This note mainly introduces the commonly used carving tools and their uses, and the tools I show in the pictures are only for reference.
Engraving tools are mainly divided into power tools and hand tools, which have a big difference in the use of the process. Considering the difficulty of carving, power tools are more suitable for beginners. Beginners using power tools to carve can be more efficient and convenient, but it also requires flexibility to master the use of various tool heads and accessories. If you are going to use hand tools to carve, it takes a lot of practice for beginners. Only in this way, the novice can quickly master the use of various carving knives, as well as the way to cultivate force. It is worth noting that no matter which tool you choose, do not ignore the dangers of tools.
Engraving gravers
Wood carving knives are generally divided into embryonizing knives and polishing knives.
The four on the left are embryoning knives, and the six on the right are polishing knives. The end of the tip of the embryo beater is telescopic. The end of the tip of the polishing knife is embedded in the wooden handle. The germinating knife is used to cut wood by hitting the end of the wooden handle with the help of a handle. The lightening knife can only use the strength of the hand and the body to trim the wood.
Embryoning is the initial cutting of wood to carve out a large outline, at this stage of embryoning, it is generally to leave some wood in each part.
The meaning of polishing is to further refine the woodcut shape, remove excess wood, and completely carve out the information to be displayed.
The carving knives that can be purchased on the network are generally round knives, flat knives, oblique knives, sharp knives, corner knives, etc.
- Round knife: mainly used for rough carving materials in the early stage. Novice cutting with this round knife is very easy, you can very quickly cut the raw material to your desired shape.
- Flat head knife: Whether it is embryo or polishing, the opportunity for beginners to use it is also very frequent. You can use it both to line the material and to cut large quantities of aniseed and adjust details.
- Oblique knife: This is a knife that can be carved in a small space. You can use it to carve details when the carving is almost finished.
- Angle knife: Its head is V-shaped. You can use it to carve hair, feathers, and other details. It is a good helper for sculpting textures!
Each type of knife has a different model. Beginners can choose different carving knives according to the size of the engraving material and the engraving details. The method of carving knife and the method of force are very important. This is best done with the guidance of an expert or veteran. If you want to explore on your own, you may need to spend more time studying.
Since the manual knife is very sharp, you should pay attention to the following three points when using it. First, whether you are holding the carving material or fixing it in other ways, it must be fixed and stable to avoid falling during the carving process. Second, when holding the knife, be sure to find the right Angle and method between the fingers and the carving material. This can effectively form a supporting force to ensure the stable force of the cutter. Third, when you use the carving knife, do not block the front of the force of the carving knife with your fingers to avoid the cutting of the hand.
I would like to add a point of view, when buying carving knives on the Internet, do not choose too cheap carving knives. Steel knives are of poor quality and need to be polished frequently. If you use a steel knife to carve, its efficiency will be reduced. Of course, as long as it is a carving knife then it needs to be polished. So the novice must not only learn to use the knife but also sharpen the knife. As for how to polish a carving knife, you can Google it for more detailed information.
Sanding and polishing tools
Hand sanding requires different mesh sandpaper. Sandpaper is generally divided into dry sandpaper and water sandpaper. The use of dry sandpaper is directly polished without adding any lubricant, while the use of water sandpaper generally needs to be polished after wetting with water. Of course, this is according to everyone’s habits, I usually use water sandpaper does not add water.
Strictly speaking, it’s best to sand wood with dry sandpaper. But I don’t think there is a particularly big difference between the use of dry sandpaper and water sandpaper. There are usually many numbers behind the sandpaper, and this number represents the mesh number. If the number of mesh of sandpaper is larger, the finer the sandpaper is. On the contrary, the smaller the mesh number of sandpaper, the lower the fineness of sandpaper.
Sandpaper with small mesh is suitable for preliminary grinding because the removal effect of sandpaper with small mesh is greater.
In general, the mesh number of sandpaper is 80,120,240,320,400,600,800, 1000 and 1200. We need to choose the mesh number of sandpaper according to the surface condition of the carving. For example, if you have carved very smooth, then you can directly choose 240 mesh or 320-purpose sandpaper.
Hand sanding is very time-consuming and laborious. This process is very testing the patience of the novice. Strictly speaking, each mesh number of sandpaper replacement can not jump. It is best to polish it in order. But sometimes I personally think it is appropriate to jump the number of eyes, of course, the final polish to what degree according to their needs to decide.
After you have polished to 600 or 1000 mesh, if you need more brightness, you should polish the object. If you just don’t have a polisher, you can dip a cotton cloth or soft cloth in a little wood wax oil and rub the surface of the wood repeatedly until it is shiny. The hardness of different wood and the amount of oil used are also different, so the effect of grinding and polishing will also be different.
So much for this introduction to hand tools! For beginners, if the budget is small, you can start with hand tools. But hand tools are demanding in the way the tools are used, and you need to be prepared.