Here is a photo of my tools dedicated specifically to sculpture. From flat gouges to edge gouges, straight clasps or nerons with single or double bevel, chisels with more or less open angles, macaroni, fluted chisels, flower irons, straight, curved, elbows, against elbows…… .
Crooked knives and others, swallow tails, sanders, mallets, rifflers etc …… There are as many tools as there are scenarios….
Maintaining the edge / sharpening represents a considerable and inevitable work! Hard woods, and even more those rich in silica; deteriorate the sharpening more quickly than soft woods.
Hardwood work, in addition to requiring much more cutting effort; therefore also generate significant sharpening work.
From this sharpening is also born the wear of the tool which is reduced over the sharpening cycles.
The quality of the metals, of the forging, of the quenching, of the annealing contribute greatly to maintaining the cutting edge over time and the resistance of the tool to the multiple strikes it will have to undergo. It is a subtle balance between hardness and flexibility!
