This work is very interesting both technically and creatively. Of course, the pen must be used for its intended purpose. If you are decorating your kitchen or your room in a traditional Russian folk style, then door knob will fit organically into the interior. It is possible that you can stylize the door as antique. How? Think about it. In the meantime, let's take care of the handle (Fig. 134, a).
It consists of six parts that are connected by round pins. The drawing does not show two parts, so we will have to refer to the drawing, which will explain the weight.
The drawing (Fig. 184, b) shows the main, or, as they also say, overall, dimensions of the base of the handle, as well as details: 1 - base; 2 - intermediate blocks (2 pcs.); 3 - cubes (2 pcs.); 4 - block.
Of course, first you need to make all the parts (Fig. 185), fit them to each other, sand them, but not glue them. It is more convenient to work - mark and carve - on individual parts. Let's start from the foundation.
1. Base. To make it, you need to prepare a board measuring 360 x 90 x 20 mm (this can be seen in the drawing), and mark four semicircles and corners using a template.
After this, cut off the corners and cut out semicircles with a jigsaw. If you still don’t have a jigsaw, then you can do it as shown in Fig. 185, a, b. First make two cuts and then file with a semi-circular file.
2. Intermediate blocks. These two parts have a square cross-section of 20 x 20 mm and a length of 60 mm. A through hole with a diameter of 8 mm is drilled along the longitudinal axis (Fig. 186), where they will then be inserted wooden dowels, with which you connect individual parts the product includes a handle. (Making dowels is described in lesson 8.)
3. Cubes. There are two of them. Let me remind you that the cube has one size. Here it is 40 mm. This means that the length, width and thickness are 40 mm each (Fig. 187). To make cubes, you first need to cut a piece of wood on which two cubes will fit. When choosing a workpiece, keep in mind that deviations may occur during cutting. Therefore, the workpiece must be significantly larger than 80 mm. It is enough if the block is 100 mm long.
In this part you will also need to drill two holes 20 mm deep. They will be located along the vertical and horizontal axis. The diameter of the holes is 8 mm. You already guessed that they will include dowels.
4. Lever It is a block with a cross section of 30 x 30 mm square. Length 150 mm. Holes with a diameter of 8 mm, as in other parts, are drilled at both ends. Hole depth 20 mm.
Only when all the parts are made and assembled into the product, disassemble it and start carving.
Start with the main part - the base. The template shows a drawing with new elements - crosses located inside the leaf.
You know how to mark a leaf from Lesson 7. To mark a cross, first draw a square, as shown in Fig. 188, a, and then make small triangles on the square.
Start cutting with a tattoo (the points are shown in Fig. 188. b), after which cut out each half of the leaf in the same way as a “pyramid” is usually cut.
To make a cross, carefully pierce the tops of the triangles with the toe of a knife, just as when tattooing a “peg”. Then prune. Make crosses on the cubes in the same way. By the way, drawings are made on them on three sides.
There are slightly different crosses on the intermediate blocks (Fig. 189), and I think you can easily complete them without my explanation.
The handle is very interesting and original. Despite the fact that there is no intricate design on it, it fits organically into the overall composition.
The handle is carved on four sides. Its marking is shown on the template, but when making oblique lines, try not to violate the given angle, otherwise the lines passing from surface to surface may not coincide.
The middle line on the template is the cutting line, the depth of which should be 4-5 mm, and the side lines are the lines along which the trim will go. In principle, this is a “straw”.
When you have completed all the threads, you can assemble as shown in Fig. 190.
Do not forget that it is necessary to coat with glue not only the dowels, but also the surface of the holes where they will go. For gluing, use PVA glue. After finishing, screw the handle to the door of your room.
If you don’t want to stop there and are haunted by the thought: “What else could I do useful for my home?” - don’t waste time and proceed to the next lesson.
One of the best materials For decorative design The interior was and remains wood. Being completely natural, wood does not emit substances harmful to health either during processing or during use. Wood is practical, wood is beautiful. Taking advantage simple tool, you can create a unique carved decoration: a panel, a box, a figurine.
Wood carvings are the best decoration own home and a great gift. Carving is not difficult, anyone can become a woodworker, you just need a little talent, a lot of perseverance and, of course, good tools for wood carving.
What a beginner carver can't do without
Anyone who is lucky enough to be in the workshop of a real master of wood carving will be horrified - he uses so many different tools. My eyes just widen. The master will easily determine how to perform this or that stroke, what is best suited for this or that detail. Choice the right tool for carving largely determines the quality of the product.
A novice carver does not necessarily need to purchase a full set of tools to make products. entry level you can get by with a few more universal knives and chisels. This will give you the opportunity to gain work experience, develop your own style, and then acquire exactly the instrument that will really be in demand.
Blunt knives
The most common knives for wood carving are jamb knives. They are used by both seasoned professionals and beginning carvers. Knives of this type have a beveled blade, making them convenient for creating small recesses. Their use is justified both for flat-relief sampling and for creating volumetric compositions.
A separate type of joint is a flag knife. It looks like a triangle, one corner stuck into the handle. This knife is universal; all areas of the blade are used in work.
Jamb knives differ in angle cutting edge and blade width. Based on the type of sharpening, a distinction is made between single-bevel and double-bevel. A beginning carver's toolkit should have several of these knives: at least three of different widths.
Geometric thread cutters
When making relief panels, you cannot do without another common carver's knife - a cutter knife. Thanks to its longer blade, this knife is ideal for creating shaped ornaments. geometric shapes. They are convenient for processing curved shapes and roundings. So, triangles and other shapes are cut out with a hatchet knife.
Besides creating flat reliefs, cutters are widely used for volumetric products. IN in capable hands a small cutter can be compared to an artist's brush.
Bogorodsky knife, “Tatyanka”
The phrase “Bogorodskaya toy” is familiar to many. This is a wooden figurine self made. Almost the entire carving process, from preparing the workpiece to smoothing out small irregularities, is performed with a special knife, also called a Bogorodsk knife. Such a knife should definitely be in a carver's workshop.
A modification of this knife, popularly called “Tatyanka,” is widespread. When cutting soft wood, the full cycle of work can be completed with one tool. It is excellent for power carving; thanks to its comfortable handle, it ideally transfers force to the blade.
Chisels for wood carving
It is convenient to make samples of various configurations using chisels. Carvers use a variety of tools, but the most common are:
- straight chisels;
- semicircular or radius;
- cranberries, semicircular chisels with a bend at the cutting edge;
- stapled, having a U-shaped profile;
- corner
Unlike knives, the use of wood carving chisels allows you to make a groove of the required depth and profile in one pass. When working with soft wood, the chisel is pressed in by hand; carving on hard wood requires a striking technique. Here a wooden hammer or mallet will come to the aid of the master.
In addition to differences in profile, chisels also differ in size. There is a tool with a working edge from two millimeters to several centimeters.
In addition, there is another type of tools for engraving and wood carving - a graver. They can produce beautiful artistic works.
Other necessary tools
A carver cannot get by with knives and chisels alone. It is necessary to acquire another tool designed for processing wood. The list can be very extensive, it all depends on the qualifications of the master and the list of products that he plans to produce. In any case, you will need:
- hacksaw or electric saw for cutting the workpiece;
- hatchet for roughing;
- plane and rasp for preparing the surface of the board;
- a set of patterns for transferring an image onto a workpiece;
- drill, manual or electric;
- nichrome wire for burning thin elements;
- sanding paper of different grits for final finishing products.
It would also be a good idea to worry about safety when carving with a sharp tool. To fasten small products, a carpenter's vice or several clamps are needed. Helps protect your hands from injury protective glove made of steel wire, this is especially true for beginning carvers. If the job involves multiple movements sharp knife“for yourself”, it’s worth purchasing an apron made of thick leather.
Tool sharpening
For wood carving to be enjoyable and the created masterpieces to be pleasing to the eye, the tool must be sharp. If during work you feel an increase in the resistance of the material, you need to take a break and sharpen the tool. This will allow you to avoid using unnecessary effort when carving and guarantee the excellent quality of every stroke, every groove.
Sharpening should begin by leveling the working surface of the tool. To do this, use a coarse abrasive. It quickly and efficiently removes burrs and creates an ideal cutting edge.
Note! When working, it is important not to spoil the sharpening angle of the wood chisel and the geometry of the knife blade.
When working with emery, you need to be careful, you must not allow the metal to overheat; sudden temperature changes can “release” the cutting edge.
After large irregularities have been removed, they move on to fine-grained abrasives. During grinding, roughness that arose during rough sharpening of the carving tool is removed. The last ones to use are sanding mixtures applied to a felt base. They create a perfectly flat surface, reducing friction between the tool and the material to a minimum.
Selection and purchase
A novice carver naturally has a question: where to get a carving tool. Nowadays this is not a problem. The industry offers chisels and knives of all types and modifications. You can purchase several knives and one or two chisels, or you can buy a set of tools, guided by your own taste and financial capabilities.
Oddly enough, the wide range of carving tools makes the choice much more difficult. It's difficult to navigate and buy a really good thing. It is not difficult to become the owner of a “disposable” tool that will last for several hours of work.
Before purchasing a tool, you should definitely ask:
- grade of steel from which the tool is made;
- manufacturer;
- country of manufacture.
An instrument is an individual thing. When choosing a knife or chisel, the right thing to do is to hold it in your hands, check how convenient it is to use, and only then buy it. It would also be useful to communicate on thematic forums where experts share own experience, they will be happy to give practical advice.
DIY knife
Many professionals do not accept purchased tools and prefer to work with ones they made with their own hands. This makes sense, because every knife, every chisel is perfectly adjusted to the master’s hand. This tool is convenient to use, your hand does not get tired, and it is easy to control the pressure.
This is a reasonable approach. Having experience working with metal and good steel, you can start making a universal Bogorodsk knife for wood carving or a hatchet knife. To do this, you can use a broken blade from a mechanical hacksaw with a thickness of 2 mm. A powerful electric sharpener is sufficient for the tool.
The outline of the blade is transferred to the workpiece and carefully processed along the contour. During operation, the workpiece must be periodically cooled by dipping it in a container of water.
A person familiar with woodworking will not be able to make a handle. special labor. An ideal handle can be made from a cast made from plasticine held in your hand. Wood block the appropriate size is marked and clamped in a vice. Using a hacksaw (it is better to use a hacksaw for metal) remove excess. For final finishing, use a rasp and sandpaper.
Notch, notch, mesh, shirt, tartan, scales, shark skin - there are many names, but the meaning is the same: applying a geometric microrelief to strictly defined areas (usually the forearm and neck) of the surface of a gun stock. Appearing exclusively for a utilitarian purpose, namely the convenience of holding a gun, the notch gradually began to carry a decorative and aesthetic significance. Since the second half of the 19th century, most self-respecting craftsmen did not even think of making guns without a carefully executed notch. The angle of convergence of the threads, the angle of the pyramids themselves, the shape of the contour, and the configuration of the numbers framing the notch changed. The masters sought to give it characteristic, individual features only for one or another workshop. Therefore, it is not difficult to distinguish an original notch from one that has been updated or, even more so, cut anew. The rather labor-intensive manufacturing process began to be mechanized as much as possible. First, using three-, four-, and even six-line incisors. On the products of our factories you can see stamping with hot “files” - molds. Using “machines” - something like a drill with a flexible arm and a pair of gear cutters in the tip. Then copy-milling machines came to the rescue. Now you can no longer do without a laser. So to speak: with smoke in a minute and a half. But “high” guns should still have handmade checkering.
Closer to our realities: what to do if everything on the gun is preserved except this very “mesh”. Or the newly acquired stock doesn’t have it at all. Yes, you either have to pay the master, or just take it and cut it yourself. It is not the gods who burn the pots.
Of course, without special tool it will be extremely difficult. And here there are two options: order imported (photos 1 and 2), 
but not cheap or, correctly, take it and do it yourself. For a long time I have been making do with homemade “babass”, which I make as needed in one step or another. Ideal for making such a cutter, a Soviet needle file that has lost its former prowess square section. Or better yet, two at once. Just in case. So: I heat the files on gas to temper the metal (photo 3). 
I bend it in a vice around the mandrel with a radius that is obviously smaller than what will be needed later (photo 4). 
Using a file with a triangular cross-section, I cut the central groove and shape the profile of the comb. Then, using a good knife, on the same mandrel, I cut the teeth of the future bass with the required depth and pitch (photo 5). 
Of course, the burrs formed on the side edges of the teeth after such a procedure must be removed with a velvet file. Now all that remains is to bend the cutter to the required radius and harden it (photo 6). 
I attach the handle and that’s it. You can start working.
I great attention I pay attention to lighting the workplace during the production of the notch. It is more convenient for me to work when the lamp is at a height of 10-13 cm above the table level. In this case, the contrasting light coming from the right and front better highlights all the nuances and unevenness of the notch.
I make a transparent template for the shape of the future notch so that it is the same on both sides of the butt. I draw an outline on the tree and apply intersecting master lines (photo 7). 
The intersection angle is most often 50-55 degrees. For the convenience of further cutting, I try to orient the notch threads so that the main direction of the wood fibers is parallel to the bisector of the angle of their intersection.
Next, I make markings using a bass line (photo 8). 
To prevent the cutter or file from “flying” further than the contour marking in the future, it’s a good idea to cut through and deepen the ends of the threads (5-7mm) using a serger (photo 9). 
If the step is chosen to be large, you can speed up the cutting process (lifting the pyramids to the full profile) using a large triangular (60 deg) file (photo 10). 
If the wood is not very strong and there is a fear that the notch will not “hold”, you can finish it with a square file (90 degrees). Having thus obtained pyramids of a combined profile of 60+90 degrees.
You can cut through the full profile and with the help of the bass itself, it will come out a little slower. Leaving the notch in this form after impregnation, we will get a dark-looking mesh. Because the matte edges of the pyramids absorb more oil, and during operation, more dirt. To get a “transparent” notch, you need to go over the threads with a velvet file or a pencil, at the same time aligning the lines (photo 11). 
There doesn’t seem to be anything complicated and the notch is ready (photo 12). 
And a few words about the now fashionable “fish scales”. To make it you will need: a stock, patience, two cutters and Toothbrush. Cutters will have to be made, because I have never seen such ones on sale. If you make “scales” using a drill, as is customary abroad, you will get noise, dust, and an obtrusively large size. So, incisors (photo 13) 
I make it from semicircular chisels. The corners of the first cutter must be brought forward; its radius will determine the shape of the “scales” themselves, and the corners will cut the wood deeper along the edges. The second, undercut, is made in reverse with a central tooth protruding forward. Now all that remains is to draw one single initial straight master line and fill the entire contour with orderly rows of “scales” (photo 14). 
And after trimming the excess between the scales (photo 15), 
clean with a toothbrush. And if desired, deepen and level it. There are probably other ways to make “fish scales”, I settled on this one. This whole process takes two to three times less time than a good classic. (photo 16). 
In the next article we’ll talk about the rumors around the gun nut. And, perhaps, about materials that are not inferior to it, but are not deservedly relegated to the background.
Cold steel has always attracted the attention of men. Especially Damascus steel knives. Tula blacksmiths not only revived the ancient secret of making a Damascus blade, but also improved and diversified the design on the steel. The blade began to sparkle with unusual wavy lines of various bizarre shapes. A blacksmith, like a woodcarver, thinks out in advance what kind of design he wants to make, so that his product would be unique and bring beauty to connoisseurs of edged weapons.
I, a Tula woodcarver, was lucky not only to decorate the handle of a knife, but also to introduce you to my work. On the pages of this site I will show you a master class on finishing the handle hunting knife made of Damascus steel. The handle of the knife is made of Caucasian walnut wood, which is distinguished by its strength and specific texture, giving a beautiful color after processing. The size of the handle has a small tolerance to realize my idea. But more on that later. To begin with, I came up with a sketch, which I carefully drew on paper. I translated it to top part knife handles.
I want to immediately explain my idea. On the top there will be not only threads, there will be 3 directions connected here:
1) Thread
2) All silver
3) Inlay with voluminous boxwood inserts.
I put all this into one drawing, but in a different technical design. This is quite difficult to implement, and therefore I rarely use the invented bunch of new connections.
Well, let's start piercing the threads of the back of the handle. Using a semicircular chisel of small radius, we pierce the carved layout along the back stop. The layout has identical pattern elements along the entire diameter of the handle.
Since I made the markings in advance, the fragments of the pattern turned out to be the same, which made it easier to pierce the outline.
IN bottom part a fragment of a foliage ornament is drawn; it seems to embody the beginning, the base from which carvings and notches extend onto the upper part of the handle. In my case, the pattern is symmetrical, so I make two identical punctures, changing only the radii of the chisels.
First of all, everything. The groove is punctured with radius chisels to a depth of 1 mm. Since the pattern is symmetrical, the puncture of one part of the pattern repeats the radius of the other part.
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As the curl is twisted, the radius of the chisel decreases.
I won’t rush into the whole thing, but will move on to inlaying the boxwood elements. This will allow you to complement the drawing and visually place all the inserts in their places. I first cut out leaves from boxwood plates 3mm thick with a jigsaw. I chose this size so that in the flat-relief carving the inlaid boxwood leaves would later look three-dimensional with the carving.
I move on to inlaying boxwood elements.
The place for the leaf has been selected and I carefully try on the element in place. If the inlaid part does not go in right away, then I trim the edge that is in the way. I make no effort so as not to break the insert, but gradually adjust it in place. Using a cranberries made from a thin file, I clean the bottom of the landing cavity so that the part sinks as deeply as possible into the handle mass and is flush with the surface.
We return again to silver alloys. But as I said earlier, the surface of the notch will be uneven and limited by space. This creates certain difficulties. The difficulty also lies in the small size of the surface itself. The constant mobility of the product during operation forces us to focus on safety. As the Russian proverb says: “The eyes fear, but the hands do.” That's why you need to take care of your hands! After all, with these hands, holding a flat chisel, I smoothly lower the surface of the notch. And in some places together with boxwood inserts, because... inlaid leaves are an integral part of the notch and one connecting element.
IncreaseThe pattern of the silver thread, which has a thickness of 0.2 mm, is already clearly visible. and width 0.76 mm. Now my plan is becoming more and more clear to you; where the lines of the notch smoothly connect, we correct the groove with a straight chisel. I flatten the tip of the silver ribbon and insert it into the groove close to the silver thread.
IncreaseI press the thread into the groove, smoothly twisting it into a spiral of curl. Having twisted the spiral, I cut off the silver at the end of the curl.
IncreaseTo give the curl a finished look, you need to put a dot. Silver point. To do this, I make a small puncture at the end of the curl with an awl.
IncreaseWe hammer in the protruding piece of wire, but not completely. I do this so that when stripping the silver point has smooth edges and is not deformed by the wire cutters.
IncreaseBy choosing the background, I expose the outline of the notch and carving.
IncreaseOnly the outline of the notch and thread has been drawn.
The surface must be perfectly flat, without mechanical traces of processing. You have to try hard to do it neatly in a limited space. Having cleaned the surface of the handle (except for thread fragments) with a file and emery, I moisten it with water.
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When water dries, it raises the pile. This is clearly visible on the surface. After drying, I protect the surface with sandpaper. I wet it again and clean it, but with fine sandpaper. I do this so that in the future, when impregnated with drying oil, the pile will no longer rise, and the final polishing will take less time. After the third impregnation I do not use sandpaper. The entire surface becomes smooth and matte.
I sample from the middle to the edges. This is so as not to crush the edges of the recess boundary with a chisel. Having adjusted the insert, I place it on the glue, but so that it rises above the surface. Visually comparing the second insert on the other side and making sure of their symmetry, I trace the outline. I also inlay the second insert.
I give the elements the shape of the surface of the handle. Both elements rise above the surface by approximately 2mm. I left this height for the next cutting so that they would be voluminous. In this part of the master class you can see how the handle is transformed. They float on her from above and below floral ornaments, intertwined with silver inlays and inlaid with voluminous boxwood inserts. The back of the handle is surrounded by a layout of identical plant elements. All that remains is to give shape to all this splendor. This is what I will do in the third part of my master class.
Part 3
This preparation is necessary. It is a definite and important link for the next stage of cutting the plant element. Continuing further, I use a chisel whose radius corresponds to small sizes different elements layouts.
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I cut through each leaf of the layout with a chisel. Starting from the tips of the sheet and smoothly moving to the central part. The beginning of the leaf is cut with the entire radius of the chisel. Moving to the middle of the sheet, I smoothly turn the chisel. With this movement I adjust the width of the cut and use the tip of a radius chisel to cut through narrow spaces. Prepared technology is present for each element, no matter where it is located. At the bottom of the handle, having lowered the element, I also cut through the central part of the sheet with a corner.
Many people think: “Why such preparation? It takes time. I immediately passed the radius, and that’s it!” But no, when the fragment is not prepared, the radius of the chisel cuts off the excess along a flat surface, sometimes chipping the fragment without having time to give it a shape. Along the prepared fragment, the chisel moves along the geometry of the sheet and cuts off only what is necessary. At this moment I control the cut itself.
And on the other hand. So the thread elements will be the same in cutting and shape. Inlaid boxwood leaves are prepared and cut in the same way as carvings, although they are inlaid carving parts. They have the same volume as the thread.
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Having finished with the flat-relief thread, I begin to chamfer the notch, which in the process of interweaving with the thread has fuzzy edges.
I immerse the product in drying oil for a day, if the volume allows, or lubricate it generously. After the drying oil is absorbed and dries a little, I protect the surface with fine sandpaper to remove the film.
I repeat this process until the drying oil stops being absorbed. During the last cleaning, already worked with fine sandpaper, the surface is polished and acquires a smooth surface, pleasant to the touch. Well, that's it, my “work report” has come to an end. In it, I told in detail and showed all my secrets, many people asked me about this. Maybe other masters do it differently, and that’s their right. Everyone has their own approach, their own technology. I tried both for you and for those people who will hold this edged weapon in their hands, let them feel the tenderness and warmth of not only the wood from which this handle is made, but also a piece of the master’s soul.
Sincerely!
Valery Prostyankin.