Tatiana Baldina explains how carving simple practice boards can take your skills to a higher level.
In last month’s article (F&C 265) you took your first steps towards learning the art of chip carving. Although we just dealt with the drawing and layout rather than actual carving, it was a crucial step in the overall process. Although the two-dimensional patterns are decorative features in their own right they also carry information that enable us to translate them onto a three-dimensional surface. In this second article we are going to move on to the next stage – interpreting that information and carving patterns onto your sample boards. You can use any type of rigid blade skew knife to carve these patterns as long as it is comfortable to hold and does not tire your hand in the process. A blade with identical bevels on both faces is preferable but by no means mandatory. For example, one of the knives I like to use is the Flexcut Skew Knife. And one more note before we start to carve: the practice board is not something you should try to complete in just one day.
My practice board contains four sections of patterns with an increasing number of lines for each one that gradually increase in difficulty as you work through the board. Yes, it’s possible to complete in one session and that’s fine if you’re looking for a new fun activity to fill a few hours but it’s better to do it in small steps every day. And always remember the rule of taking one step back every day (see sidebar at the end of the article). This is one of the key things I’ve learned during the 10 years that I’ve been carving.
Materials and tools for carving
- A basswood board with drawn patterns (25cm long, 15cm wide, 1.5cm thick)
- Skew knife
- Sandpaper or leather strips for sharpening
First pattern section
Straight-wall chips
The first pattern to carve is the simplest chip carving pattern – a small straight-wall chip. Before you start to carve place your practice board onto a flat rigid surface with a non-slip mat beneath if you have one. To produce clean consistent cuts you need to get into the habit of positioning your knife in exactly the same manner each time you repeat a similar cut in the pattern. For this exercise you will need to hold the knife directly above the first side of the chip at about 90° to the surface, then gently push the tip of the blade deep to the top of the triangle, where the facets meet. Then, without removing the knife from the wood, lower the heel of the knife to the base of the chip, to the third side of it, without applying any pressure. Try and capture the feel of the blade as it pierces the wood and the movement of the technique. Now repeat those steps to the same degree on the other long side of the triangle.
Then turn the board away from you (around 35–45°) so that you can lay the knife blade low to the surface of the wood along the bottom of the triangle and push the knife towards the top of the triangle where the sides intersect at the top. The first chip is done. Again, try to capture the technique and so you can reproduce it on the following chip. Continue across the board making adjustments as necessary working towards creating a consistent pattern.
The second pattern is a bigger version of this straight-wall chip. The carving technique is exactly the same so just repeat all the steps and work towards creating a consistent pattern that will come from making a series of identical cuts in both depth and alignment.
Simple triangle
This is a more complex chip pattern than the previous ones and there are two ways of tackling it. To begin with you can make stop cuts as before along the lines that converge in the middle of the triangle. Rest the knife gently at top of the triangle with the point towards the centre and then, gradually applying pressure, roll the knife towards the middle so the point of the knife penetrates beneath the surface. Repeat this technique for the remaining two stop cuts. Then angling the knife at 45° work around the edge of the triangle to remove the chips one at a time. For consistent results it’s important to maintain the same angle for all the angled cuts so the pattern appears uniform on all sides. I recommend you do the stop cuts while you are learning to chip carve.
When you are comfortable with this technique you can try removing the waste by just using the angled cuts. If you have been holding the knife correctly a single chip will pop out. However, there are times when this doesn’t happen so you will have to repeat the cuts or make stop cuts to sever the wood fibres at the meeting points.
Snake
The next pattern to carve is the ‘snake made of straight-wall chips’ as it translates from Russian. For carving this pattern, repeat all the steps you made when carving a small straight-wall chip.
Second pattern section
Chain of triangles
The pattern from this section is a chain of isosceles triangles that are connected to each other by their short sides or bases. As you can see, this pattern runs along the grain so requires a different carving technique. This is good preparation for the complex pattern we will be carving next.
Again, make the stop cuts inside of every triangle in the pattern. When carving a chip that goes along the grain, the first cut you make is the ‘base’ cut, or the third cut you were making when you carved the first triangle on the board that ran across the grain. After the first cut is done, turn the board and start making the next cuts. Always lead the knife along the grain, as shown in the photos, otherwise you could break the chip and the angles, or you could crush the wood fibres inside the triangles leaving a rough surface to the inside faces of the pattern that will be hard to correct.
Sharpening a knife
Get into the habit of sharpening regularly and especially before you start work on a new section as this will help to maintain consistent results to your finish. My preferred method is to stick abrasive films along the edge of a sheet of glass that has had the sharp edge removed. A strip of leather (strop) can be used as well along with some honing paste to polish the surface of the bevel. Blades with a round heel are best sharpened by rotating them along the sharpening surface while straight edge skew blades are best oriented to run in a straight line.
Third pattern ssection
Circle
I chose a circle with 16 three-corner chips from this section. It’s a complex pattern and may well be tricky for you to carve because there are chips that go along the grain, across the grain and at various angles diagonal to the run of grain. The chips of this pattern also connect with each other, so you need to have more control of your knife.
I prefer to start carving this pattern from the chips that go along the grain. It’s easier, as it seems to me, to control carving the next chips when these ones are done. But first, start by doing the stop cuts inside every chip: raise the knife right above the centre where the stop cuts meet, then stick the very tip of the knife into it at an angle of 90° to the wood surface and then, if you are using a round heeled knife, roll the knife along the line. Or if you have a straight edge skewed knife gently drag the tip of the blade along the line stopping short of the centre. Repeat this for all of the stop cuts.
Start carving the pattern from one of the four chips that go along the grain, make the ‘base’ cut first. Then, pushing the knife deep to the central point where all the stop cuts inside of the triangle meet, lead the knife to the centre of the pattern using a tip or a heel of the knife. Then turn the knife in your hand and repeat the actions and complete the chip. Continue to carve the chips to one and then to another side of the carved chip following the grain of the wood, and go right to the centre of the pattern. Then carve another side of the pattern starting from the chip that goes along the grain. Finish carving all the chips using the method used on the other side to complete the pattern.
Try these tools
The KN11 Skew Knife is used for taking more vertical cuts. The handle is shaped to allow long periods of work without fatigue. The range uses the same edge-holding steel as the Flexcut gouges and chisels.
From: www.axminster.co.uk
The Flexcut Knife Strop is the perfect accompaniment to the KN11 knife and plenty of other edge tools as well.
From: www.axminster.co.uk
Fourth pattern section
Multi-level carving
The fourth section of our practice board is for multi-level carving and I have chosen one of the basic patterns – don’t worry it’s not as complex a pattern as it might seem at first glance. The technique for carving this pattern is the same as you used for the small and bigger straight-wall chips. By now you should be able to accomplish them quite quickly with consistent results. So, as before, raise the knife right above the first side of the chip, then push the tip of the knife deep to the top of the triangle, where the facets meet, at an angle of almost 90° and then, by not removing the knife from the wood, lower the heel of the knife to the base of the chip reducing pressure as you go until you are applying no pressure at all at the end of the cut, then repeat on the other side.
Now turn the board away from you (35–45°) so that you can lay the knife blade low to the wood along the third side of the chip (the short side of your isosceles triangle), and push the knife towards the intersecting corner of the straight-wall sides (the apex of the triangle). To carve the smaller chip inside this chip, stab the knife at an angle of almost 90°, but not to the surface of the board this time but to the surface on the ‘big’ chip instead. Then repeat all the steps you made on the straight-wall chips to remove a smaller chip.
Take one step back every day
The foundation of a strong technical base in wood carving/chip carving is to take one step back every day. Sounds strange at first, doesn’t it? However, in my opinion, a step back is not a regressive action; it’s not giving up on the plans you have, but rather repetition of the steps you’ve already accomplished and the consolidation of new knowledge, as in any kind of creative activity or like learning a new language. Without repetition and, accordingly, retreating back, there is no progression. In other words if every day you start with something brand-new, you will be building on fragile foundations. For example, when I receive an order for a practice board, especially for sets of them where one board needs to be completely carved, it is like returning to my roots and to the university where I learned to carve the simplest patterns for the very first time. Re-visiting these moments frequently not only helps with my chip carving but with myself in general – it’s carving the simplest patterns all over again, but with a new, deeper understanding.
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Interesting