What wood and what chisels
 

Ok i`m gonna start a wee thread if anyone is interested.

I wondered what is your favourite carving wood and favourite chisel or tools.
You can explain why if you like.

I am in Yorkshire and prefer English Walnut, the older the better. I recently
had some 500 year old walnut froma stately home in South England. I love this
because of the finish rather than the ease of carving. The grain has lovelly
dark stripes as well as a blend of deep purples and browns when french
polished.

My favourite chisel make is Henry Taylor from Sheffield ( England ) which can
be sharpened to a perfect edge every time.

Mallet is a lignum Vitae rounded mallet which is oiled weekly to prevent
cracking.

Any takers ?

Regards

Steve

Sure, I'll bite. I'm not sure if I should say it is my favorite but
Basswood is what I carve most often. I like the results I've got carving
Cherry but its tough on the carver and the tools because of it hardness.
Ideally, I would have a 2nd set of tools ground and sharpened for hard
woods. I like the tight grain in Cherry and the subtle coloration. It
really comes to life with a couple coats of Tung Oil.
Currently, my favorite tools are full sized Stubai gouges. Probably because
they are my newest ones. I've only recently begun working with full sized
tools. Previously, I worked on smaller projects using palm gouges. I have
a couple Diobsud (sp?) tools that are very good, but pricey in this area.
Additionally, I'll add one more favorite to your list. My favorite
professional carver is Chris Pye. I've read several of his books and like
his presentation. His website is helpful and newletter interesting. Some
may not like his mixing philosophy with instruction but I find it
refreshing. Incidently, he addresses this in his latest newsletter. I feel
knowing a writer's or teacher's viewpoint gives some perspective on why they
might recommend or discourage a technique, style, or tool. One might
disagree with Chris' philosophy but it would be difficult to disagree with
the quality and scope of his work.
Next. . .

wood:Jelutong and Meranti.

chisels:Kirschen.

--
Cheers
Nuno Souto
am
"Princebilly1" wrote in message ...
Ok i`m gonna start a wee thread if anyone is interested.

I wondered what is your favourite carving wood and favourite chisel or tools.
You can explain why if you like.

I am in Yorkshire and prefer English Walnut, the older the better. I recently
had some 500 year old walnut froma stately home in South England. I love this
because of the finish rather than the ease of carving. The grain has lovelly
dark stripes as well as a blend of deep purples and browns when french
polished.

My favourite chisel make is Henry Taylor from Sheffield ( England ) which can
be sharpened to a perfect edge every time.

Mallet is a lignum Vitae rounded mallet which is oiled weekly to prevent
cracking.

Any takers ?

Regards

Steve

Hey JT

What is Chris Pye's website URL

Bill Tinker

From: "JT" Reply to Group
Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.carving
Date: Thu, 11 Sep 2003 17:50:04 -0500
Subject: What wood and what chisels

Sure, I'll bite. I'm not sure if I should say it is my favorite but
Basswood is what I carve most often. I like the results I've got carving
Cherry but its tough on the carver and the tools because of it hardness.
Ideally, I would have a 2nd set of tools ground and sharpened for hard
woods. I like the tight grain in Cherry and the subtle coloration. It
really comes to life with a couple coats of Tung Oil.
Currently, my favorite tools are full sized Stubai gouges. Probably because
they are my newest ones. I've only recently begun working with full sized
tools. Previously, I worked on smaller projects using palm gouges. I have
a couple Diobsud (sp?) tools that are very good, but pricey in this area.
Additionally, I'll add one more favorite to your list. My favorite
professional carver is Chris Pye. I've read several of his books and like
his presentation. His website is helpful and newletter interesting. Some
may not like his mixing philosophy with instruction but I find it
refreshing. Incidently, he addresses this in his latest newsletter. I feel
knowing a writer's or teacher's viewpoint gives some perspective on why they
might recommend or discourage a technique, style, or tool. One might
disagree with Chris' philosophy but it would be difficult to disagree with
the quality and scope of his work.
Next. . .

http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/
"Bill Tinker" wrote in message
...
Hey JT

What is Chris Pye's website URL

Bill Tinker

From: "JT" Reply to Group
Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.carving
Date: Thu, 11 Sep 2003 17:50:04 -0500
Subject: What wood and what chisels

Sure, I'll bite. I'm not sure if I should say it is my favorite but
Basswood is what I carve most often. I like the results I've got
carving
Cherry but its tough on the carver and the tools because of it hardness.
Ideally, I would have a 2nd set of tools ground and sharpened for hard
woods. I like the tight grain in Cherry and the subtle coloration. It
really comes to life with a couple coats of Tung Oil.
Currently, my favorite tools are full sized Stubai gouges. Probably
because
they are my newest ones. I've only recently begun working with full
sized
tools. Previously, I worked on smaller projects using palm gouges. I
have
a couple Diobsud (sp?) tools that are very good, but pricey in this
area.
Additionally, I'll add one more favorite to your list. My favorite
professional carver is Chris Pye. I've read several of his books and
like
his presentation. His website is helpful and newletter interesting.
Some
may not like his mixing philosophy with instruction but I find it
refreshing. Incidently, he addresses this in his latest newsletter. I
feel
knowing a writer's or teacher's viewpoint gives some perspective on why
they
might recommend or discourage a technique, style, or tool. One might
disagree with Chris' philosophy but it would be difficult to disagree
with
the quality and scope of his work.
Next. . .

Well, my favorite wood is still mahogany. Second is butternut and now
I really love pecan - I have only carved one thing from it - the
otters on my website. But is is lovely wood. I hope to get some
more.

I really have no favorite tools. I use flexcraft - stubai - and some
whose names I can't recall. It depends on what I am working on,
and how large the project is.

Big Ev
http://home.earthlink.net/~lvbiggio/

On 11 Sep 2003 19:06:56 GMT, (Princebilly1)
wrote:

Ok i`m gonna start a wee thread if anyone is interested.

I wondered what is your favourite carving wood and favourite chisel or tools.
You can explain why if you like.

I am in Yorkshire and prefer English Walnut, the older the better. I recently
had some 500 year old walnut froma stately home in South England. I love this
because of the finish rather than the ease of carving. The grain has lovelly
dark stripes as well as a blend of deep purples and browns when french
polished.

My favourite chisel make is Henry Taylor from Sheffield ( England ) which can
be sharpened to a perfect edge every time.

Mallet is a lignum Vitae rounded mallet which is oiled weekly to prevent
cracking.

Any takers ?

Regards

Steve

--
Big Ev
Wood Carvings at:
http://home.earthlink.net/~lvbiggio/

damn good carvings from both of you.

i like the dancer and the rose from ev and the racoon from the old gadgy

regards

Steve

I have to put in my two cents for the favorite carver. Check out
http://www.chadawalt.com/sculpture.htm This stuff is incredible.
Likewise, Ev - your dancer would probably sell for a few hundred bucks on my
website www.joepilates.com (it's a site I use to sell exercise sculptures -
like Yoga and such) Let me know if you are interested and what price you
want for it.

Thanks,
Shawn

"Princebilly1" wrote in message
...
damn good carvings from both of you.

i like the dancer and the rose from ev and the racoon from the old gadgy

regards

Steve

On 15 Sep 2003 20:22:35 GMT, (Princebilly1)
wrote:

damn good carvings from both of you.

i like the dancer and the rose from ev and the racoon from the old gadgy

regards

Steve
Thanks for the kind words. I really enjoy carving.

--
Big Ev
Wood Carvings at:
http://home.earthlink.net/~lvbiggio/

On Fri, 19 Sep 2003 01:50:31 GMT, "bboom11"
wrote:

I have to put in my two cents for the favorite carver. Check out
http://www.chadawalt.com/sculpture.htm This stuff is incredible.
Likewise, Ev - your dancer would probably sell for a few hundred bucks on my
website www.joepilates.com (it's a site I use to sell exercise sculptures -
like Yoga and such) Let me know if you are interested and what price you
want for it.

Thanks,
Shawn

"Princebilly1" wrote in message
...
damn good carvings from both of you.

i like the dancer and the rose from ev and the racoon from the old gadgy

regards

Steve


I'm glad you liked my carvings. The dancer is my pride and joy and at
the present time, at least, she is not for sale. She is the only
piece I ever timed and she took me 57 hours from inception to finish.
Thanks for the nice offer, anyhow.
--
Big Ev
Wood Carvings at:
http://home.earthlink.net/~lvbiggio/