Fan carving!

[Sean Hellman]

I would go for the single bevel flexicut, it was designed for fan carving and after using one I prefer it to anything else.
I have also made my own from 1inch wide bandsaw blades, grind the teeth off and grind in a single bevel and hone sharp. Put a couple of handles on the end and away you go.
From my experience not only are you riving the wood but you are also cutting it. I know that a double bevel tool does not work well on some woods, but if you are using a good straight grain slow gown pine a double bevel will work. The ultimate is to get the wings or fans a thin as possible 0.70mm is about my average.

 

[Leon]

Thanks for the great advice. I have a good few opinels and standard Moras about so will add the Flexcut to my collection as my first single bevel knife.
I made my first bird during lunch yesterday with a Mora Clipper....feathers were way too thick (ash was a bit too dry) but manged to form a fan with a bit of soaking. Great fun!
Nice thread Tjurved!

 

[wattsy]

i'm having a bit of trouble with these so if anyone can help i'll be dead grateful. when i try and split the wood for the wings it doesn't split nice and even like its supposed to it always ends up ripping the wood. i'm using fresh pine and i've no idea why its not working

 

[Stanleythecat]

i'm having a bit of trouble with these so if anyone can help i'll be dead grateful. when i try and split the wood for the wings it doesn't split nice and even like its supposed to it always ends up ripping the wood. i'm using fresh pine and i've no idea why its not working

Just wondering how quickly grown your pine is? Some trees have a natural twist as they grow, this can be accentuated by slow growth or conversely reduced in faster grown trees. Also are there any occluded branched or abnormalities?

I haven't tried fan carving but do a fair bit of cleaving so hopefully a real expert will come along and put us right soon!

Leo

 

[wattsy]

i've got no idea how quickly it was grown the grain is ighter on one side of the trunk than the other but thats normal and i've tried to split pieces out where the grain is roughly parallel