Post #505159 by TikiMango on Mon, Jan 18, 2010 3:31 AM

I tend to hold my chisels loosely in my hand when I am removing large chunks of material. It's sort of like making an "OK" symbol with my fingers to guide the handle. I have beat-up chisels (old and worked) for this. When I get down to "holding the line" and finer detail I find that I hold the handles tighter (other three fingers come into play), but still with a fairly loose grip. I use an 18oz urethane mallet for the most part, but sometimes I tap it with the palm of my hand, or just push it when I need to. That's when it helps to really have a sharp edge.

I redress my edge after about 10-15mins of carving, starting with 220 silicon carbide sandpaper, then I move to 400 and 800. I few passes on each grit and I'm ready for more carving. All this talk, I need to get back to using my chisels, I've been addicted to the bone for too long.