Now we're getting down to the nitty-gritty part of this carving. DETAILS! We're going to finish the head by carving the eyes, the mustache, the hair and a couple of other nicks here and there that make the carving snap. The most important thing you need for these steps will be a very sharp knife. As you go through the photos you'll come across one that shows me stropping Old Reliable. While you might not prefer this tool take a moment every once in a while to do the same with whatever you use. If you use a utility knife that blade needs to be stroped to really get the full benefit of the factory edge. I first run a new blade over the polishing wheel, in my case a hard cloth wheel with osme ZAM compound applied. Then the leather strop. It will stay sharp a long time until I bang it into something then I reverse it and if that's already been done I toss it and chuck in a new one. The cuts we will make here are, if at all possible, made with one pass so a sharp edge is essential.
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There are loads of photos in the Gallery, showing just about every cut I made to detail the face and other areas so I didn't bother adding any text to the photos. I think the pictures show clearly just what I'm doing and the result of it. If you need the captions just let me know and I'll go back and add some.
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I received several comments about photo size and how larger photos would be better. I agree, but this Gallery software is limited in size and if I used fullsized pictures it's storage would quickly be used up. I've cropped this bunch down and think it will work okay.
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So, sharpen your knife, take your time and have some fun making Pancho come to life.
Lynn,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the cropping of photos it now makes it much easier to see the details, especially when enlarged. So, how ofter do you change out those utility blades? (-: Never thought about you're stropping them.
Ron
Ron. Thanks for your comment. I've edited the post to explain how I fine tune the Utility blade. I never try and sharpen them as the factory only tempers the edge and I imagine the steel used is not the highest Chinese quality.
ReplyDeleteLynn,
ReplyDeleteYou said that "you first run a new blade over the polishing wheel", please explain what you are using. I only hone/strop my new blades with compound.
Great pic's.
Thanks-Deb
Deb....I edited the post to reflect what I do to polish the blade.
ReplyDeleteGreetings fellow carvers -
ReplyDeleteIs anyone else besides myself working through this wonderful tutorial? Just curious.
Ron
Oh yes Ron, you are not alone. I to am working on Pancho and on Lynn's hand carving tutorial and anything else that he may share with us. Such a wealth of knowledge and artistry Lynn shares in his Blog that I check it dayly to see if he has added anything new.
ReplyDeleteDeb
LYNN,I'm starting my Poncho today.One question I never saw your answer on how much of the 2" block you sliced off to narrow his head,or does this need to be done?Arnie
ReplyDeleteLynn
ReplyDeleteI wonder about the counters on your blog, I went into Pancho, and it said it was veiwed 33 times, I went through the detail Pics then on to another section, went back to the details, now it still says 33 ??
See Ya along the road somewhere
RonB
RobB. Thanks for your note. The Blog and the Gallery are totally seperate from each other so the numbers given can vary considerably. I have no real idea how the Gallery counts work. Sorry I can't add more.
ReplyDeleteArnie. Sorry about the late response. I didn't give any thickness as it all depends on how much you want the ears to stick out. I just narrow it down till it looks the way I want it.
ReplyDelete