Hand carving advice for a beginner

flogen

Hey folks,

I recently got a notion of making a bread lame (a knife for scoring dough) for my sister who bakes a lot and I'm wondering if it's a realistic one to pursue.

I've no real experience with hand carving and no specific tools... bar the stuff you'd expect to find in a normal tool box!

This is essentially the kind of thing I'd be looking to make - or a variant on this design. It's all about a handle that you can somehow secure a razor blade to (in a way that's relatively easy to swap when it starts to dull)

Would it be difficult for a beginner to achieve? And, if so, what kind of tools would I need to pick up to make it happen - and how much would I need to invest in the process?

Thanks in advance for any pointers.

The Continental Op

I wouldn't carve that at all. Mark up shape. cut out on a bandsaw or jigsaw then sand with a course sanding pad in and angle grinder then finish with a power belt file with a finer grade grit.

The Continental Op

The Continental Op wrote: »

I wouldn't carve that at all. Mark up shape. cut out on a bandsaw or jigsaw then sand with a course sanding pad in and angle grinder then finish with a power belt file with a finer grade grit.

:rolleyes:

Good grief. The OP wants to hand carve a simple wooden handle and doesn't have any specific tools, but now we're talking about a bandsaw (!) or jigsaw, an angle grinder and a power belt file (a type of sander, OP)... Talk about overkill!

Flogen, that's a fine project to start with and you don't need much at all.

Leave the chosen piece of wood longer than you need to make it easier and safer to handle while carving with the knife, then cut it to length and round over the handle end when you're ready. Cut the slot first, as if it's not right, it's better to figure that out right at the start, so you can cut the end off and try again.

You'll find it easy enough to shape a handle using a simple coping or fretsaw, or even just a short fixed blade knife, with some care for your hands! A short piece of dowel of broom handle with some sandpaper wrapped around it will be perfect for shaping the grip. Look up spoon carving techniques on YouTube, as it's the same principle. If you'll likely try carving again, pick up a traditional Mora knife. They're pretty much made for this kind of thing.

The slot for the scoring blade can be cut with a fine toothed saw blade. If you don't have something with a thin blade, a junior hacksaw would be an affordable way to do it and will be useful for other things down the line. There are other means too, but that one's pretty simple and doesn't require much of an investment in tools.

You may find a G or F clamp to be useful to hold the workpiece to a table or countertop while you do some of the shaping and cut the slot. When using the knife, cut only away from yourself and keep the blade under control using careful paring movements, not using a free-hand pushing or pulling movement.

You'll find beech or birch will both carve quite nicely and they'll take a food-safe oil finish too. Enjoy the experience!

The Continental Op

Just really trying to point out its not what I'd call a carving project at all. In the sense that you wouldn't got out and buy a set of carving chisels and carve that shape. Its just a case of cut to shape and sand. I certainly would bother getting a knife out to carve it. Maybe just maybe I'd get out a spoke shave but any form of power sanding is going to be massively quicker. People are more likely to have power cheap power tools from the middle isles of Lidl or Aldi than they are to have any other type of tool.

I was going to add a hand coping saw or fretsaw for the cutting out but omitted them as they are so rarely used these days.

The original looks very much to me like its made from a piece of driftwood or at least a least a piece of timber thats been recycled. I live by the sea and pickup drift wood bits like that all the time - well depending on the weather conditions.

btw a quick look on ebay for Hand made lame gives some good ideas for other possible shapes. I don't think I could resist making a cover for the blade or at least embedding it in a piece of cork when not in use.

flogen

The Continental Op wrote: »

I wouldn't carve that at all. Mark up shape. cut out on a bandsaw or jigsaw then sand with a course sanding pad in and angle grinder then finish with a power belt file with a finer grade grit.

Thanks, but as JayZeus suggests, I don’t have those tools at the moment so would be a bit of an investment to get them for it (I’m sure I will eventually get some or all of them but just haven’t had enough need yet)

JayZeus wrote: »

:rolleyes:

Good grief. The OP wants to hand carve a simple wooden handle and doesn't have any specific tools, but now we're talking about a bandsaw (!) or jigsaw, an angle grinder and a power belt file (a type of sander, OP)... Talk about overkill!

Flogen, that's a fine project to start with and you don't need much at all.

Leave the chosen piece of wood longer than you need to make it easier and safer to handle while carving with the knife, then cut it to length and round over the handle end when you're ready. Cut the slot first, as if it's not right, it's better to figure that out right at the start, so you can cut the end off and try again.

You'll find it easy enough to shape a handle using a simple coping or fretsaw, or even just a short fixed blade knife, with some care for your hands! A short piece of dowel of broom handle with some sandpaper wrapped around it will be perfect for shaping the grip. Look up spoon carving techniques on YouTube, as it's the same principle. If you'll likely try carving again, pick up a traditional Mora knife. They're pretty much made for this kind of thing.

The slot for the scoring blade can be cut with a fine toothed saw blade. If you don't have something with a thin blade, a junior hacksaw would be an affordable way to do it and will be useful for other things down the line. There are other means too, but that one's pretty simple and doesn't require much of an investment in tools.

You may find a G or F clamp to be useful to hold the workpiece to a table or countertop while you do some of the shaping and cut the slot. When using the knife, cut only away from yourself and keep the blade under control using careful paring movements, not using a free-hand pushing or pulling movement.

You'll find beech or birch will both carve quite nicely and they'll take a food-safe oil finish too. Enjoy the experience!

Brilliant, thanks for all of that!

The Continental Op wrote: »

btw a quick look on ebay for Hand made lame gives some good ideas for other possible shapes. I don't think I could resist making a cover for the blade or at least embedding it in a piece of cork when not in use.

Thanks - yes I’ve seen a few variants that I reckon I could have a decent go of. Definitely plan to come up with some kind of cover for the blade too - a bit of cork is a good idea.

recipio

That looks like an accident waiting to happen. Is there no way of covering the razor blade ?