How To Sharpen Chip Carving Knives
A chip carving knife is a straightforward tool. But, most people do not know how to handle them or how to use and sharpen. I mean, come on, the chip carving knife's blade is so tiny. If you are one of those who wonders how to sharpen chip carving knives, you are on the right page because today, I will teach you how to do just then and give you a quick guide on the chip carving for beginners.
How to Sharpen a Chip Carving Knife
One of the most important things that you should know how to do when using any knife, aside from safety, is how to sharpen them. That is why, in this section, we will get on to business, and I will discuss how to sharpen a chip carving knife to help you with your sculpting duties.
Polishing Both Sides
Get a forty micron to 0.3-micron sandpaper and polish the chip carving knife there. Make sure that the blade's edge remains straight.
You can use adhesive-backed sandpaper that's 3M aluminum oxide films for sharpening, and the substrate can be a marble file.
Establish Bevels
The next step in learning how to sharpen chip carving knives is to establish bevels. Raise the back of the blade until it aims eight degrees to ten degrees. Form the bevel on coarse grits or shards of metal and then hole them slightly into a convex.
Guide to Chip Carving
Now that you know how to sharpen chip carving knives let's get on to the guide to chip carving for beginners, as I have promised at the beginning of this article.
Materials
- Chip Carving Knife
- Basswood
- Pencil
- Ruler
How to Hold the Chip Carving Knife
Granted that you have already learned how to sharpen chip carving knives, we will now proceed to how to hold the chip carving knife properly.
When holding the chip carving knife and getting on to carving, make sure that your thumb is in contact with the blade's wooden surface. This will prevent the risk of you getting cut.
And then, face the blade away and push the tip against the wood. Make sure that your hand is not shaky or sweaty to avoid slipping and causing any accidents.
Measure
Given that you are a beginning carver, I am pretty sure that you are not yet ready to free carve. That is why you must measure the pattern and draw on your basswood before even starting.
Make sure to leave allowances at tight space so that there will still be room for mistakes. If you commit one, you won't have to worry because you have an allotted allowance.
Carve Away
Now, we have arrived at the sole purpose of why you wanted to learn how to sharped chip carving knives—the Carving Part.
- Start by putting the tip of the blade into the first section of the lines.
- Press down towards your direction
- Make sure the blade of the knife goes in at about a 45 degrees angle into the wood.
- Push the chip carving knife downwards into the bottom.
Just continue working into the pattern, carving, and removing the chip from each section until you have completed the whole carving pattern that you measured.
Don’t Forget to Decorate
There is no fun in making art if you don’t add frills around the edges. Make sure to add more creativity into it and practice free-carving here and there.
This way, you can be more confident with your strokes, and you will learn more and more techniques as you go on with your projects.
Check the Pattern
After decorating, all that's left to do is check the pattern and the design of your chip carving project.
You can erase any excess markings, pull any excess or hanging chips, and even out specific areas. You can even add more detail into it if you are feeling confident.
Conclusion
Chip carving is a beautiful hobby. It helps you get rid of stress and frustrations. It can also be a source of stress if the tools you are using don't function well or don't serve their purpose. One of the most frustrating and even dangerous scenarios is having a dull chip carving knife. That is why in this article, I discussed how to sharpen chip wood carving knives and a beginner’s guide to chip carving. Having a newly sharpened chip carving knife can help you carve more freely and generously and help avoid carving accidents. Know more about carving knives.
