By Jim Hingst
Jim Hingst provides step-by-step instruction on how to use chip carving knives to carve incised letters.
You can use
chip carving knives for more than just carving geometric designs in boxes,
plates or furniture. These specialized knives are also great tools when used to
carve incised letters. I have also used these knives for carving details in
brittle wood prone to tear out.
In traditional
chip carving, a knife is used to cut out two-sided chips or small triangular
shaped pieces of wood. But chip carving
knives are capable of so much more. What makes these tools useful when carving
incised letters is their capacity to make precise cuts in precarious areas,
such as the serifs of a letter or the thin stroke of the leg of a letter. In fact, the cuts made with a chip
carving knife are so precise that you can carve small copy with nothing more
than this specialized tool.
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| Chip carving knives are typically used to carve decorative patterns in soft wood panels. These knives are also useful for letter carving. |
Selecting a Chip Carving Knife
While there are
many different types of knives available for chip carving, all that’s really
needed when carving incised letters is a conventional knife as shown in the
photo below. Two of the knives that I have are the Flexcut brand and the Wayne
Barton brand. Each tool has its own unique features. The ergonomic design of
the Flexcut knife makes it easy to hold for long periods of time. What I like about the Wayne Barton knife is
that the blade is thinner, which allows the knife to more easily slide through
the wood. Both knives are excellent tools and would make good additions to your
woodcarving tool box.
Regardless of
what knife you buy, what is important is that it is sharp…sharp enough to shave
the hair off of your arms. If your knife is not razor sharp, you need to
sharpen it. In sharpening a standard cutting knife, the blade should be nearly
flat against the sharpening stone. A rule of thumb is that the angle when
sharpening should be no greater than 10⁰. Since both sides of the blade have a
bevel, be sure to sharpen both sides. Ideally, when the blade is honed and
stropped, it should have a mirror finish. The purpose of polishing the surface
of the blade is to reduce its drag as you cut through the wood.
Flexcut KN115 Carving Knives, Chip Carving Set, High Carbon Steel Blades, Ergonomic Ash Handle, Set of 3
● Set of 3 different chip carving knives:
▪ Mini-chip carving knife
▪ Chip carving knife
▪ Skew knife
● Includes Flexcut Gold polishing compound.
● Razor-sharp hard carbon steel blade.
● Ready to use.
Safely Using a Chip Carving Knife
As you are holding the chip carving knife, make sure that you hold your thumb firmly against the handle of the knife and that the tip of your thumb is always on the wood surface. If you follow this rule, you are unlikely to cut yourself. See the photo below.
My Chip Carving Gold Edition Knives
● 420 Stainless Steel hardened
to Rockwell 58.
● Pre-sharpened knife is ready to cut.
● Easily to sharpen and stays sharp
for a long time.
Letter Carving Procedure
After transferring the design to the sign, I used the chip carving knife to notch the corners and serifs of the letters. These relief cuts in the corners of the letters prevent the wood from tearing out.
After cutting
the triangular shapes in the serifs, you can also use the chip carving knife to
cut a v-shaped gouge in the center of the letter. See the photo below. Of course
you could also use a v-parting tool for this task. I like the chip carving knife because it makes a cleaner cut. The gouge in the center of
the letter serves as a stop cut as you carve from the perimeter of the letter
to the center, using either a #2 or #3 gouge.
You will note in the photos that the board
is covered with RTape’s yellow ProGrade™ paint mask. The masking is great for
drawing your layout lines and copy. If you drew directly on a dark wood, such
as cedar, you could not see the lines clearly. When using paint mask, if you make a mistake in
your drawing, you can easily erase your error from the paint mask. Or you can
just rip off the masking and start all over again. I have also used application
paper to cover the sign. But paint mask works better because the gouges cleanly
and easily cut through it. Paper, on the other hand, tears.
In addition to
using chip carving knives in carving the incised letters, I also used them for
much of the detailed work for the scallops.
After
carving, the sign is painted with two coats of primer and three finish coats. Then
the incised letters and the scallops are coated with Le Franc 12-hour oil size
in preparation for gilding.
If you are
interested in learning how to carve incised letters, I recommend reading
Paul White’s book, Carving a Traditional
Cape Cod Sign. White is recognized as one of the most talented carvers in
the nation. His book provides step-by-step instructions with plenty of
pictures.
Carving a Traditional Cape Cod Sign by Paul White
● Step-by-step process explained thoroughly.
● Illustrated in full color.
● Gallery of signs showing a
range of design possibilities.
Mack Brush RP-4 Gilders Tip For Loose Gold Mack Sign Lettering
Barnabas Blattgold - Genuine Gold Leaf Sheets, Professional Quality , 23 karat, 25 Sheets, 3-3/8 inches Booklet
Hingst began his career 42 years ago in the graphic arts field creating and producing advertising and promotional materials for a large test equipment manufacturer. Working for offset printers, large format screen printers, vinyl film manufacturers, and application tape companies, his experience included estimating, production planning, purchasing and production art, as well as sales and marketing. In his capacity as a salesman, Hingst was recognized with numerous sales achievement awards.
Drawing on his experience in production and as graphics installation subcontractor, Hingst provided the industry with practical advice, publishing more than 150 articles for publications, such as Signs Canada, SignCraft, Signs of the Times, Screen Printing, Sign and Digital Graphics and Sign Builder Illustrated. He also posted more than 450 stories on his blog (hingstssignpost.blogspot.com). In 2007 Hingst’s book, Vinyl Sign Techniques, was published.
© 2015 Jim Hingst
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