind that all of these variations of the “Soft Point” turn up or round about are made up of cutting teeth making these front sections of the blade a small knife in its slicing action if a variety of actions in the push and pull strokes and it tight areas.

The TURNIP BEE blade is an abbreviation of “Turn Up Tip” or a curved cutting-edge knife blade.  The TURNIP BEE blade intentionally and abruptly “turns up the tip” of the front end of the blade to create a curved skew tip to the cutting edge.  The TURNIP BEE blade creates a secondary slicing area on the longer curved cutting edge making it a multipurpose and multi-function slicing tool.  The front end of the TURNIP BEE blade can reach into areas where the longer curve of the cutting edge cannot reach and between the longer portion of the blade and the front end turned up tip the sharp radius curve creates another unique slicing area of the blade.

The TURNIP blade possesses a multipurpose cutting edge that is explained using the A-B-C illustrations in the photo above.  Illustration A represents the front of the blade with its curved skew shape.  Illustration B represents the section of the continuing curvature of the blade.  Illustration C represents the longer curved section of the blade that trails the sections A and B.  Slicing cuts can be made using just the front A section using primarily a pushing stroke.  Slicing cuts can be made using just the middle B section.  Slicing cuts can be made using just the C section of the blade for a wider slicing cut. Slicing cuts can be made with combination of A and B or B and C or a total combination of A–B and C.

More can be studied about this blade shape by clicking on TURNIP BLADE.

The “soft point” has become so effective and functional that the Wood Bee Carver will modify a curved cutting-edge blade with a “needle point” into a turned up and rounded tip to extend the cutting teeth into the “soft point” finding it more pleasing to use than the “needle point.”

The photos below illustrate the “Soft Point” modifications to the curved cutting edged blade.

The next group of photos show the “soft point” of the tip end of the blade of reaching into tight areas or making specialty slicing cuts as well as texturing hair on clown.

All of these illustrations are offered for anyone who would like to experiment on their own to make adjustment to any of their own knives since none of these are available for purchase from any knife maker at this time.

Information is offered here as an explanation for how the Wood Bee Carver has expanded his carving activities over the past fifty years to include his tinkering and whittling away time. The most important lesson learned and has been key to guiding the carving process as well as designing of blade shapes that emphasizes the “slicing action” has been the mantra: “Slice with the cutting edge.”  A straight cutting edge is most efficient when it is sliced at a skewed angle while a curved cutting edge is comprised of multiple skewed angles all along the curve of the cutting edge that automatically creates the slicing action in either the push or pull stroke and enhanced with a slice and roll action.

The final illustration of the guillotine with its skewed blade denotes the “Slicing action” as being more efficient than the “wedge or chop” cut. The “soft point” is a mini guillotine blade that slices in a small and tight area to carve with a slicing cut reaches where other blades can not go.

More information can be viewed by clicking on TURNIP TESTED.