Getting to know… Alder and a new Chisel

After getting back from the Coyote wood shop with the new planks, and letting them acclimate for a while I thought I’d get acquainted… Well, I also thought I’d get my wisdom teeth removed, and then recover in time for a major crap storm at work, and then I thought I’d get some carving done.

Anyway, I also had a new V chisel to try out that I picked up at the Lie Nielson event.  They are selling the new Auriou carving chisels designed in partnership with Chris Pye.  I didn’t intend to buy one, but after picking it up and feeling how good it felt… well I just had to.

After rough planing, and ripping a small chunk of Alder to two 1/2″ planks I decided I would revisit a carving pattern I had used before.  It is mostly V-tool work, so it was a good introduction to the tool.

The chisel feels good in the hand, but the heel is a lot lower angled so I have to get used to a new grip and posture with the tool.  It went in deep at the angle I was used to with my Pfiel “Swiss Made” chisel.  It also needed a quick sharpening on the Translucent Arkansas and strop.  The top panel is the chisel right out of the box, the lower panel is after a quick pass on the stone and strop.

Alder carving tests with new chisel.

The alder is a bit light, and I want to try a different section of the board before I decide how much I like this wood.  So far the jury is still out.

The chisel is a fine tool, and once I got used to it it was pretty nice to use.

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