[RVM45]

I'm new to carving.

I believe that my main emphasis is going to be Bone Carving; gradually branching out into antler; horn; and eventually Ivory.

(This in turn, began as a simple desire to make some bone grips for a few Guns...)

I notice that the vast bulk of cutters; chisels; gouges; knives; etc. are entirely too big to be of much use on bone. That's well and good--saves me from having to buy nearly so many tools...

What I would like though; is to be able to buy some bare iron tools; and make my own handles--wood; bone; horn; antler--whatever.

I see very few like that--in fact only one set--mainly intended for a reciprocating power carver; but also usable in adjustable handles...

And one set of small chisels that I really liked, came with their own clumsy Cherry wood handles. While the handles were clumsy and clunky--to my point of view...

Cherry deserves a certain amount of respect--not to be split off the blade; and cast into the nearest trash receptical...

So anyway, can anyone turn me onto a good set of handleless tools?

.....RVM45

[Benzart]

RVM45, on Mar 27 2009, 03:17 AM, said:

I'm new to carving.

I believe that my main emphasis is going to be Bone Carving; gradually branching out into antler; horn; and eventually Ivory.

(This in turn, began as a simple desire to make some bone grips for a few Guns...)

I notice that the vast bulk of cutters; chisels; gouges; knives; etc. are entirely too big to be of much use on bone. That's well and good--saves me from having to buy nearly so many tools...

What I would like though; is to be able to buy some bare iron tools; and make my own handles--wood; bone; horn; antler--whatever.

I see very few like that--in fact only one set--mainly intended for a reciprocating power carver; but also usable in adjustable handles...

And one set of small chisels that I really liked, came with their own clumsy Cherry wood handles. While the handles were clumsy and clunky--to my point of view...

Cherry deserves a certain amount of respect--not to be split off the blade; and cast into the nearest trash receptical...

So anyway, can anyone turn me onto a good set of handleless tools?

.....RVM45

HI RVM45, I Certainly agree with you that most supplied handles to carving chisels and gouges leave Much to be desired as far as comfortable fit. I found these Chinese tools
http://www.dick.biz/...0970/detail.jsf

at Dick Tools, (a European store) and they are the smaller of 2 available sets of 18each. The larger set has Socket tangs and the smaller set has pointed tangs. The price for the smaller set is about 40$ US and the shipping will be another 40$ To the US, which for 18 hand made tools is Way reasonable. They do NOT come with a finished edge leaving it up to the end user to grind,and polish to their liking.

These are Not the same low quality as the normal cheapie "Made in China" tools and I think will make a beautiful set of carving tools once you fit the handles to them.
Hope this helps.
Benzart

[DanM]

If the cherry handled chisel look to be what you want,maybe buy the set and modify the handles .Cherry works easily with a sharp blade and sandpaper strips.If you look at the other forum post on heat treating steel and making your own tools from drill rod or W-1 steel stock this may be a way to get exactly what you want.

[Toothy]

RVM45
Welcome to our forum.
Look for home made tools and or anything to do with steel treatment and you are sure to find answers to your search. Making your own can be satisfying and provide what is not available commercially.
Good luck with the the search and if you need help/advice/encouragement there is some here who will come forward.
Toothy

[Phil White]

Hi RVM45, and welcome to the forum

I'm afraid that some working knowledge of tool-making or at least tool modification go hand in hand with this type of carving. There are many useful tips and tutorials on the forum that you can take advantage from.

If you are a bit shy about tool making from scratch, the closest thing that you will find to a ready-made tool will be dental tools, They can be re-handled and/or re-ground to suit your needs quite easily. Another option is engravers burins, which come in a variety of shapes, ready to put into the handle of your choice. They can also be reground to suit specific needs, and are well tempered for working in bone or ivory.

Phil

[Nelson Lepine]

Here's some that could be modified http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=...cat=1,130,43332

[RVM45]

I am not as a general rule, the least bit minimalistic about my tools--quite the opposite. However I can''t see much need for a plethora of tools here--at least to start.

I'm thinking a 1mm chisel; a 1mm "V" groove gouge; a 1mm "U" groove gouge; and a 1mm skew gouge. Throw in a couple small knives--and maybe an Exacto set to be generous--and I should be set to go.

Plan on doing much of my stock removal with a hand grinder.

Anyway, on a limited monthly income--its gonna take me two or three more months to accumulate the stuff to get started good...

So right now I'm just talking.

Thanks for the thoughtful comments guys.

.....RVM45 :rolleyes:

[DCallaghan]

RVM45, on Apr 1 2009, 12:12 PM, said:

I'm thinking a 1mm chisel; a 1mm "V" groove gouge; a 1mm "U" groove gouge; and a 1mm skew gouge. Throw in a couple small knives--and maybe an Exacto set to be generous--and I should be set to go.


Anyway, on a limited monthly income--its gonna take me two or three more months to accumulate the stuff to get started good...

So right now I'm just talking.

Thanks for the thoughtful comments guys.

.....RVM45 :rolleyes:

For this size and the type of material you're going to work in I would suggest gravers. At that size the hollow part of the vee tool isn't rugged enough to do much good. Gravers come in oval, round and triangular cross sections. For me the knife gravers are too sharp to engrave with although you could use it as a scraper. They even have line gravers if you want to put in parallel lines. Good for borders and hair and such.

You can also get checkering tools. These come in round and triangular cross sections and work like a file or scraper. They have abou tten cutters perpendicular to the handle. They come in single lines or double.

You can get quite useful gravers without handles for less than $7 US. You can buy handles separately or make your own The checkering tools are about $6 for the cutters and ten for the handle. I got some from Brownell's years ago and I'm still using them. Brownell's is a gunsmithing company that has other tools that are useful for getting into hard to reach areas. These tools were somewhat hard to find in their online catalog even when I knew what I was looking for. Do a search for "graver" and "replacement cutter"

Good luck

David