Replies

1. 
   dlb | Feb 25, 2011 12:50pm | #1

   Thanks for the reply. So what you are saying is that the 2nd number in a Pfiel system is the width of the chisel in mm. That is an easy conversion to make but, what does the 1st number represent? I have an opportunity to purchase either Pfiel or HT chisels (I have some Pfiels) but I don't want duplicates if I purchase the HTs.

2. 
   JiminFla | Feb 27, 2011 05:31pm | #2

   The first number is the sweep, which is the amount of curvature of the gouge.  With Pfeil, a #1 is a straight gouge with a #10 being a bit more than semicircular.   I recommend that you get a Woodcraft catalog (Woodcraft is the major American distributor for Pfeil) or the Lee Valley catalog (for Henry Taylor) to see what sizes and sweeps they offer.  There are a large number of gouges available and people usually acquire them as they need them.  I would be happy to give you a list of gouges to get started with, but it really depends on what kind of carving you plan to do.  I can tell you that you won't need a macaroni or fluteroni at this stage.  I'd skip the back-bents, long-bents, heavy duty and wing-V tools as well.  Both Pfeil and Henry Taylor offer "starter sets," but they may or may not offer what you need.  I would recommend that you stick with straight gouges to start with.  Bent gouges are good for recessed areas, but you won't need them right away.  Fishtail gouges are always handy because they allow you to get into tighter places than the same sweep non-fishtail gouge.  I would recommend getting a V-parting tool.  You will use this when outlining relief carvings.  Pfeil offers two sizes of gouges,,, the "standard" and the "Intermediate" which are 2" shorter than the "standard."  I would stick to the standard unless you have small hands.  Good luck and feel free to contact me if I can help.

   Jim

1. 
   dlb | Feb 28, 2011 08:16pm | #3

   Thanks for your detailed reply - it was very informative and shed new light on chisel numbering systems. I just found in a book a conversion chart between standard and metric systems as they relate to carving chisels. So now I can correlate Pfiel to HT chisels, which is what I was after. I am concentrating on lettering so I will be looking at HT chisels at the upcoming Woodworkers show and comparing them to Pfiels.

   Thanks again,

   dlb

   .

3. 
   JiminFla | Mar 01, 2011 12:59pm | #4

   I just got an email from Woodcraft saying that they are have a sale on carving tools on March 4th and 5th.  15% off.

   Jim