44 
KERAMIC STUDIO 
WOOD CARVING 
CHAPTER II TOOLS AND SHARPENING 
Elisabeth Saugstad 
IT is best to begin with few tools and learn thoroughly all 
their possibilities, only adding when the distinct need is 
felt. It is possible to go a long way with the twelve in illustra- 
tion I, and the following list of accessories: 
I light carver's mallet, illus. 2. 
I No. 29 India oil stone, 6x2xl inch. 
I No. 14 India round edge slip. 
1 No. 3 Hard Arkansas round edge slip. 
2 4-inch carriage clamps. 
The tools, which may be either a good English or American 
make, cost from 30 to 50 cents a piece, according to size, etc., 
and the total cost of the whole outfit will be between $5 and $6, 
which includes sharpening and round apple wood handles. 
The sharpening and handling must be stipulated in the order 
which may be made out by the numbers and sizes given in 
illus. I, and the list. It is not necessary to draw the shapes. 
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In examining the tools it will be noticed that there is a 
long bevel on the outside. This has been ground down with a 
grindstone and will not be necessary again for a long time, 
unless the edge gets nicked. Beside this long bevel is the cut- 
ting bevel on both sides, which is made on the oil-stones. The 
three given are all that are needed to keep the 12 tools in perfect 
condition. One end of the narrow edge of the slips should be 
ground down like B in illus. 3, for sharpening the inside of the 
V tool. The sharing, which must fit exactly, can be done on 
emerj^ cloth, or a grindstone, using water freely. 
The first two tools are straight 
chisels and the rest, except No. 
39, are gouges of various widths 
and sweeps. It is not necessary 
to have gouges for all possible 
curves, as these can be made by 
sweeping a chisel, or the V tool, 
along them after they have been 
cut out approximately. In fact 
that is the way to get free and 
beautiful lines. The V tool. No. 
39, is also called the "parting" tool, and is used for outlining 
the design and in various other ways which will suggest them- 
selves when working. 
I advise ordering the tools sharpened when buying, so that 
the beginner may examine them closely and see how it has 
been done, as a guide in keeping them so. For every carver 
should sharpen his or her own tools ever after. To do this 
does not require the preternatural skill and intelHgence many 
seem to imagine. It is a purely mechanical process,- quite 
within the limits of ordinary common sense, and one who is 
not capable of learning how is certainly not capable of carving. 
It is impossible to emphasize too strongly the absolute 
necessity of keeping the tools sharp. They should never be 
allowed to even approach dullness, not only for comfort and 
pleasure in working, but to produce good work. 
The India stones are coarser than the Arkansas and are 
used to quickly remove the superfluous steel, and the fine, keen 
edge is given bj' the latter. They must all be lubricated, 
either with olive oil, kerosene or water. An old vaseline 
bottle with a short soft brush set in the corlc is convenient for 
holding and applying the lubricant. 
The flat India stone can be set in a plain block of wood, 
or one like the Japanese design in illus. 4. Tiny sharpened 
brads set in the under corners keep the block from slipping, 
and a small notch at one end will mak'e it easier to turn the 
stone, wliich should fit snugly, as one side must be kept for 
the flat chisels and the other for the gouges, which are apt to 
wear grooves. 
1S[ 
To sharpen the straight chisels the flat stone is placed 
with one end toward the w^orker, and the handle of the tool is 
grasped in the right hand and is held against the stone at 
about an angle of 15 degrees. The fingers of the left hand 
hold the blade against the stone with a firm and even pressure, 
while it is moved back and forth, avoiding carefully aU rocking 
motion, either up and down or sideways. The angle at which 
the tool is held to the stone is rather more acute when it is to 
be used on soft wood. But this is merely relative, and the 
bevel should be, in all cases, as long as practicable. It is a 
beginner's fault to make it short and thick. 
When the chisel is sufficiently sharpened on the outside 
it is turned and sharpened about a third as much on the inside. 
It is then rubbed in the same manner on the flat side of the 
Arkansas stone to remove the "burr" and make the keen, 
smooth cutting edge. Many carvers use a strop for the final 
touch. A razor strop wifl do, but it is not strictly necessary, 
except, perhaps, for very fine work. . 
The gouges are more difficult. Hold them with the 
forefinger of the right hand about halfway down the groove of 
the blade, steadjdng and pressing with the fingers of the left. 
Place the right corner of the cutting edge on the near end of 
the flat stone and push forward in a straight line, at the same 
time rolling the edge so that when the far end of the stone is 
