Practice Makes....Not Perfect...Usually

For an upcoming Fine Woodworking blog, I wanted to add some wheat carvings to a saw handle. This is a common decoration for saws, whether done at the factory or by the owner of the saw.

They looked like they could be done with a small detail or chip carving knife. I remembered that there is a section about chip carving in one of my favorite books, Jogge Sundqvist’s Sloyd In Wood. His chip carvings seem to be more triangular in shape, but it was good to read it and get some ideas.

On a camping trip last month, I practiced a fair bit on scrap wood and was generally not excited about the results. After looking back at Jogge’s work, I can see that I was too harsh with my judgements. The work should be bold and decisive, not fussy. It is ok not to be perfect. Here is one miserable practice session for you to observe. First, I draw a pattern:

Although I usually like to work in a vise to save my hands, but for chip carving, I have found wedging the work against my body is best.

To get a good cut, you slice cleanly at an angle, then cut from the other direction, making a little V.

I then repeat for the smaller lines. I would like to improve on my ability to enter and exit the cut cleanly, so the little wheat kernels come to a gradual canoe shape, not just chipped and torn out.

I will try to clean it up with some sand paper, but I am not sure it helps. To show the shapes, I rub it with some stain, then plane off the top layer. I am not excited about the results.