Purchasing Carving Tools
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20 December 2016 at 5:55 pm #143554
I am thinking on purchasing some carving tools. I do have a Pfeil gouge and I have been impressed with it. I think I carved 10 or so spoons in dried hard wood before I notice it needed sharpening. I really like it, but they seem to be the most expensive. Being that I am extremely frugal or as my wife would say embarrassingly cheap.I was wondering if any here has used other makers.
I have looked at Auriou, Henry Taylor, Hirsch, Ashley Iles, Dastra and Stubai.To be honest there is less than a $10 difference between the makers that I could find. So I am looking more I guess into edge retention and such of the tool. It is a tools to me and it does not have to be sparkly and pretty as long as it preforms well.
I do not want to have to strop the tool every 5th cut. I have some chisels now that I have to strop multiple times when cutting a dovetail in softer woods. I do like to sharpen things and I love the way good steel takes an edge. But I would like to spend more time working wood and less time working metal.
Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks
I actually just did this. You can find some free videos about carving tool selection by Mary May. She describes her “beginner” set, which is what she used for the first year or two of her training. It is 5 or 6 tools (a V parting tool and 4 or 5 fishtail gouges). The focus here is on relief carving, not spoons, so you need to decide if that is what you want to do. I want to do carving for furniture, so I think it fits. A Canadian company called Chipping Away sells the set of tools at a bit of a discount. The tools are all Swissmade/Pfeil.
The real value here is knowing that, if you want to do what she is doing, this limited set of tools will cover you. This may help make buying new, good tools affordable. I’ve learned from my chip carving that sharpness is so important and I’ve learned by buying old tools that so many of them will forever be pitted that for carving I’m just not going to mess around.
The set I got is here: http://www.chippingaway.com/shop/hand-woodcarving-tools-and-accessories/swiss-made-pfeil-tools/swiss-made-pfeil-tools-full-size-fishtail/mary-may-beginner-set/
The set comprises (by their web page….double check with Mary’s video): V-tool #12 -6mm, #3F-6mm, #3F -14mm, #5F-14mm, #7F-6mm and #7F-14mm. The “F” in the sweep means it is a fishtail. Mary likes those because it lets you get into corners. I could imagine times that would not be good, though, so you’ll need to decide.
A clarification on my last note: Mary describes carving tools in general and lists a number of brands that she finds to be adequate. I was not trying to say that she is hawking her special set of MM tools. She’s just saying what works, which is pretty much that list of tools (previous post) when made by a half dozen Swiss, German, and British companies. It so happens that Chipping Away has assembled a set from Pfeil and (at least right now) provides a bit of a discount on the set. I do not know if Mary was involved with them, but I don’t think it matters.
20 December 2016 at 8:32 pm #143557I go some of the names from Mary’s web site. The link you provided is a very nice price on that tool set. Thanks
I did want to get into a little carving to decorate spoons handles as well as furniture. I am making a small hanging apothecary cabinet for my wife and would love to carve a design in the drawers.
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