To Effectively Use A Double
Edge Bent Knife
Inside beveled blade
There are two different types
of double edge knives. There is the inside bevel and the back side bevel. This
particular knife is identified by the bevel on the inside radius of the blade. I
will also discuss the backside bevel knife.
The blade is mounted on the handle in such a way
that you can get close to the wood with the back of the handle. With the blade
positioned the way it is you will have more control of your cuts then you will
with a chisel and with the cutting edge on each sides you won’t have to turn
your carving around to cut the opposite way. With the bent knife you can start
and stop your cuts where and when you want .You are not pushing you tool like
you do with the chisel.
What the knife can be used for
To understand how the blade
cuts I will explain the areas were the bent knife is very efficient On a relief
carving you can get down into areas and cut up against the stop cut. For any
concaved areas you can use the high curved or the hooked knife. Bowels or
spoons can be carved with the high curved or the hooked knife. The slow cured
knife is very useful for leveling off or plaining an area. It is also useful
for shallow relief or digging.
How to hold the knife
To use the knife place the back of the handle in the
palm of the hand you will use for carving. The tip of the curved blade should
be pointed upwards. Place the thumb toward the top of the handle and the little
finger is toward the blade. In this position you will effectively be able to
guide the angle of the cut. See
diagram A, below.
There are a few different ways
to use the bent knife most of them will be the right way to use them I have
observed carvers and also used the carving tools myself. I have found to get
the best use of this knife, holding it in your hand as mentioned above. Put the
bottom of the blade flat on the wood you will carve. Meaning 90 degrees to the
wood to be carved. Use the heal of the
blade to carve with. So the knife should be angled back (about 15 degrees) and
the blade laying flat on the heal of the
blade. Now take and angle the knife toward you about 5 to 10 degrees. Put some
pressure on the knife and drag it toward you. Make sure that your elbow is
tucked into your side and remember to keep your wrist straight unless you want
to finish your cut. In this case you change the angle by angling the knife back
up to the 90 degrees. The angle of your knife will determine the depth of your
cut. You should not have the knife angled any more than 20 degrees off the 90
degrees at any time. Too steep of an
angle will prevent you from making an easy cut. This theory works for all the
different bent knives. This usually takes some practice so don’t get
discouraged. Just practice the cut on a piece of scrap wood before you get into
a carving
See
diagram B, below for the angle of the knife
This knife is sharpened on both sides so you will
want to use both sides, you will be able to do a pushing or pulling action.
This will save you the effort of turning the carving around every time you want
to cut in a different direction. Sometimes the grain in the would changes and
you have to cut in a different direction. This is extremely helpful when the
wood grain starts to run in different directions.
There are three basic bent knives, a slow curve and high
curve and a hooked knife. Some uses for the three styles of knives are:
Slow
Curved Knife
The slow curve is as it suggest. It has a very
gradual curve toward the end of the knife The knife can be used for shallow
digging or to plane a surface. Sometimes the surface has to be planed to draw
lines or to complete or finish off an area. Sometime you have to make cuts up
against a stop cut so the blade should be sharp right out to the tip. With this
blade you should be able to cut with both sides of the knife. If the grain in
the wood is changing direction you don’t have to turn the carving around, just
change the direction of cutting with the knife
High
Curve Knife
This knife is also as it suggests. The curve is
high. Usually it is bent up to 90 degree. The wide curve makes the knife
excellent for cleaning out the knife marks made by the hook knife in a concave
area. This knife acts as a wide scorp. Being sharp right to the tip you can cut
up against the stop cuts with this knife. This is an excellent knife for deep
relief carvings. I especially like it for relieving the background.
Hooked Knife
Easily recognized by the hook at the end of the
blade this knife is very useful in roughing out the bowel or spoons and
any other concaved areas. This knife can be used in a scorp. In a manner more so then the high curved knife. I would
like to remind you that the angle that you have the knife off the wood determines
the depth of your cut. In other words if you lay the heel of your knife flat on
the wood it will not cut anything, if you tip it toward you about 5 to 10
degrees and pull the knife towards you it will dig in. To start with put your
elbow into your side and keep your wrist straight . Just cut a shaving off the
surface until you get used to the knife. Don’t bend your wrist unless you want
to cut out. Try to pull and push it to get used to it. See diagram A and
diagram B for proper angles.
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