Fishtail chisels and fishtail gouges feature a straight narrow shank or shaft that flares out into the fan shape of a fish’s tail. The advantage of the fishtail profile is that its flared outer edges allow the carver to negotiate the gouge blade into tight spaces. By comparison, the shape and bulk of a straight gouge may not allow the carver to get into these spaces. The sharp point on the corner of the fan shape makes a fishtail gouge very useful in cutting away excess wood inside corners and when undercutting.
Both straight gouges and fishtail gouges are useful wood carving tools. Neither type of gouge is a substitute for the other. A straight gouge possesses the heft necessary to withstand a beating when roughing out a design. After the project is roughed out, a fishtail gouge is often desired for detail work.
In
sign carving, fishtail gouges with a flatter sweep are often preferred for
carving incised letters. The downside, if there is any, of a fishtail gouge is that over many years, as the blade is sharpened, its width gradually decreases. The fact is that a fishtail chisel or gouge generally loses very little from periodic sharpening and should outlast the life of the carver, if that is a concern.
A blade
profile which is similar to the fishtail is the allongee design. What’s
different with the allongee profile is that the blade begins to flare out from
the handle to its ultimate width. (In the above photo note how the blade of the gouge on the right flares out from the handle.) Both fishtail gouges and allongee chisels are
excellent additions to your collection of woodcarving tools.
A respectable first purchase of fishtail chisels and gouges for letter caving and relief carving would include:
The Pfeil chisels and Pfeil gouges are very popular among woodcarvers. Other popular professional wood carving tools include Dastra, Auriou, Hirsch and Stubai.
RELATED WOODCARVING ARTICLES
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Woodcarving Tool Care
Thinning Paste Wax for Easier Application
Applying a Wiping Varnish to Your Carving
Using Epoxy Clay to Correct Woodcarving Mistakes
Safety Rules for Angle Grinders
Lowering the Cutting Angle of Woodcarving Gouges
Undercutting to Create Drama in Relief Carving
Woodcarving Tool Care
Thinning Paste Wax for Easier Application
Applying a Wiping Varnish to Your Carving
Using Epoxy Clay to Correct Woodcarving Mistakes
Safety Rules for Angle Grinders
Lowering the Cutting Angle of Woodcarving Gouges
Undercutting to Create Drama in Relief Carving
About Jim Hingst: Sign business authority on vehicle wraps, vinyl graphics, screen printing, marketing, sales, gold leaf, woodcarving and painting.
After fourteen years as Business Development Manager at RTape, Jim Hingst retired. He was involved in many facets of the company’s business, including marketing, sales, product development and technical service.
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 500 stories on his blog (hingstssignpost.blogspot.com). In 2007 Hingst’s book, Vinyl Sign Techniques, was published. Vinyl Sign Techniques is available at sign supply distributors and at Amazon.
© Jim Hingst 2018
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