Opinions? Suggestions? *LINK*
David Barnett
>Well, you asked, so here's my late-night idiosyncratic and entirely personal ramble.
Dastra's fine, as is Stubai, Pfeil, HT, and others. Tools often start too thick for me, with too steep bevels, corners that tear rather than cut wood (they'll cut you, though), and poorer finish than I will accept. Almost always I'll change the geometry of new tools to my preferred woods and way of working. You will, too, as you become ever more experienced. As for the above brands, I'm somewhat intrigued by the HT Cogelow series but that's because Fred Cogelow is my absolute favorite carver; relief or in the round.* I have no idea how he uses these but the results are remarkable.
I don't do much carving beyond mouldings, furniture features, and some lettering**, and much less of that than ten years ago. You can certainly rely on Nora Hall as a source for both technical know-how and tools. Her videos are superb and she's incredibly generous with her time and advice. Several years ago she got me to try a set of handforged fishtail gouges from China (not all Chinese steel is soft, believe me). They were surprisingly inexpensive; about $150 for twenty medium through large tools in a tool roll - minor spondulix, indeed***. These came sharper than any other tools I've bought, with long low bevels. The handles are nothing special but adequate. Many years ago I used to teach the historical development of script, type, and book arts, so I have a wide range of lettering skills. Not wanting to be restricted to a tight isomorphism of tool to letter element, I chose a freer approach (similar to Nora's - no stop cuts, no contour outlining with gouges, working the surface with small shaving strokes, and so on) and these gouges worked easily for me. There is (or was) also a set of smaller scale carving tools made by the same family for detail work, but although very useful, not nearly so essential as the larger tools. As for smaller tools, one can so easily make gouges, grounders and knives from water or oil quenched steel that it's not really necessary to buy many, the exceptions being veiners and parters.
As for palm tools, I eschew them for most carving as pressing and pushing tools into one's palms can cause nerve damage and permanent injury. A lot depends on heredity and work habits, but for some people this is a very real danger. I know. I have it. For me, it was bookbinding tools and gravers that presented and exacerbated my symptoms. So I use tools and handles that are more forgiving. Also, when I carve, engrave, plane, saw, pound things, etc., I wear impact absorbing gloves with wrist support (capal tunnel syndrome, too, heh). It's pretty much mallet and standard handles for me. BTW, I don't worry about tools rolling, but I keep mine on a soft surface to protect their edges. As for octagonals, I like them aesthetically but I prefer to use largish tapered squares with rounded edges, very much like the Marples Blue Chip chisel handles, except in wood. I also have wrapped and inset some handles with shagreen, allowing a lighter grip without slipping under forceful mallet blows (although I avoid that whenever possible). Urethane mallets aren't a bad idea, either. I like a smallish to medium size and weight, but with a generous handle, even though my hands aren't all that large.
I already can't remember what I've said and am too tired to read back over it, so please excuse the lack of editing and any resulting incoherence.
Oh, one more suggestion. Look for woodcarving email lists and forums. Some of those guys eat, breath and dream carving, and they know way more than a dabbling dilettante like me.
*If you can lay your hands on the FWW Design Book Six, turn to page 114 and look at "Another Beer at Rosie's". This largish butternut relief is the epitome of Cogelow's style (to me, at least). Just look at the grain on the bared forearm, the fabric creases, the expressions, and depth of the piece. Masterful. There's a book of Cogelow's collected works, too.
**Raised vs. incised is a whole 'nother matter. Different tools, different techniques. You can almost do smaller incised with a chip carving knife. If you need an incised Roman exemplar script, try the Trajan column inscription. It really doesn't get much better than that.
***I believe Nora's source for these tools dried up years ago. Woodcarvers Supply carries both sets, however, but they're higher in price these days.
Wood Carvers Supply, Inc.
