Apple carving - February 2022

I signed up for a one-day course in wood carving. The event was in a cold barn in February, in the middle of nowhere, but it was most enjoyable and I learned a lot, especially about how to sharpen tools. I also learned that there is a difference between a chisel and a gouge.

The first exercise was to cut the flower shown top left in the photo. After lunch, we were free to create our own design - some opted to do birds or animals. I found a photo of a relief carving of an apple, and created my own copy of it.

The other thing I learned on this course was another way of sharpening tools. The tutor uses a regular bench grinder, but "turned around" so the wheel rotates upwards instead of downwards. One side has a diamond encrusted wheel (for shaping) and the other side has a 6" calico mop wheel, which is used instead of a strop for the final hone. Much quicker than doing the sharpening by hand.