new to carving

[driftit]

hi everyone, im pretty new to carving since they didnt teach us anything about it at high school and im hoping to do a short course in dwellingup soon if they can get numbers. Ive done some simple things like basic flowers and leaves and also patterns involving dreishnitt and sechsschnitt triangles. I was just wondering how often chisels, gouges, knives etc should be sharpened on average, i know that it vary's with different timbers but a rough estimate??? and also what are the best timbers to practice carving on? i have a huge pile of jarrah floor boards i can use and a fair bit of sheoak, marri and pine but dont mind buying certain timbers if they are better to learn with.
cheers for any help.
Toby...

[hi ho sliver]

hi everyone, im pretty new to carving since they didnt teach us anything about it at high school and im hoping to do a short course in dwellingup soon if they can get numbers. Ive done some simple things like basic flowers and leaves and also patterns involving dreishnitt and sechsschnitt triangles. I was just wondering how often chisels, gouges, knives etc should be sharpened on average, i know that it vary's with different timbers but a rough estimate??? and also what are the best timbers to practice carving on? i have a huge pile of jarrah floor boards i can use and a fair bit of sheoak, marri and pine but dont mind buying certain timbers if they are better to learn with.
cheers for any help.
Toby...

Actually, tools don't need sharpening at all unless you ding them (thats assuming they are sharp to start with ) But you do have to "strop" them every so often, you learn pretty quick that you can feel the difference in the cut, when the cut isn't quite as smooth as it should be , a couple strokes on the strope and you are back in business.....I think I average hitting the strope about every 10 minutes or so, maybe a bit less.

[underfoot]

Actually, tools don't need sharpening at all unless you ding them .

or are carving "a huge pile of jarrah floorboards",

driftit, the person running the course should be able to set you right on locally available carving timbers, (or a west oz forumite)
If I remember correctly jarrah has a high silica content and can be pretty hard on your chisels, likewise for sheoak i think,

[Claw Hama]

Hi guys I did a carved family tree photo holder thingy just recently and used She oak, it was quite soft and just needed to strop every 20min or so. Jarrah floor boards I think would be like trying to carve steel plate.

[Claw Hama]

Sorry I take that back, still wakig up, it was Siky Oak I used and yes She Oak will have some silica.