Prove the quality of workers. In woodcarving creation, tools are complete and can be grinded, which can not only improve work efficiency, but also give full play to one's own skills in modeling, making the knife method free and easy, clear and smooth, and increasing the artistic expression of the works.
There are many kinds of carving knives, which are basically divided into two categories. One is the "Weng Guan" blank cutter, commonly known as "wild cutting" and "blank cutter", and the other is the "drill bar" smoothing cutter, which is mainly used for digging thin blanks and smoothing. The widest chisel is 4-6 cm, and the narrowest chisel is only a little bit like the tip of a needle. When choosing knives, novices should first understand their respective uses, and then go to the place of origin, manufacturer or blacksmith shop to customize and buy them. Blank knives are produced in Dongyang, Zhejiang, Yueqing, Wenzhou, and Guangfu, Suzhou, and suitable wood carving tools can also be bought in art material shops in some places. If it is inconvenient or can't be bought, you can learn to do it yourself. The advantage of doing it yourself is that no matter the type, size and shape of the knife, you can choose and decide by yourself, and you can add handy tools at any time according to different uses and needs. The self-made tools are limited to "drill bars" for polishing. Some people have tried to turn steel files into empty knives. For example, the rough knives and smooth knives used in Fujian are made directly of iron bars or steel bars. Because the upper part of the iron handle is square, it is easy to be blank without the wooden handle. The following will introduce the types, uses and manufacturing methods of wood carving knives one by one.
Round knife: the cutting edge is arc-shaped, which is mostly used for round and round dents. It is also useful in carving traditional flowers. For example, the circular surfaces of leaves, petals and branches of flowers need to be shaped with circular knives. Horizontal transportation of round knives is labor-saving and can adapt to ups and downs and small changes. Moreover, the line of the round knife is uncertain, so it is flexible to use and easy to grope. According to different uses, the models of circular knives should be different, and the size range is basically between 5 cm and 0.5 cm. The two corners of the circular carving character's knife edge should be ground off and made into an arc, otherwise, when carving clothes lines or other dents, it will not only be pushed, but also damage both sides of the dented road. If you want to make relief, you should keep the two corners of the knife edge and use the function of its corner tip to carve the corner, so you should equip two kinds. Round knives also have positive and negative points. Straight-edged circular knives with inclined plane in the groove and straight back are most suitable for circular carving, especially in the stage of discharging and digging. The inclined plane is on the back of the knife, and the straight groove is an anti-circular knife. You can eat wood deeply, gently move the knife or scrape the ground, and the relief is used more. The shape of the round knife can also be made into bent iron according to needs, so as to reach deeper parts to dig holes.
Flat knife: the cutting edge is straight, which is mainly used to split and smooth the concave and convex surface of wood to make it smooth and seamless. Large models can also be used to chisel large scales, with a sense of blockiness and proper application, such as the brushwork effect of painting, vigorous and powerful, vivid and natural. The acute angle of a flat knife can carve lines, and when two knives intersect, the toe of the knife can be removed or the pattern printed. Woodcarving figures in Sweden and the Soviet Union mostly use flat knives, which have a strong flavor of wooden knives.
Oblique knife: The blade is inclined about 45 degrees, which is mainly used to chamfer and polish the seam corners and hollowed-out gaps of works. If you carve the corner of a character's eye, an oblique knife is better. Knives are divided into forehand oblique cutting and backhand oblique cutting to adapt to all directions. In boxwood carving in Shanghai, hair strands are generally carved with oblique knives, which are carried by choking, so the effect of hair carving is more vivid and natural than that of triangular knives.
Jade Wandao: commonly known as "monk's head" and "butterfly chisel", with an arc-shaped cutting edge, it is a polishing knife between a round knife and a flat knife, which can be divided into two types: arc and oblique arc. When flat knives and round knives can't be used, they can be used instead. It is characterized by gentleness, neither as straight as a flat knife nor as deep as a round knife, and is suitable for concave ups and downs.
Medium steel knife: the cutting edge is straight and the two sides are inclined. Also known as "printing knife". According to traditional carving, the steel blade is in the middle, which can keep the front straight and prevent the surrounding parts from shaking. Medium steel knives are also used to print patterns on clothes and props.
Triangular knife: The blade is triangular, because its front is on the left and right sides, and the sharp point is on the middle corner. To make a triangular knife, you should choose the appropriate tool steel (usually 4-6 mm round steel), mill out a triangular groove of 55 -60 degrees, smooth the waist and grind the mouth end into a cutting edge. When the angle is large, the score line is thick, and vice versa. Triangular knives are mainly used for carving hair and decorative lines, and are also commonly used tools for printmaking and watermark wood carving. During the operation, the triangular tip pushes on the board, and the sawdust spits out from the triangular groove, and lines are carved in the parts pushed by the triangular tip.
When choosing to use the above tools, we should pay attention to the difference in the thickness of the cutter head. The so-called cutter head is the actual cutting surface. The thinner the drill bit, the sharper it is, but the worse the fastness. According to this situation, the cutter head of the blank can be appropriately thicker to withstand the impact and hard digging of the hammer; The knife used for polishing is thinner. The so-called thin knife is dense, so that the wood can be carved smoothly. In short, the selection and configuration of tools must be strictly in accordance with the nature of the process, and can not be replaced at will, and quality and quantity should be guaranteed. In traditional craft carving, there are often more than 100 pieces of wood carving tools, and generally at least 30 pieces should be used. Of course, only a small part is often used, and some are only used occasionally.
Auxiliary tools for wood carving: mainly refers to hammers, wood files, axes and saws. The purpose of an axe is to cut a lot of wood with blanks. Be careful not to cut too hard or cut straight up and down. The axe blade should keep about 45 degrees with the vertical grain, otherwise the wood will crack. The use of wooden file is mainly in the fine blank stage of round carving, which can replace flat knife to smooth the knife marks for polishing; It can also be hollowed out instead of a round knife or an inclined knife. The function of the wooden file is to quickly adjust the modeling structure in a large area, and use it with the carving knife to make the tossing and turning lines of the characters vivid and smooth, and the sense of reality is good. The shape of the woodcarving hammer should be flat, flat, wide and square. The dimension of the hammer surface can be controlled at about 7×5.5×2.5 cm. Too narrow or too thick will affect the accuracy of the hitting point and the uniformity of the force. There are two kinds of hammers: wooden hammers and hammers. Generally, wooden hammers are made of hardwood, such as mahogany, boxwood, sandalwood, beech and fruit trees. Specifications can be controlled at 27 cm long, 55 cm wide and 45 cm thick. The holding part is round and slightly flat, and the size is suitable for holding in the hand.
Auxiliary tools for wood carving also include small electric woodworking polishers and electric pistol drills. The purpose of the polishing machine is only to treat the surface of the finished workpiece, which can replace manual polishing in a large area, saving time and effort, but it is only used for large and medium-sized workpieces with relatively flat volume. The pistol drill is mainly used to dig holes by hand, and can be used to cut contours when making large sculptures.
Operating equipment for wood carving: it mainly refers to a particularly stable workbench and a cross-braced wooden pliers table, on which vises and G-pliers can be placed. The vice is used to chisel round carving, and the jaws must be equipped with cork plugs to prevent the carved wood and tools from being caught. G-clip is used to carve rough relief blanks. Beginners can set up some economical and simple workstations according to their own conditions, such as blank stools. Large-scale works can be flexibly operated on the ground or standing or squatting.
First, how to make a woodcarving knife?
As mentioned above, the types of wood carving knives can be roughly divided into rough cutting, fine cutting and polishing. Because the rough chisel needs to be struck with a hammer, it needs a tubular cutter. Generally speaking, it can't be made by itself, so it can only be customized in the place of origin, manufacturers, shops or blacksmiths. The manufacturing method of the knife introduced here is generally only suitable for digging thin blanks and polishing knives, and some knives with special shapes can be added as needed. Knife-making materials mainly use straightened spring steel bars or high carbon steel bars, with a thickness of about 0.3 cm to 1 cm and a length of 6 cm to 7 cm. Auxiliary tools include: electric grinding wheel, hammer pier, small hammer or heavy head, iron tongs, domestic coal stove or pipeline gas. The manufacturing method is as follows:
Step 1: Put the steel bar cut to a certain length on the fire and heat it to the red level. This is called annealing. The purpose of annealing is to soften the steel bar so as to change its shape at will. After burning red, put it on the iron pier with iron tongs, and hammer one end into the blank shape of the knife with a hammer. The width and thickness of the cutter blank should be determined according to the thickness of the steel bar itself and the type of cutter made, and should not be too thin.
Step 2: punch the blank, naturally cool it and then polish it with a grinding wheel. When grinding, pay attention to the uniform thickness of the knife surface and cutting edge, and at the same time, be sure to smooth the traces of hammering. To make a small round knife, you can file the groove with a circular file (assorted file) and file its cambered surface with a steel plate. To make the knife comfortable in your hand, you need to make a waist shape from the head to the waist with a grinding wheel or a steel file, but it should not be too thin to avoid breaking when using it. The root of the tool should be ground into an awl shape to insert the wooden handle. (Left: homemade small round knife)
Step 3: quenching the blank after forming. Prepare a glass of water or engine oil beside it first. Insert the head of the formed cutter blank into the fire, heat it to the red level, then clamp it out with iron tongs, and insert it into the water for about 2 cm at the fastest speed, so that the cutter head suddenly cools. After a few seconds, pick it up, watch a blue fire line retreat, and then insert it into water or oil at a distance of 5 to 6 mm from the blade. This is called the continuous fire of steel. Take it out after a few seconds, cool it a little, throw it in water or oil for half an hour, and then take it out. Take it out and bake it on the fire for a certain distance until it is light yellow. So the blade won't be too brittle. Quenching is a complex technology. Different cooling rates can extinguish steel fires with different hardness. The faster the cooling rate, the harder the steel fire. After quenching, the tool will appear gray, gray beige, gray yellow orange, blue and other metal program colors, so pay attention to observation and master it in time. If it is only grayish white, it means that the steel fire is excellent; If it is only blue, it means that the steel fire is too soft, and both of them do not meet the requirements and must be quenched again. Beige quenching is the most suitable, commonly known as "yellow quenching". Because it is hard and tough, it is not explosive and sharp when used, and it can adapt to carving all kinds of wood. In addition, the quenching method is different with different carbon content of steel. Quenching with water is hard but fragile; The edge of oil quenching is slightly soft, but its toughness is good. This is all based on experience. Note: Oil must be used for oil quenching, and no other oil can be used to avoid fire.
Step 4: Install the knife handle. The handle should be comfortable and dexterous in your hand. The handle should be made of hardwood with fine texture and good toughness, such as rosewood, boxwood and mahogany. You can make it yourself, or you can buy it in a lathe or a revolving shop. The length and thickness of the handle should match the cutter, and it is not easy to be too long or too short. The handle has a waist and is comfortable to hold in your hand. The mounting handle needs to be drilled by hand drill, and its size should be determined according to the thickness of the handle. Finally, insert the root of the knife into the handle about 1.5 cm, and then shape it firmly, and make a self-made knife.
Second, how to polish and maintain tools
People who engage in wood carving must learn to sharpen their own knives, and sharpen them often and well. Only by carving can we be incisive and successful. The so-called "if a worker wants to do a good job, he must sharpen his tools first", which means that people should fully test and prepare their own tools before doing things. Often some students don't realize this, so they pick up the meat cleaver and grind it for three times. One is meaningless, the other is unwilling to work hard. In this way, wood carving is like eating wood. Although the work was barely completed, it consumed a lot of energy and strength. Some tools are often damaged by the hard chisel of the raw hammer because they are not sharp enough. As the saying goes, "sharpening a knife does not mistake a woodcutter." If you spend more time sharpening your knife in advance, you will be handy when carving, and your work will naturally be carved quickly and well.
In order to make tools durable, we should also cherish and maintain them. A qualified carving knife can be used for 10-20 years under normal circumstances, for example, the master in the factory uses it every day. The key to avoid tool damage is not only to master the essentials of sharpening, but also to pay attention not to cut the tool bit too deep and not to draw the knife as shown in the figure, otherwise it will inevitably lead to cracking or peeling of the front edge. The correct way is to use another knife to gently cut off the wood around the knife until it is shaken open. Secondly, after a job is finished, you should put away your tools before you rest. If you want to use it again after a while, you should trim the tools, or oil them (moisture-proof and rust-proof) and put them in a toolbox or tool bag for next use. These are all guarantees to prolong the service life of tools and good working habits.
Regarding grindstones, there are coarse and soft ones, and pure sand is better. Coarse stones, including oilstones, are mainly used for new tools. Coarse stones are mostly natural coarse sand and gravel, and grinding wheels on grinding machines can also be used. There are various types and sizes of oilstones, which are ground with engine oil and sold in ceramic tile and hardware tool shops. There are two kinds of fine stones, one is blue floor masonry poured with mud and sand, and it is best to buy it at the grocery store without pores or with fewer pores. Before use, the brick is ground with water on the concrete floor and then soaked in water. The other is natural fine bluestone and "sheep liver stone", which are named after the purple color like sheep liver, and are mostly used to grind razors in the south. Fine stone is hard, delicate and smooth, and is mainly used to grind off the blade. Folk jargon says: Hard stones should be used for sharpening knives, and hard stones should not be caught in grinding marks, resulting in loss of edges and corners.
Because the types and sizes of knives are different, the grindstone should adapt to round knives, flat knives, triangular knives and their sizes and models, that is, the shape should match, especially when grinding triangular knives, the angle of the grindstone should be kissed with them, otherwise the cutting edge will be difficult to sharpen. In short, the types and specifications of grindstones should be as sufficient and appropriate as possible. It should also be placed safely.
It can be fixed on a wooden board or a corner of the workbench with wooden strips to prevent the grindstone from sliding when sharpening. The posture of sharpening the knife is also very important. No matter standing, sitting or squatting, we should pay attention to the correct posture and concentrate our thoughts. Hold the knife firmly with both hands, push it back and forth evenly, and keep the horizontal movement, so that the hands are steady, the force is even and the road is straight.
There are many ways to sharpen the knife, which varies from person to person, but no matter which one, the bevel of the knife is sharpened until the cutting edge is rolled up, and then the back is ground in turn. If so, repeat several times until the blade is sharp and tidy, and the surface of the blade is as bright as a mirror.
The key to sharp blade: the hand must move horizontally, the force must be uniform, the back of the blade must be straight or round, and there must be no hunchback near the blade.
Difference of blade thickness in use: the thinner the blade, the sharper it is, but the worse the fastness. According to this situation, the cutting edge of the tool should be thicker to bear greater impact force. The cutting edge of the tool used to dig thin blanks can be appropriately thick and can withstand digging and scraping. The cutting edge of polishing tools can be thinner, and all kinds of threads can be carved smoothly. Finally, the ground tools should be wiped and stored with waterproof cloth or dry cloth. If the south is wet and sweaty, you can put some varnish on the tools to avoid rust. Never knock or wear the meat cleaver on hard objects such as cement, masonry and metal. For the sake of safety, pay attention to the position of the cutter to prevent the cutter head from exceeding the edge of the table and scratching yourself or others. When operating woodcarving, put a cloth where the cutter is placed to prevent the vibration from accidentally rolling down.
Sharpening: first grind the bevel, hold the knife in your right hand, gently press the back of the knife with your left hand, and obliquely stick it on the flat original stone at a proper angle, and push it back and forth until the knife edge opens, then grind the back in turn, then curl it, and replace it with fine stone for a little polishing.
Grinding round knives: Beginners can grind the big ones first, and then grind the small ones, because round knives are difficult to grind, and the small ones are more difficult to grind. The method is: use the "yin-yang groove mold" prepared in advance. The inner opening of the circular sharpening tool should match the width of the convex groove and keep a certain angle; The outer edge of the knife should match the width of the groove, and the blade should be smoothed. Hold the knife in your right hand and gently press the back of the knife with your left hand. When moving on the grindstone, pay attention to the uniform stress on the whole cambered surface. Round knives are most afraid that the center of the blade will sag and the corners on both sides of the circle will be worn off. Skilled sculptors don't need grooves to grind the outer mouth of a round knife, but hold the handle horizontally with the thumb, forefinger and middle finger of the right hand and gently hold the blade with the left hand. In the process of moving back and forth, the hand rotates the blade accordingly, so that the blade touches the stone surface in turn. This method is called "rolling grinding" and "pendulum grinding". When grinding the inner mouth of the circular knife, you choose oilstone strips with different thicknesses, tiles with different sizes or tiles ground into circular arcs. Hold the knife in your right hand and the stone in your left hand, and polish it repeatedly until it is sharp and tidy.
Grinding medium steel knife: the shape of medium steel knife is isosceles triangle when viewed from the side, so there are two inclined planes to be ground, and attention should be paid to keeping their angles. The two sides intersect at the knife edge, and the grinding method is the same as that of a flat knife.
Oblique sharpening: The method is the same as flat sharpening, but always pay attention to the direction of the tip of the knife when moving on the grindstone. Generally, the sharp corner part is put on it to grind the inclined plane, and the plane is also ground in this way.
Moon-grinding machete: The blade of Moon-grinding machete is curved. When grinding the inclined plane, put the blade into the conformal groove for grinding, and the grinding plane is the same as that of the flat knife.
Grinding triangular knife: it is difficult to grind triangular knife, mainly because the angle is not easy to master, and it will be worn off if you are not careful. So use good stones. First of all, put the right and left front faces on a flat grindstone and polish them carefully in turn. Pay attention to the fact that the knife surface must be straight, and the two sides intersect at the middle corner, and then check it in the grinding groove on the triangular grinding stone with the kiss angle. In order to make the lines carved by the triangular knife deep and smooth, we must always "keep the angle of the knife brick mold and the triangular knife consistent, and sharpen the blade."