Wood carving tools

Tools are the most direct assistant and companion for sculptors to engage in creation. In the process of wood carving, the carving knife and its auxiliary tools play a very important role. As the saying goes, "no one is as skillful as a family" or "three parts of a family are better than seven parts of a family".

To see a person's craftsmanship, one only needs to observe his tools, and the maintenance and modification of tools can also prove the quality of workers.

In the creation of wood carving, the tools are complete and can be grinded and used, which can not only improve the work efficiency, but also give full play to their own skills in modeling, so that the cutting, chiseling and washing are free and easy, clear and smooth, and increase the artistic expression of the work.

Carving knife

There are many, basically divided into two categories. One is the "Weng tube shaped" blank knife, commonly known as "cutting the wasteland" and "blank knife", and the other is the "drill strip" polishing knife, which is mainly used to dig fine blanks and polish. The widest chisel is 4-6cm, and the narrowest chisel is only a little bit like the tip of a needle.

When choosing cutting tools, beginners of wood carving should first understand their respective uses, and then go to the place of origin, manufacturer or blacksmith's shop to customize and buy them.

The green knives are better produced in Dongyang, Zhejiang, Yueqing, Wenzhou and Guangfu, Suzhou. In some places, suitable wood carving tools can also be bought in art material stores.

If it is inconvenient or impossible to buy, you can learn to do it yourself. The advantage of doing it yourself is that you can choose and decide the type, size and shape of the knife. You can add handy tools at any time according to different uses and needs.

However, the self-made tools are limited to the "drill strip" for polishing. Some people have also tried to use a steel plate file to make a green knife. For example, the blank knives and polishing knives used in Fujian are made of iron or steel bars directly. Because the iron handle is square above it, you can make a blank without installing a wooden handle. The following will introduce the types, uses and manufacturing methods of wood carving knives one by one.

Round knife: the cutting edge is in circular arc shape, which is mostly used in circular and round dents. It is also very useful in carving traditional flowers. For example, the round surfaces of flower leaves, petals and flower stems need to be shaped with a round knife. It is labor-saving to transport the round cutter horizontally, and it can adapt to large fluctuations and small changes. Moreover, the line of the round knife is uncertain, which is flexible and easy to explore.

According to different uses, the models of round knives should be different, and the size range is basically between 5cm and 0.5cm. The two corners of the knife edge of the round carved figure should be ground off to form a circular arc. Otherwise, when carving clothing patterns or other dents, they will not only be pushed, but also damage both sides of the dent path. In case of relief carving, the two corners of the knife edge shall be reserved, and the corner of the ground shall be carved by using the function of its corner tip. Therefore, two types of relief carving shall be equipped.

There are also positive and negative circular knives. The one with an inclined plane in the groove and a straight back is a positive circular knife. It eats wood deeply and is most suitable for circular carving, especially in the blank making and digging stages.

The inclined plane is on the back of the knife, and the straight groove is the reverse round knife. It eats wood deeply and can walk or pick the ground smoothly. It is more useful in relief sculpture. The shape of the round knife can also be made into an iron bar bending shape according to needs, so as to stretch into deeper parts to dig carving holes.

Flat blade: the blade is flat and straight. It is mainly used to cut and level the concave and convex of the wood surface to make it smooth and traceless. Large models can also be used to chisel large ones. They have a block face feeling and can be used properly. For example, the brushwork effect of painting is strong, vivid and natural.

The sharp angle of the flat knife can cut lines, and when the two knives intersect, the knife foot or the printed pattern can be removed. Swedish and Soviet woodcarving figures often use flat knives, which have a strong taste of wooden knives.

Oblique knife: the knife edge has an oblique angle of about 45 degrees. It is mainly used for corner cutting and polishing at the joint corners and hollow slits of the work. If you carve at the corner of a person's eye, the oblique knife is better.

The material knife is divided into forehand and backhand to suit all directions. In the boxwood carvings in Shanghai, a slant knife is usually used to carve hair strands. The method of strangling and twisting is used to move the knife. The hair effect carved is more vivid and natural than that carved with a triangular knife.

Jade Wan Dao: commonly known as "heshangtou" and "butterfly chisel", the cutting edge is in the shape of a circular arc. It is a polishing Dao between a circular Dao and a flat Dao. It can be divided into circular arc and oblique arc. When the flat blade and round blade cannot be used, they can be used instead.

It is characterized by ease. It is neither as straight as the flat knife, nor as deep as the round knife. It is suitable for concave ups and downs.

Medium steel blade: the blade is straight and both sides have a slope. Also known as "India knife". The traditional carving holds that the edge of the medium steel blade is in the middle, and the blank can be made with it to keep the edge straight, so that the surrounding parts will not be shaken. Zhonggang Dao is also used to engrave patterns on costumes and props.

Triangle knife: the cutting edge is triangular, because its front is on the left and right sides, and the sharp point is on the middle corner. Suitable tool steel (generally 4-6 mm round steel) shall be selected for making triangle cutter. The triangle groove of 55 ° -60 ° shall be milled, and the two waists shall be ground flat, and the edge end shall be ground into a cutting edge.

If the angle is large, the carved lines will be thick, otherwise they will be thin. The triangular knife is mainly used to carve hair and decorative lines. It is also a common tool for woodcut art plate making in printmaking and watermark. During operation, the triangular knife tip pushes on the wood board, and the wood chips spit out from the triangular groove, and the lines will be drawn at the part pushed by the triangular knife tip.

When choosing to use the above tools, pay attention to the difference between the thickness of the cutter head and the purpose. The so-called cutter head is the part of the cutter face actually used. The thinner the blade, the sharper it is, but the worse its fastness is. According to this situation, the blank cutting head can be appropriately thicker to withstand the percussion of the hammer and forced digging and scratching; The knife used for polishing is thinner. The so-called thin knife with dense pieces can make the wood clean and seamless.

In short, the selection and configuration of tools must be in strict accordance with the nature of the process, and can not be replaced at will. Moreover, there should be a guarantee in terms of quantity and quality. In traditional craft carving, there are often more than 100 pieces of wood carving tools, and at least 30 pieces of ordinary craft. Of course, only a small part of them are often used, and some are only used occasionally.

Auxiliary tools for wood carving: mainly refer to hammers, wood files, axes and saws. The purpose of the axe is to cooperate with the blank to cut a large number of wood. Pay attention not to use too much force during cutting. Do not cut straight up and down. The axe blade should be kept at about 45 degrees with the vertical wood grain, otherwise the wood will crack.

The purpose of the wood file is mainly in the fine blank stage of the round carving, which can replace the flat knife to smooth the knife mark and chisel mark file for polishing; It can also replace the circular knife or oblique knife for hollowing out. The function of the wood file is also that it can quickly adjust the modeling structure in a large area, and can be used in combination with the carving knife to deal with the twists and turns of the character's clothing lines vividly and smoothly. The shape of the wooden hammer should be flat, flat, wide and square.

The dimension of hammer surface can be controlled within 7 × five point five × About 2.5 cm. Too narrow or too thick will affect the accuracy of the impact point of the hammer and the uniformity of the force. Hammers are made of wood and iron. Wooden hammers generally use hardwood with a large wood ratio, such as mahogany, boxwood, sandalwood, beech and fruit trees. Their specifications can be 27 cm long, 55 cm wide and 45 cm thick; The grip part is round and slightly flat, and the size is subject to the appropriate grip in the hand.

The auxiliary tools of wood carving also include small electric woodworking polisher and electric pistol drill. The purpose of the polishing machine is only for the surface treatment after the completion of the work, which can replace the large-area polishing by hand, saving time and effort. However, it is only used for large and medium-sized works with relatively flat volume. The pistol drill is mainly used to cut holes by hand. When making large-scale carving, it can be used to dot and cut the outline.

Operating equipment

It mainly refers to a particularly stable and solid workbench and wooden clamp table with cross braces, on which bench clamps and g-clamps can be placed. Bench Vise is used for chiseling round carving. The jaw must be equipped with cork to prevent the carving wood and tools from being damaged. G-Clip is used for chiseling rough relief.

Beginners can set up some economical and simple worktables according to their own conditions, such as blank benches. Large works can be placed on the ground or operated flexibly standing or squatting.