[Woodcarver] Gentle Dripplers:-)

[Wynne Simmons]

Jan,   (more dripple)

Cheap tools are NOT a guarantee of failing to remain a carver!  I am
living proof.  You just have to be very young, stubborn and not have
enough sense to give up (okay, foolish).

For our first anniversary, my husband gave me a set of X-acto knives
with a wood carving pamphlet included.  He did so with extreme
trepidation, thinking I wouldn't like the gift.  What he didn't know was
that I'd always wanted to carve, but had no idea how to get started.

This was in the days before the internet and the only carving books I
could find were Tangerman's and a Sunset book on carving.  What I'd have
given for the resources available now!

Anyway, I ordered a box of exotic wood pieces and carved away.  I did
everything wrong!  But amazingly, recognizable shapes appeared.  First,
I dulled my blades on a bear I carved from a piece of 2x4 that I cut and
glued together.  

Then I used the hardest woods that were in the box because they were the
prettiest.  The blades were disposable, so sharpening never occurred to
me.  Unfortunately, we were on such a strict budget, I couldn't afford
to splurge on new blades, so I used a blade until I could gnaw the wood
with my teeth easier than cut it with the knife.  I found it very
rewarding.  (Yes, I'm easily amused.)  

Then I discovered sharp tools.  What a difference!  

Wyndy
Ashford, Alabama
wyndysim at graceba.net
http://www.wiregrassalpacas.com
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=6&uid=138062&

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But VERY cheap trools are a guaranty of failing to stay a carver

I remember a lady asking about MARPLES tools and one answer was "great
can 
openers "
so she GIVE them to her grandson
than the response was " You don't like your grandson?"
Bad tools (cheap) are the most discouraging thing to have for a carver
that's my three cents wort
                                   Woodbutcher Jan


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