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Message 1
From: Annie Bissett
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 08:46:05 -0500
Subject: [Baren 32693] Re: Hangi-to is the go
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I also use the hangi-to for almost all of my cutting. Not just
linework (I actually don't use much linework) but everything. Even
lettering. Using just the tip of the knife, one can cut a beautiful
little round center out of the letter "o." I do agree, however, that
it doesn't have to be a Japanese tool. The same work could probably
be done with a nice sharp xacto blade. "Whatever works" is a good
motto, and a knife works best for me.

Annie

http://www.anniebissett.com

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Message 2
From: Tiberiu Chelcea
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 08:14:35 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [Baren 32694] Re: Carving tools advice
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Hi,

Thanks again for the advice, and thanks to Tom for the pointers to the carving techniques. My problems that prompted the initial email were related to carving a lot of letters into the wood, both positive and negative. In some cases, it is relatively easy to do what's been suggested (cut twice at a slanted angle), but areas with letters don't always have parallel lines. Another technique I found useful for carving things like the mentioned center circle in the letter "O" is to score it with the knife (Hangi-to) and then just insert the tip of the knife in the wood to act like a lever, and, in one swoop, pull the wood out. If the area has been scored properly, the wood would get out (up to 1 mm deep) cleanly. Unfortunately, it works only for very small, enclosed areas (up to 2-3 mm in any direction), and only along the grain (i.e. the direction of the knife tip) -- not to mention the risk of splintering the wood. Most likely, a wood burner tool would get a finer detail, and
for any other types of small details, very fine tools are a must. Oh, and I should mention that have been using birch plywood for this -- don't know how applicable it is to cherry.

Thank you,
Tibi

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Message 3
From: "Dick and Marilynn Smith"
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 09:43:53 -0800
Subject: [Baren 32695] Re: Baren Digest (old) V38 #3778
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HI,

For carving detail learn to use your Hanga toh. You would be amazed at the
fine lines that can be achieved. I do use some of the micro carving tools
as well. But that knife is a dream for details, you just need a llittle
patience, a steady hand and a bit of experience. The hanga toh is the
slanted knife that comes with all Japanese carving sets. If you use the
blade side to make a cut and than turn the board and use it again you can
get very fine detailed lines. It is not a hard skill to master. It can give
you a clean fine line better than any u guage or v guage. But you have to
use the blade against the wood and slant it and go slow and turn your board
often to achieve this. Give it a try before you buy a lot of knives and
also be sure that knife is sharp. A u guage and an v guage are faster, I
find the detail and the lines sharper and better to print when I use the
hanga knife. It is like having a good watercolor brush with a good point, I
never need to pick up any other brush when I am painting, I can get
everything I want form just one tool. Wish I had the block I carved for the
puzzle print here, I would photo it and send it. It has fine details and
everything was carved with the hanga toh knife. I left it in Vegas, so i
did not have to travel with it back and forth. Bad weather kept Maria and I
from a visit, so it is at my kids place til spring. Good luck and happy
carving.

Marilynn

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Message 4
From: Bobbi Chukran
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 10:54:03 -0600
Subject: [Baren 32696] Re: Carving tools advice
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>A lot of wood carvers use wood burning equipment for small detail.
>Some time back I saw a web site (can't recall the URL now) of
>someone who was doing great wood block prints using only wood
>burning equipment. I cannot recall whether he was doing Australian
>aborigine designs or US southwest native designs ... but I thought
>they were very neat indeed. Perhaps someone else will recall the
>site.
>

Hi Charles!

Thanks for the info. My hands are getting so numb these days that I
can't handle my regular tools very well. But I don't want to give up
making prints, either. I'll definitely look into the woodburning
equipment for that.

And I'd love to see the link to those designs....I did a few
searches, but didn't turn up anything yet.

bobbi c.

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Message 5
From: "Dick and Marilynn Smith"
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 10:15:52 -0800
Subject: [Baren 32697] Re: Baren Digest (old) V38 #3779
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Hi,

I am not a highly experienced wood carver, I do not have years of carving
behind me, just a few years, not a lot. I definitely agree that what you
want is a good outcome and that you should use what works for you. However,
the hanga toh does more than fine lines, I cut a lot of curving lines with
it. Also that tiny tip will fit just about anywhere, a u guage and a v
guage are actually wider! Why spend a pile of money on tools when a simple
knife will do the job??? Unless you have hands like mine, getting crippled
with arthritis. I love my power carver for large clearing for that reason,
but for detail I stand by that Hanga knife, it really works, learn to use
it!!!!! For clearing, well often the lines just pop out when you use the
hanga knife correctly (not just straight lines, but curved lines as well). I
am a person who was tool handicapped, it took me years just to learn to
sharpen them, but it has been worth the effort. It does not, I promise,
take a lot of time to learn to use that knife well. It will not take you
years, just patience and a steady hand and maybe a magnifying glass to show
you the cutting lines.

When I was in Kansas City Mike Lyon looked at my board and all but
shuddered. That was not many years ago. My lines were not sharp and clear,
my tools were dull and I had a to learn a lot. I have learned how to use
that knife and keep it good and sharp, best tool around!!! I cut flower
designs, lots of curves, with that knife, I clear out small areas with the
flat tiny chisel and also with the knife blade, it parts them out. The board
Maria sent me was say about 3x4 inches, not large and I put on a design with
a lot of small areas with curved lines and they came out just fine using
that hanga knife and a tiny flat chisel for clearing. Listen to David Bull,
he is a master carver and will not send you in the wrong direction. Go to
the Baren list and look at David's demo, it will not seer you wrong. I
thinnk it is better to learn this skill than to spend tiime and money on
other tools, eriod!
Marilynn

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Message 6
From: Bobbi Chukran
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 11:23:17 -0600
Subject: [Baren 32698] Re: Carving tools advice
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>A lot of wood carvers use wood burning equipment for small detail.
>Some time back I saw a web site (can't recall the URL now) of
>someone who was doing great wood block prints using only wood
>burning equipment. I cannot recall whether he was doing Australian
>aborigine designs or US southwest native designs ... but I thought
>they were very neat indeed. Perhaps someone else will recall the
>site.
>
>

Charles,

Was the artist "Tony McGregor"?

Funny thing, I just ran across a message in the Baren archives *I*
posted about him way back in 2002. Seems he is, or was, an Austin
artist, very near to me here.

The link I posted back then doesn't work anymore, though. I'm trying
to find more of his work online.

bobbi c.

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Message 7
From: "Mike Lyon"
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 12:14:07 -0600
Subject: [Baren 32699] Re: Carving tools advice
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For what it's worth, Tibi - I offer a caution and then a technique.



First the caution -- NEVER use your hangi-toh to 'pry'!! If you've done a
good job sharpening, the tip comes to a very precise (theoretically one
molecule wide, but actually I'm not able to sharpen that precisely) point -
Japanese tools have a thicker, soft and pliable steel laminated onto a
thinner and very hard and brittle steel. The very tip of the 'point' of the
hangi-toh is ALL of that very brittle and very hard steel -- if you pry,
it'll snap right off! Then the hangi-toh no longer comes to a precise
point, so becomes useless for those tiny interior cuts.



Now another technique -- I routinely use one of several 1mm U-gouges for
just the kind of 'circular' clearing you describe (I use the same technique
with larger gouges, too) - to clear a circlular area, I make two opposing
cuts, with the tool cutting parallel to grain direction, and with depth and
cutting angle controlling the shape of the cut - I try to make the first cut
so that the bottom of the gouge reaches the center of the area to be
cleared, then the opposing cut the same way - the little 'dimple' is
completely freed from the block with no prying and I can accomplish MANY
such tiny dots VERY quickly and accurately. This DOES leave several very
tiny slices at the sides of the clearing, but these don't appreciably affect
printing. For what it's worth, I ALWAYS clear interior areas first, then
the outsides when I'm making very fine lines - this helps keep the pressure
from the tool width from breaking off thin lines.

For the kind of typographical work you describe (easy to understand why
movable and reusable type was such a great invention), you might want to
first clear out close to the outside of the text in order to provide a place
for the wood to move during clearing of the outside of each character - then
clear the interior areas of each letter, and finally clear the outside of
each area - that final thin slivers you remove from the outside of each
little character can then expand easily into that initial clearing without
breaking the delicate lines of the character, if you see what I mean.

-- Mike

Mike Lyon
Kansas City, MO
http://mlyon.com


_____

From: Tiberiu Chelcea

...but areas with letters don't always have parallel lines. Another technique
I found useful for carving things like the mentioned center circle in the
letter "O" is to score it with the knife (Hangi-to) and then just insert the
tip of the knife in the wood to act like a lever, and, in one swoop, pull
the wood out.

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Message 8
From: "Terry Peart"
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 10:23:52 -0800
Subject: [Baren 32700] Re: Carving tools advice
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.Thank you Mike! That makes sense to me, I wasn't doing it like that, but I can see how that would work better.
Terry
Renton, Washington
----- ), you might want to first clear out close to the outside of the text in order to provide a place for the wood to move during clearing of the outside of each character - then clear the interior areas of each letter, and finally clear the outside of each area - that final thin slivers you remove from the outside of each little character can then expand easily into that initial clearing without breaking the delicate lines of the character, if you see what I mean.


-- Mike

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Message 9
From: "hanna_platt # excite.com"
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 13:59:28 -0500 (EST)
Subject: [Baren 32701] wood burning tool
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Hi Everyone,

I like using the wood burning tool. I'm all for the easiest way to do things Someday when I get some extra money I want to buy the professional one. Here are two examples of prints I've done using a cheap wood burning tool.

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1165/3219/1600/ponderrosapine2.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1165/3219/1600/anyexcuse.jpg

I'm off to the studio
Viza

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Message 10
From: Charles Morgan
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 11:10:46 -0800
Subject: [Baren 32702] Re: Carving tools advice
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It is possible, but he is currently billed as a "gourd artist". The
work I recall was quite unique, as the block was carved with wood
burning tools and then inked and printed. But I have not been able to
track it down in the brief time I spent looking for it.

Anyway, for what it is worth, here is a site that advocates using
wood burning equipment to produce blocks for printing:


http://www.boisestate.edu/art/programs/print/relief%20illustration/Relief.html


Cheers .... Charles

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Message 11
From: Charles Morgan
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 11:25:03 -0800
Subject: [Baren 32703] Re: wood burning tool
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Hello Visa,

Thanks for showing us these prints. I really liked both of them. I
found the pine tree to be particularly effective. Is there any chance
you could post photos of the blocks???

Cheers ...... Charles

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Message 12
From: Wanda Robertson
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 11:58:18 -0800
Subject: [Baren 32704] Re: Carving tools advice
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Hi Tibi,

Welcome to Baren forum!

As to tools, even if you are only going to add one new tool to your
tool box - I don't think you can go wrong with a hangi to. I have one
that I bought when I first started carving woodblocks, and it is still
my most used tool. A medium size is best. For teeny tiny spaces
between lines & irregular lines where the u-gouges & v tools won't get
in there and remove material - the tip of the to (pronounced toh, I'm
told) with many small cuts of the wood, will remove it. Just don't get
in a big hurry. Granted, the tools are not holy, but there must be
*some* reason that so many of us use & cherish them!

Many many of us started with Niji sets! After all, how did we know
this would become an obsession!

Wanda

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