Kevlar Glove for carving

[Bluemerle]

Good technique is always important. But if you are carving figures or very detailed carvings, you will use far more different techniques than what are in Sundquist's book, and many different tools. If you go to the Woodcarving Illustrated forum, you will rub shoulders with some of the finest caricature carvers in the world. I would say most of them recommend and use gloves. Some of these folks have been carving for over 60 years and their pieces sell for hundreds or thousands of dollars. There is not one technique for carving wood, there are many. When you do very fine carving on very thin pieces, a small unseen blemish in the wood can lead to a serious cut. Cut a tendon and the damage can be permanent. It only takes one serious mistake.

I thought i had made my decision!!!! I think i need to sleep on this one for a while.

 

[Indoorsout]

a small unseen blemish in the wood can lead to a serious cut

Only a month or so back I was working on a woodspirit. The wood was a bit knotty and the knife tip hung up a second when I didn't expect it and then slipped, gave me an inch-long L-shaped cut. Where were my gloves? In the bag! I might still've been injured with them but I can bet it would've been to a lesser degree. Fortunately it was not near any tendons, but that part was just luck.

 

[Hoodoo]

Only a month or so back I was working on a woodspirit. The wood was a bit knotty and the knife tip hung up a second when I didn't expect it and then slipped, gave me an inch-long L-shaped cut. Where were my gloves? In the bag! I might still've been injured with them but I can bet it would've been to a lesser degree. Fortunately it was not near any tendons, but that part was just luck.

There are many threads such as this one at WCI. I have never seen anyone there recommend NOT wearing a glove. Every carver there that I know who doesn't wear one likes to show you their scars.

 

[robin wood]

There are many threads such as this one at WCI. I have never seen anyone there recommend NOT wearing a glove. Every carver there that I know who doesn't wear one likes to show you their scars.

I don't know the forum, though much of it seems to be figurative carving flat plane carving, carving with chisels etc. if I was doing small flat plane carving I might consider a glove but this is a bushcraft forum so I am making some assumptions about the type of carving the OP is thinking of doing ie primarily Scandianvian inspired spoons, kuksa, pot hooks etc, the sort of stuff Ray Mears, Wille Sundqvist or Mors Kochanski carve. None of them wear gloves, for this style of carving, technique alone keeps you safe though I acknowledge that it may be different in other carving styles. I have no problem with anyone deciding they would rather wear a glove until they have sorted their technique either, it is personal choice.

 

[Hoodoo]

I don't know the forum, though much of it seems to be figurative carving flat plane carving, carving with chisels etc. if I was doing small flat plane carving I might consider a glove but this is a bushcraft forum so I am making some assumptions about the type of carving the OP is thinking of doing ie primarily Scandianvian inspired spoons, kuksa, pot hooks etc, the sort of stuff Ray Mears, Wille Sundqvist or Mors Kochanski carve. None of them wear gloves, for this style of carving, technique alone keeps you safe though I acknowledge that it may be different in other carving styles. I have no problem with anyone deciding they would rather wear a glove until they have sorted their technique either, it is personal choice.

I tend to agree with you on carving those items. But there has been an interest here in carving small things like woodspirits on hiking sticks so I tend to err on the side of safety when the question comes up. But I have carved many spoons and utensils without gloves. Nowadays, though, I am so used to wearing a glove for carving, I tend to wear it at all times for carving handheld items.

 

[tommy the cat]

PM me your address and Ill send you one for xmas! If you dont use it for carving wrap your crook knife or store it with your sharpening kit and no loss.
Dave

 

[Sawyer]

crap, just sliced a good chunk of skin off. Now motivated to learn proper technique and to have th glove as a backup!