Care of Your Tools and Supplies

While the tools and supplies you use for soft-block carving are not costly, there is no need to throw your money out the window by neglecting your tools. A little preventive maintenance will save you a lot of money and aggravation!

• Store your carving media away from heat and sunlight, and make sure you keep it away from any corrosive materials.

• Store your lino and X-Acto blades in a small watertight container with lightweight oil. This will prevent rust.

• Maintain the sharpness of your blades. (See instructions below.)

• Make sure your brayers are dry before storing them, and if they stop rolling smoothly, oil the side holes very lightly. Replace rollers if they become damaged, pitted, or gouged.

• Close all all inks and ink pads tightly and store away from heat and direct sunlight.

• If you are concerned about cuts, replace your glass plate with a custom-cut piece of tempered glass, requesting that the edges be ground for safety. Otherwise, use masking tape to tape the edges of the glass.

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Sharpening Your Blades

Even brand-new, store-bought blades should be sharpened before use. There is nothing more frustrating than working on a nice carving and having your blade suddenly skip across the surface of the material, ruining it. Following is how you sharpen your lino blades, both inside and out.

Supplies

• Small whetstone (fine grain)

• Honing oil (any lightweight oil will do, or even water in a pinch -- the purpose of the oil is to carry fine shavings away from the blade as you sharpen)

• 400- or 600-grit wet/dry sandpaper

The Process

1. Apply a drop of oil to the whetstone.

2. Place the blade to be sharpened into the handle.

3. Lay the bevel of the blade onto the oiled area of the stone at about a 25-degree angle (see below). Check the existing bevel of the blade and use that as a guide.

4. Using a circular motion, rub the blade on the stone to the count of 10. For blades 1 and 2 ("V" blades) turn the blade over and repeat. For blades 3 and 5 (rounded "U" blades), rotate the blade around, maintaining the angle, until the entire "U" is sharpened. For blade 4 (squared "U"), sharpen all three sides. For blade 6 and X-Acto blades, sharpen each side.

5. To sharpen the inside of the blades, apply a small amount of oil to the inside curve. Fold a small piece of sandpaper and shape it to the inside curve. Pull the folded paper through the inside of the blade several times, always in the same direction.

6. Use a soft cloth to remove excess oil and shavings from the blade.

7. Test the sharpness periodically on a piece of scrap carving block.

Note: You should use freshly sharpened blades every time you carve.