Tongue-in-cheek take on common carving tools and materials. #1 CA glue: To glue your thumb to the piece of wood you are trying to replace back to the carving. Also serves to glue cut skin back together and glue your thumb to the cut. #2 Bandaids: To cover the CA…

No matter how you strop, whether by hand or with power, the surface you are working is always face down and out of sight. This makes it difficult to see if you are holding the tool at the correct angle. I use a Sharpie® marker to draw a broad mark…

A handy reference guide and inside tips from 30 years of buying carving wood Buying wood—be it pine, basswood, or something exotic like rosewood—can leave you scratching your head wondering about the mathematics and vocabulary. When I first started purchasing wood, I fell in love with a piece of mahogany,…

From Joe Savarese (Brooklyn, NY) Whenever you are working with sharp tools, it is important to be organized. I start by color coding my tool handles. For example, I paint a purple stripe on all of my #5 gouges. Then I woodburn my initials or a symbol (I use a…