i'm randy maxey with infinity cuttingtools and today i want to talk to you a little bit about the narex carvingtools that we offer here at infinity. you know, at an early age i remember mydad sitting in the living room with not much more than a pocketknife carving ona block of wood and ending up with little whimsical creations like thisboot, for example. so that got me
beginner wood carving tools set, interested in carving and learning aboutall of the different types of carving tools so today i want to give you an overviewof the different types and different styles and how you might select them foryour carving.
when i first got serious about learningmore about carving the first thing i did was sign up for a carving class. andthat's where i learned about all of the different styles of tools. and one of thefirst things you need to know is the type of tool you select kind of dependson the types of carving you like to do. whether it's whittling, like this boot, ormore refined carving, like some of these little figurines, or relief carving likei'm starting on this flower here, those choices kind of dictate whatdirection you need to go with your choice of tools. the first set of tools that i recommendevery carver has — and even every
woodworker — is a good set of carvingknives. we offer a set of three that comes witha straight blade, a skewed blade, and then one with a curved blade. these come in handy for carving styleslike whittling, to relief carving, and even general woodworking tasks where youneed to clean up little details in your work. the next set of tools i highlyrecommend that you consider are a set of palm chisels. we offer this eight-piece set that comesin a variety of blade styles and shapes and i use them a lot for detail worklike the fur on this mouse and the
general shaping of this character. you'll notice that palm chisels have alarge, fat top to the handle but they're short so they're designed to fit in thepalm of your hand comfortably. these chisels are not really designed to beused with a mallet but they offer great control for detailwork. the next set of tools you may want to consider are the full-size tools andthese may be more familiar to you. the handles are longer because they give you more control.you can use them with two hands, but another advantage is that you canuse them with a mallet to get in there
tight and pull away chips nice and easy. these chisels are great for full-sizework and larger carvings and sculptures, relief carvings, like thisflower, but they also, because of their long handles, give you more control fordetail work. so don't discount them as detailed tools for your general carvingand woodworking purposes. we offer the beginner set from narex. it includesfive tools that includes three gouges a v tool and a skewed knife and i tell you,if you're looking for the biggest bang for the buck, this is the set to have. every woodworkershould have one.
and it's also great for general carvingpurposes. you'll notice that the handles are just a little bit shorter than thefull-size tools. they're kind of a compromise between the palm-sized tools and thefull-size tools. you can use them with one hand or two hands, but you can also, if you need to, you cantap them with a mallet. now when you're shopping for chiselsyou'll notice that the cutting edge comes in a variety of shapes but theyfall into two general categories. one is a gouge, which has a curved shape, and theother is a v-gouge, or a v-tool (sometimes called a veining tool).
i've written a blog post that goes intoa lot of detail about the different cutting shapes. but, in general, whenyou're shopping for gouges, the larger the number of the "sweep," theycall it, the tighter the curve. so we go from smaller sweep through a mediumsweep into a larger sweep. so those are some things you want tokeep in mind as you're shopping for your tools and what kind of cut you want tomake. now when you're choosing gouges don't get too caught up in the curvatureof the blade. you can use one tool for multiple shapesand if you find you need a specific shape then you can obviously goout and purchase that tool. you'll also
notice here that we have a differentstyle of blades on these tools. these are called spoon gouges and if you look atthem from the side, they kind of look like a spoon. those are meant for scooping cuts for creating textures ore gettinginto tight areas and shaping convex shapes. so whether you're just thinking aboutgetting into carving, or just a general woodworker, or if you have been carvingfor a number of years, i tell you, you can't go wrong with the narex carvingtools. they're known for their quality.
they're known for their great steelthat's sharp right out of the box (with just a little honing) and with the setsthat we offer, you're not going to find a better valuefor your money here at infinity cutting tools. we also offer a variety of bookson the subject of carving. so whether you're a beginning carver, ageneral woodworker looking to learn some new techniques, or you have a particularstyle of carving you're interested in, we're sure to have a book that suitsyour needs. be sure to subscribe to our youtubechannel and go check out our blog where we talk more about the tools andtechniques we use here at infinity tools.
and finally be sure to check out ourfacebook page, and "like" our page, so that you can stay up to date on the latestgoing on here at infinity cutting tools. yeah
