…but not in the way you might think. Sure the edges are B-E-A-utifully sharp, but I’m talking about the sides of the blade that are ground down to a very fine edge. This is great for dovetail work as you can get into those tight spots. This is one of my more artsy photos but you can see what I’m talking about with very fine sides.
Fine Edges make for nice dovetailin' but painful carving
The problem with those beveled edges is if you ever choke up on the blade you can slice up your fingers pretty easily. I am working on ball & claw feet for my Dunlap Chest of Drawers and I am rounding over the ball using a 1/2″ bench chisel. The straight chisel is really efficient for quickly shaping the ball and needs very little touch up afterward.
I am a white knuckle carver for sure and I grip my chisels tightly and choke up really high on the blade for the best control. I know I could stand to relax, but that will have to come with time and practice. I still have to remind myself to breathe every now and then too.
Well several hours into my carving session I realized that my fingers were starting to hurt and then I noticed a drop of blood on the front claw of the foot I was working on. A quick look at my hand and I had about 12 of what looked just like paper cuts on the inside of my first two fingers. It was then that I realized maybe I was gripping a bit too much.
This is several days later after the cuts had time to heal a bit
If you look at my carving gouges they have nice rounded edges for comfort as I assume most woodworkers choke up for control while carving too. Needless to say I will not be grinding down the edge of my Lie Nielsens because they excel at what they do with joinery. I might just need to re-purpose one of my flat sided firmer chisels or go get a #1 sweep carving chisel.
Now I’m going to go gross out my wife with my lacerated fingers…
6 responses so far ↓
1 marc // Aug 31, 2010 at 7:26 pm
Oh man been there done that. Those little baby cuts can sure add up! I’ve gotten into the habit of putting a piece of blue tape over my finger to help prevent this. But many times its something I forget about until after some damage is done. But for a ball and claw foot, the pain has to be worth it, right?
2 Cory // Aug 31, 2010 at 8:24 pm
Mine left me bleeding. I did 2-3 swipes on 600 grit paper on those edges, leaving the last 1/4″ alone. I figure by the time I sharpen that 1/4″ off, I’ll reflatten the back and get those sharp corners back.
3 Woodcanuck // Aug 31, 2010 at 9:21 pm
When I took up chip carving (which I suck at incidentally…but I’ll probably try it again someday) I got some of this green tape from Lee Valley….it works surprisingly well at preventing these types of cuts.
http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=31213&cat=1,130,43332
Or maybe a chain-mail butcher’s glove…nah, that would dull the chisel.
4 swirt // Aug 31, 2010 at 9:45 pm
Ouch. Why not just back up from the blade an inch or two and take a bit of 800 grit paper to the edges to ease them just a wee bit? That should keep them from cutting your fingers and in no way prevent the chisel from doing its job on the dovetails.
5 Dan // Sep 1, 2010 at 1:00 am
Ouch, the dreaded death by a thousand paper cuts.
The thing I find odd, is no matter how many times it happens, your skin never seems to get any tougher. You would think after a few dozen times, it would be harder to do, but in my experience, it’s just as easy as it was the first time.
6 Anonymous Comment Leaving Person // Sep 3, 2010 at 7:14 pm
You may want to try a backbent gouge or patternmaker’s gouge (upside down), or barring that, a #2 skew chisel. They’re really good for finely controlled, convex surfaces like that.