Janel

The Carving Path forum began in January, 2005 with the combined strengths of Donn Fogg, Jim Kelso and Janel Jacobson (myself). We felt a strong need to form a global community of carvers whose work was in the small scale like ours. The forum has served as a repository of answers to questions, demonstrations of techniques, tool discussions, and so much more. It also was a way that friendships were formed and nurtured. The forum, as many have found by occasional visits here, has been very quiet with very little participation and interaction. There may be many reasons for the decline in participation. It saddens me to be writing this message. Steps are being taken to close the forum to further posting by members, with the goal of creating an archive site for the content of the forum knowledge. The hope is to create this in such away that it will be easy to access and to be free to readers. We do not know if this goal is attainable, we are exploring the possibilities. With great appreciation for all who contributed to the knowledge contained and freely shared on the forum, I thank you. You each have given meaning to the work of this admin/owner of the forum over the past 16 years. Janel

Thank you Bruce, Very clever! I am glad that you have the arm rests for better control, and the shut off well thought out. This setup reminds me of stone/glass cutter tools where the material is held in hands and the carving done with a stationary, mounted power tool. My brain might not be able to make the switch from moving the tool on a stationary piece being carved. I will ponder this for a while! Janel

Dear Ed, It is rather sweet to see you as you are now. How we both have changed since you joined the forum and posted your smiling face on your account! I continue to be in denial about aging until I look at myself in the mirror or in photos. We have learned so much these past decades! Thank you for your sincere and thoughtful message. It means a lot to me to read it. I hope for you to be safe and happily busy in this new year. Janel

Hello Pavel, I enjoy seeing these. They each have quite different personalities. Janel

The Carving Path forum will remain for reading and searching, but will no longer accept new registrations.

Thank you Ed for your message. If your son has some information to share with me, lets have him do it by email to me. If you need my address, private message me and I will pass it along to you. Janel

Thank you Justin! Your positive thoughts are comforting. I do hope to make the many years of shared information be available and searchable. Your ideas are things that I had not thought about yet. Much appreciation to you for your responses. Janel

To anyone who continues to rely on The Carving Path forum: The forum has been providing information and a platform for carvers to communicate with one another since 2005. The forum software provider is now requiring a minimum 40% to 55% increase in fees, and that is not something that I want to carry on paying for on my own. Member participation has been almost zero, falling victim to the glitz of social media rapid response. Readership from searches continues, but meaningful interaction has not been happening for a very long time. My intention has been to continue to provide the significant database that has grown from member interaction because of my belief that people with knowledge share that with those who have questions. I am facing greater expenses for providing this information to any and all, with almost zero interaction via forum communication. One concept that I am contemplating is learning how to transfer the database to an archiving web site. The learning curve is steep and may still incur expenses. I would hope that this archiving step would keep the information available to anyone seeking information but without the Q&A that is currently an option with membership to the forum. What I do not know is if anyone cares anymore. Yes, that is a dismal outlook, but I see clearly what is not happening on what used to be a lively forum with lots of Q&A that proved vital to many carvers of small scale works. Lives change, interests, abilities, and directions change for us all. I am now 70 years old, and my perspective on my own life is starting to shift. Please offer comments on how you see the future of The Carving Path forum. Respectfully, Janel Jacobson Owner/Admin of The Carving Path forum

Hi Jacobsw, I am not a stone person, but to me it looks like the little broken chert pieces that I find in the gravel here in Minnesota. There is no way of telling what it is without knowing its hardness and other characteristics. Others familiar with stone ID might be able to give you a better idea of what it might be. Was it cut to this thickness and to this shape? Janel

Hi Jerome, How are they working for you? They look like a useful array of tools! Are you carving bone now with them? Janel

I apologize for being so late to respond, I have been recovering from a broken wrist and surgery. Power tools can be useful but at most speeds can generate heat from friction, causing the material to burn. Take care with capturing the dust generated as well. There are several ideas, from simple to elaborate, for dust capture systems posted in earlier years here on the forum, which can be found using the SEARCH option. I would not use water while cutting or working tusk, fearing cracking upon drying. If others have used this method successfully, it is outside of my own experience. Water for shell working yes, tusk and bone maybe not. My history with carving I have preferred hand tools for most of the work after the roughing out with burrs using a micro grinder, for the development of careful shaping and detail work. There are discussions on the forum about preferred tools that we have all made for our chosen use, since there has been a lack of availability for specific use small tools commercially. SEARCH and learn a lot from the wealth of information waiting to be discovered here on The Carving Path forum. Janel

Great idea!

Those are so tiny and expressive! Your skill with capturing characteristics of head shapes, and facial expressions is admirable. Will these be taken further, or be 'heads on pedestals'?

Thank you Francis for the good explanation. What is next for your adventures?

Very nice, Ed! If those were mine, I would round the sharp angled edge on the tool end of the handle. That is, unless it serves a purpose as it is.