[Woodcarver] How to avoid antler ends chipping off.

[Ivan Whillock]

There are several ways to prevent chipping delicate ends on cross grain cuts.
1.  Make sure your tools are very sharp.  A dull tool compresses the fibers instead of cutting through them, causing undue stress on the delicate portion of wood you're trying to keep.
2.  Remember that a carving tool is a wedge.  The deeper you cut, the greater the wedge effect.  Therefore, do not force the tool.  Cut deep areas in several passes, taking a shallow layer with each pass.
3.  In making the stop cuts, slant the tool away from the edge you wish to keep.  That keeps the inertia of the cut going away from, rather than into,  the delicate edge you want to preserve. Then make a very small slice cut into the stop cut, take a small wedge out and enlarging it gradually as you work your way back into the waste wood.
4.  In each cut, leave more wood than you cut away.  That way the less resistance to the tool will be the wood you are removing.  If you remove larger chunks than the wood you want to keep, the lesser resistance to the tool will be the portion you're trying to save, which spells disaster.
5.  If you undercut, do that only as the last step because undercutting removes the support wood under the form you are trying to keep.
6. Use skewed (side-to-side) cuts instead of straight plunge cuts, sideways action cuts the fibers more efficiently than straight ahead action.  Your carving  tool is a saw with microscopic teeth, thus skewed cuts take better advantage of the saw action.
7. Practice these techniques on scrap wood to get the hang of them before you work on the piece you want to keep.

In practicing these techniques, it is possible to carve very delicate shapes, antlers, eyelids, spikes of flowers--even cross grain on  fibrous wood.  Learn to enjoy the process of getting your tools sharp, practicing clean carving techniques, and doing the "impossible" which isn't so impossible after all.  
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