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Here's
Everything I have to say about all the materials I've used and what I
recommend. These are just my opinions and may be worthless to you
- but I still feel it's a valuable resource since there's no place else
on the web with individual tool reviews. If you'd like to add to
my reviews I'll include them here.
First on the list I talk about different materials to carve from. Wood blocks, lino blocks, golden cut, plywood, etc.
Next the carving tools themselves and where to buy them.
Later I'll be adding a section about honing and maintaining your tools - hopefully with some help from other printmakers. | Blocks.
Russian
birch ply. NOT Chinese birch. Well, you know. Whatever you have
access to and can afford. Lowes and Home Depot and
Sutherlands don't have any good birch. Go to a lumber yard and
ask for the stuff. If they don't have it, ask around. You
want Russian birch b/c there are less voids. And if you can find
it, marine ply wood be great too. Read
this.
Meh. If you can get some good quality Chinese birch you'll still
be
very happy.
Battleship linoleum. Works fine but it's expensive and you can't
find big sheets of the stuff, only long rolls. Okay - I lied. you can find big sheets of the stuff at Dick Blick art supply. Sizes and prices are listed. The bigger you get - the more you pay.
MDF ply. Not the particle board that LOOKS like chunks of sawdust
and woodchunks glued together, but the stuff that looks like powder
glued together. It's used for cheaper cabinets and entertainment
centers and shelving today. Not terribly cheap, but I hear
it works okay.
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Tools.
Depending on your budget, I'd recommend ONLY the Japanese
'style' or some actual Japanese block carving knives. The best of
the best. But we can't all afford that. It took me a few
years to decide to actually get the good ones, but I could have saved a
couple of hundred dollars in the long run if I'd just gotten the good
ones to begin with.
And as far as selecting which sizes and shapes, you just have to try
them out. I know. It's an expensive way to figure out what
you like, but you could always start with the more inexpensive Warren
tools and decide which you like best.
As for me, a 3mm V tool is the only V I need. Much smaller is
pointless b/c with the 3mm you can cut a line just as small and fine as
with a 1mm V. And with a little more pressure you can just cut
deeper and wider.
Now with the U tools, I like a small to large set. So a 1mm,
1.5mm, 2mm, 4-5mm, then a 7-9mm.
Sharpening
Before
I go on about tools, a quick word on keeping them sharp. It's a
pain in the butt - but with the proper tools it can be less so. This helps.
The
slip strop, just a piece of wood with contour surfaces for different
shaped blades will help hone and keep a good edge on your tools.
You can also get a piece of basswood or some other soft wood and
carve a channel with the tool in hand, creating a v or u shaped channel
in the wood, rub some honing compound in, and hone your tools in the v
or u you just made. Then using the raised surfaces on the Flexcut
slip strop, you can get a really really nice edge.
First, Ramelson.
Sigh. There's nothing good I can say about these guys except that
30 or 40 years ago, they made a good product. At least that's
what I've been told. Now all you can get
from them is cheap garbage. I won't even bother posting a link to
their sales page b/c it's not worth it. The V tool was garbage
right out of the box. I had never and have not since seen a V
tool so useless and cumbersome. Okay - so if you want the tools
b/c of the handle shapes, and I understand that, we all like different
things, then get them sharpened before you mess about with them.
The box of 5 'basic starter set' was about 35 plus shipping. What
a waste of
money. I only have these two left. Trashed the rest.
An older Ramelson I was given by my print instructor at Henderson State
University at the end of the semester. It was in one of the
drawers we were cleaning out. He retired that semester, so he was
unloading a bunch of the junk in the print lab. This is actually
still one of my favorite tools.
And here's a close up of the tip, if you care.
The next cheapest piece of junk I have is another tool from that
drawer. It's a renaissance. For whatever that is
worth. Also don't use it ever.
Then my two European tools.
First is Two Cherries.
That's
German.
Link
here.
This was around $30 or more. Yeah. Really. See how
long that stupid shaft is? I put duct tape on it so I can use it
more comfortably. It was dull when I got it, but not terribly
so. Not worth the money at all in my opinion. Too long to
comfortably use for any block carving. Not sure that it was ever
meant for block carving as I do it. But you may love the size.
Next is this little Acorn.
Link
here. If I remember, about $35 or more after shipping.
I will say without hesitation that it is one of the most comfortable
tools I've ever held. And it took me a while, but I got a pretty
good edge on it. But still, probably not worth the money.
Update: Edge ruined. Dulled. Trashed. I'm not even
going to say how (normal use). I won't be
bothering with this brand anymore.
I
recently bought another one of these because I love the shape of the
handle so much, and I missed it. So I bought another one.
I'm a bit better at honing my tools these days so I've got quite
a nice edge on it. It makes a very nice mark in the block.
Warren
Cutlery
(link)
These guys have some GREAT tools for a LOW cost.
Click on the TOOLS button at the top leftish corner, then look through
that ridiculous links section for Laminated
Steel
Tools
(link).
Amazing selection for a price that can't be beat.
They're comfortable and SHARP. And at only $8-9 a piece,
depending on style, the value for money is unbeatable. The one on
the very left in this next image is a 1.5mm U gouge. Not my
favorite but has it's place. The rest of them have had plenty of
use. Easy
to sharpen Japanese laminated steel slices through lino and wood
with ease.
The only negative that I can say is that after lots of use, the blade
on the V has come out. That's not that big of a deal as I just
jammed it back in there with some epoxy weld to help hold on. The
wood had apparently just worn out in the hole a bit. Kind of like
the threads on a bolt being worn after lots of tightening and
loosening. It's been fine ever since.
With a little stropping these guys are worth their weight in gold.
The family shot.
The entire tool.
The 'V'.
There are some similar tools with "Power Grip" on the handle, but they only seem to come in sets and cost more.
Another site with similar tools for a lower price, but I had problems with items not in stock.
Hmm...
Then if you have a little money, I'd go to iMcClain's.
Just scroll around. Anything from there is top notch. But
expensive. The handles on the tools I bought were about 9 inches
long. Very uncomfortable for me to use. So using the
chisels themselves, I carved the handles down to a reasonable
length. I just used my Warren tools to measure against so that I
knew I would be happy with them.
NOTE:
Use these tools for a while before carving them down. I
wish I had left mine about an inch or two longer each. I'm still
glad I carved them from 9 inches, that was too long, but now a couple
of the handles are just a bit too short. Pay attention to the
instructions McClain's provides so you get them to a comfortable length.
--Apparently somebody from Australia mentioned this site to Alex at
McClain's. A big compliment. Thanks! But, I also had
some information wrong. Here's the note from Alex:
Hi Shawn,
Someone in Australia just sent
me a link to your web site and I wanted to thank you so much for your
kind words about our Japanese carving tools, and especially the Futatsu
Wari tools. You are right, they are absolutely the best for carving
wood or linoleum and I'm so glad you enjoy using them.
Now, I did catch one small
mistake in your description of the tools. The steel in the blades of
the Namisei tools is machine forged but they are hand sharpened. In
fact, once the steel is forged, the process of making and sharpening
the Namisei and Josei tools is identical. The only difference between
Namisei and Josei tools is how the metal is forged. So it would be more
accurate to say the Namisei blades are "machine forged and hand
sharpened;" and Josei and Futatsu Wari blades are "hand forged and hand
sharpened." The handles on all of the tools are hand made and the tools
are all assembled by hand.
Hand forging is considered
superior because more carbon is introduced into the steel as it is
hammered and the more carbon, the harder the steel and the longer it
holds an edge. So generally the Josei tools will hold an edge longer
than Namisei tools.
As for length, we strongly
recommend cutting down the handles on Namisei and Josei tools so they
fit your hand and we have instructions on our web site at http://www.imcclains.com/productinfo/documents/HowtoCutDowntheHandlesofJapaneseTools.pdf
Also, the carvers in Japan place the end of the handle into the fleshy
part under their thumb instead of their palm and carve with the fingers
relaxed - which is hard to describe but you can see pictures here: http://www.imcclains.com/productinfo/documents/HoldToolsTraditional.pdf It feels really awkward at first but once
you get used to it, holding tools this way really cuts down on hand
pain.
FYI, Namisei and Josei tools
are used by many carvers in Japan, including furniture makers and those
who make bas-relief (Kamakura is famous for its bas-relief carvings) as
well as printmakers. Futatsu Wari and Moku Hanga Nomi were designed
specifically for carving wood blocks. In all cases, the bevels on these
tools are made to carve wood sitting that is sitting flat, so
they are much more shallow than the bevels on most sculpting or wood
crafting tools. Interesting, eh?
Well, that's probably 'way more
information than you ever wanted to know about Japanese tools! Again,
thank you so much for your support and enthusiasm. I truly appreciate
it.
THANKS! I'm glad you wrote me to correct my information.
(Namisei
Moku
Hanga
To Standard
quality
woodblock carving tools)
(Josei
Moku
Hanga
To Superior
quality
woodblock carving tools).
And last but not least, most certainly not least, are the
tools of my
dreams!
(Futatsu
Wari
Moku
Hanga
To Professional
two
part
woodblock
carving
tools)
Entirely handmade and hand sharpened.
Remember, the Japanese are the ones who made the samurai swords.
But they start at just under $30 a piece. Which is cheaper than
those stupid European tools I bought a few years ago. But they
top out at around $50 a piece... and then shipping is usually $8
or so a box. So, for example, my 3 were $120 after
shipping. Geez, don't I have something better to spend all my
money on? NO. Well, watches and fountain pens. :-)
The handles on these are two part, and you take the brass ferule off
the blade end and swing the handle open and move the blade forward a
bit to make up for wear and tear over the years. And you
can buy replacement blades inexpensively. I also have to say that
Alex over at McClain's shipped me a new V blade for free because my
first one shouldn't have made it past quality control. I offered
to ship it back so he could be refunded, but he told me to keep it and
practice sharpening on it. What a great guy! I love
McClain's!
Any questions just ask.
watchartsn@gmail.com |
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