Making Detail Carving Tools: Part 3. Handles

[@kamishacoffin9969]

Look forward to every hallows end story. Although I think we may need a list of members you’ve used and still need to use :). I’m sure I’m not the only one who gets way too excited to hear the next part of the story though!

[@nabeelmirza2921]

This series is beyond EXCELLENT. Thank you. You are such a smart guy.

[@bbrachman]

Phillip, I just have to tell you how excellent these videos are. First, the camera work is exquisite. Clear, and focused. Your editing is superb. I don't even notice it. That shows how good it is. Then, there is your voice over. Clear and concise explanation make the information easy to understand and absorb. Plus, you show what can be done without fancy power equipment. Thais what my little shop is. Hand tools. You make me want to buy some O1 and try to make some tools. Thank you so much.

[@suecollins3246]

You hit it in one!

[@petermarsh4993]

Dear Philip, thanks for sharing your expertise in these areas, particularly small chisel making. Much appreciated.

[@smoothbrain8519]

This 3 video series is just an absolute jewel on the internet. Thank you for all the detail and clear presentations, I am grateful for all the effort this series must have taken you !!

[@jeffputnam8554]

I used these vidios to make some to show my grandson. He will be coming down soon to make his own. Thanks

[@donovanlucibello6420]

Patrick, your content is really high yield for craftsmanship building skills, but also high quality as far as production. But wait, there's more . . . as a grown man who never had time to sit and listen (and perhaps learn something?) from my father and grandfather who actually did all of this stuff, I really appreciate you taking the time to post these skill building videos as a "second chance" at those lessons. Much appreciated.

[@TheRealGrandadNo1]

Sir, I have been working with wood for over sixty years using many old and treasured tools handed down to me. The pleasure of working with wood has been equalled by watching your videos. Excellent photography, beautifully explained, concise and informative. Thank you for taking the time to post, I wish you well in woodwork and in life.

[@theexistentialist-8888]

I loved this series, you really are fine craftsman!please share more, anyone reading this please make more videos like this.

[@dale1956ties]

Thank you for this series. I really enjoyed it and have, I hate to admit, attempted making these tools from scraps as you advise against in video #1. In my own defense though, I only needed something to get me through a project. I knew they'd never hold an edge and were basically disposable from the start. I'll be rewatching these and using your techniques to make myself some micro chisels and detail tools that will be a permanent part of my collection. Thanks again.

[@jamescorcoran5868]

This is one of the best I've seen and useful. The information is just the thing to remind us that there is still some good people out there willing to teach how to do things properly

[@varosolo78]

You are great Mr Sullivan

[@henfrohardy4155]

Incredibly presented and equally informative. Thank you. This series was perfectly put together.

[@TheMarkEH]

Master-craftsmen make their skills look easy. Patrick, I like your style and your modesty. You make it all look so easy - pure poetry.

[@TheCaoimhin2]

Patrick, your videos are truly outstanding in every possible way. You are a born teacher and for me that is the highest compliment that I can offer. I'm not a born teacher so I appreciate that talent in others. Thank you so much for taking the time and thought into these productions.

[@vjtiengineer5496]

You're simply awesome. I watch your videos like a web series !!

[@suecollins3246]

Man - these three videos were _excellent_ !

[@Grumpyneanderthal]

Extremely well done video series Patrick. I saved a 5 gallon bucket of hickory blanks which I intended for file and tool handles. Now I have a solid procedure for making that happen. Thank you.

[@PatrickSullivan]

Grumpy: If you don't already own a lathe, consider checking out my video on making a simple but highly effective lathe based on an electric drill. Perfect for making lots of tool handles. Here is the link: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aZvQnaaVnMmCppY

[@Grumpyneanderthal]

Patrick Sullivan thanks for the link. I will watch it and put one together.

[@abaratien]

That series is a stellar work, thank you so much. Tomorrow i’m gonna make chisel with my girlfriend who is interested in woodworking, your videos are gonna be our guideline ❤️

[@clemmcguinness1087]

This at all times, fascinating, educational, unpatronizing and innovative. Thanks

[@Leathercrafter]

Patrick, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. This is exactly what I was looking for!!!

[@nadasonic6]

The quality of these videos and the genius of your ideas for simplifying and de-mystifying these processes is stunning! Subscribed. Much gratitude!

[@frogsoda]

Great series! I'd like to add one tip. If you turn your handles out of rectangular blanks instead of square blanks, you will end up with a handle with two flat sides. That way you still have a round handle that won't roll off your bench.

[@TheElmMan]

An outstanding set of videos-so clear in explanation and production. Can't wait for my O-1 tool steel to arrive.

[@adrianogomes1871]

Great series of useful knowledge Thank you very much, Sir

[@Transcendental9]

There are some great videos, thank you for your efforts and for sharing your knowledge. This is highly appreciated

[@jean6061]

Thank you! Love the jig to replace a drill press and the "lathe" - a couple of things I can do!

[@laurentnahra708]

That was very informative, really interesting and entertaining. I didn't get bored for one second you explain in detail and show every step without too much overdetail, I could watch you for hours. Great job seriously! I am going to buy some steel.

[@stevegutshot2663]

Fantastic. Thank you. From Oz.

[@BadgerRobot]

Great work on these videos. I watched all three in this series and am impressed with the amount of work you put into making these.

[@rockdealer1]

Awesome series. You are very didactic and clear in your explanations. It's also noticeable your years of well tuned skills. Cheers.

[@theexistentialist-8888]

Thanks for muting the sound, these videos are very well done 😄👍

[@markporter-c3c]

I don't think that I can say it any better than bbrachman below. Really, really inspiring and helpful.

[@kellyklaask7su990]

This was a GREAT series! Thanks for taking the time to share.

[@melofurnari]

Bravissimo.Grande capacità didattica.Grazie.Non ti fermare,continua.Carmelo

[@reedcooper6545]

Awesome!! I love your homemade drill lathe!! Thanks for a great teaching series on your tools!

[@erosangelos9422]

Hello Mister Sullivan and thank you for a great video, thank you!

[@Danieldieb1]

Thank You for this series. Excellent.

[@JohnSmith-il4wi]

Sir, I love your videos. Liked/Subscribed. Thanks from Chicago!

[@TomJones0065]

These Are Great, I think I might be able to make my own..... And I will also be watching Your videos on the Small Carving Knives you have too.. I think making these yourself give it more of a craft feel.. THANKS SO MUCH!!

[@Sludgepump]

Patrick, thanks for this series. Your explanations are extremely clear and the info is very useful. I learned a lot! ;)

[@sergedaney3511]

Great series. Clear, very well explained, cool tricks. Thank you sir !

[@robertfiorini2061]

Thank you for a great series, so far I have been using old machine hacksaw blades which ar had to mount in handles.

[@mmd1957]

Many thanks for an excellent, informative series.

[@smasica]

Excellent presentation, very informative. I appreciate your 'KISS' approach (Keep It Simple, Stupid) to making the tools. This looks like it would work well for a standard size selection of tools, too. You did a good job explaining the hardening/tempering portion, too.

[@tomsawyer247]

Good stuff very well instructed thanks.

[@jpmion]

great series! will definitely try around here... specially because here in Brazil those are even harder to find and much more expensive! good work!

[@kaynacho444]

so thorough. many thanks!

[@imortaldeadead]

Thanks for this fantastic walk through. I love to make my own tools, now I have another I can add to may list to try 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@zorro587]

Excellent video. Great to watch one that assumes if you've searched out the title, you already have a handle (all puns intended) on the subject matter and don't need to watch any padding out. Thanks!

[@shahabsaniei3288]

Excellent work. Thank you for sharing with us!

[@maxheadroom8814]

So happy to have found your channel! I had a difficult time finding small carving tools here in europe. Those that are available are exactly as you point out either too expensive or shoddy. The process you illustrate for hand making these tools looks easy enough, your heat treating video makes a black art look simple. I’m now really curious for seeing what you carve with these excellent tools.

[@johnvaness8445]

Great videos, Thanks.

[@alva8421]

Great video.. I was going to buy a $$$ set of detail carving tools I think I will make my own I have all the tools in the videos so why not. Thanks for the great videos!

[@rogercrook1639]

Hello Patrick from Oxford In the United Kingdom letting you know that you have another subscriber. I must say that you are a natural speaker so much so that I am just off to go through the rest of your video's although it will not take long so if you can make some more I would be very happy, so keep on making more videos what about some about your projects?. Regards Roger

[@chriswoods3188]

I really like all 3 videos. You could use some of my walnut and cherry firewood for your handles

[@scottcomber]

Nice video. Super helpful.

[@dart70ca]

You can drill it true in a lathe as well. Mark the centers, drill goes in the head, a center in the tailstock and use the tool rest to keep the blank from spinning. Line up center marks with drill bit and tail center, drill the hole by pushing with the tailstock quill. Great vids, subscribed ;)

[@PatrickSullivan]

Good tip, Keith. I will give it a try.

[@AfricanSouthernCross]

Great upload....thank you for this !

[@rickyburton4642]

Super detailed information and that’s awesome 👏😃👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@nevadacool]

Thanks

[@Yuri_Gagarin44]

Very instructive and well explained, great videos!, subscribed from Chile

[@addeniz]

Thank you very much Sir 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

[@More-Space-In-Ear]

Brilliant videos my friend, thank you, I will put these to use.

[@chrispearson8163]

Thanks for this well-presented, informative tool making series. I found the second one on hardening and tempering the tool steel quite interesting. How about a video on your home-brewed hand drill lathe?

[@sethbracken]

Chris Pearson I second that idea.

[@hugolatra]

I would like that too

[@suecollins3246]

I third it!

[@robertbrunston5406]

Thank you for sharing this.

[@indianatone218]

Absolutely brilliant craftmanship on all counts ,i love the handles you made ,ive been into woodcarving a while now doing figures but the price of v gouges and such are staggering so at the moment im trying some made from hacksaw blades ,i know i know but id already started b4 seeing your channel so i will carry on for now ,but do some like yours later on from tool steel .i appreciate the hours you've put in to the filming and editing ,nice job there too , it takes time as ive done it on my channel ,you can do the job quicker if you weren't setting camera up and stop start filming lol . Anyway ive liked and subd you , Greetings from Wales UK .

[@jimmccorison]

I'm curious which small lathe you purchased. Your videos have great production quality, and your teaching skills are outstanding. Thank you for our efforts, and for sharing so generously.

[@PatrickSullivan]

I own a Harbor Freight small lathe. I am highly critical of some of the products from this company, but the lathe has been surprisingly good. It is quiet and vibration free. For the limited tasks I ask of it, I think it is a lot of value for the very modest price. That said, if I started to do a lot more turning, I would buy a larger lathe with variable speed control.

[@jimmccorison]

Thank you for your reply to this and the disappearing lathe question. Turning is something that I've always been interested in, but have almost no experience with. Start really small, like the disappearing lathe, a little larger, or something that will take a while to outgrow is a big question. We'll be significantly expanding the shop this fall so there would be room for a dedicated lathe. I was looking at the small HF lathes, or the Jet 1221VS. The variable speed and expansion options being big draws. Thank you again for your videos. Wonderful done and great learning guides.

[@jackreeves3001]

Thanks again!

[@robertfiorini2061]

PS if you hold a hand full of shavings to the handle after the 600 grit you will get a super polished finish on the lathe.

[@joeymaximus8146]

Quick question: on something this small, how important is the exposed epoxy? (Specifically speaking just the exposed epoxy on the surface. I am talking about wiping away the surface but still using epoxy) For some reason I think it takes some of the pristine quality of the look away. That said, these are a work of art. Many thanks for taking the time to make videos like these.

[@faithfullyrestored]

What a wonderful series of videos for these micro tools! I have just gotten into carving about six months ago and have not been looking forward to buying scores of micro tools. This will help me quite a bit. Thank you so very much for taking the time to make these videos. Can the same principles be used for making larger knives, v-tools and gouges?

[@PatrickSullivan]

I have made larger tools by this method, but as the size increases, problems arise. It becomes difficult to uniformly heat larger tools with a single torch. The solution is some kind of forge, which can be as simple as a stack of fire bricks. The other issue is that large gouges are normally made by hammering or pressing a flat piece of metal into the desired shape. This requires some blacksmithing skills. If you start with a large, thick bar of steel, and grind away 90% of the metal to get the shape you want, you end up doing a lot of grinding.

[@markmelville6670]

This was very cool! I was hoping to see a video on sharpening the blades. I really struggle with the whole sharpening thing...and which sharpening gadgets to buy.

[@PatrickSullivan]

Thanks. I'm working on a sharpening video. Stay tuned.

[@patriciarasmussen6739]

Patrick Sullivan please do it is the hardest part.

[@darranedmundson1505]

Patrick, is there a follow-up video showing how to sharpen the finished tool?

[@Aprendiz-de-Marceneiro]

Great job

[@cantstandidiots5839]

These videos are outstanding. Decided to make some myself, but would love to know your source for the carbide rounds. The best I can find is $8.50 +S&H for 1/4"x2" (which is kind of short). I realize the prices are up in 4 years but that's seems like a lot.

[@craigbaynham-evans9826]

Really great videos Patrick and so informative. A quick question regarding the awl you used. Did you also make that yourself ? If so what steel did you opt for ? What length etc... and how did you get a good long point on it. Thanks Patrick keep them coming.

[@PatrickSullivan]

I have made several awls of different lengths. I always use O-1 steel. I typically shape the point by chucking the steel rod in my portable drill, and holding it at an angle against my belt sander or disk sander. You can get any amount of taper you want.

[@markfannin3975]

Outstanding videos. I'm using your instruction to make these fine tools. What brand/model of lathe do you use in the videos? Thanks again.

[@PatrickSullivan]

My lathe is the smallest model from Harbor Freight. It is very economical, and does a great job on small work like these handles. There are far better lathes available, and if you want to dive deeply into wood turning, I would advise upgrading to a bigger, better lathe.

[@neuro518]

At 5:05 over-length is shown as 5" but segments add up to 6". Should end of handle be 3-1/4" and not 4-1/4" ?

[@PatrickSullivan]

Yep. My mistake. Thanks for catching this; I hope it didn't throw you off. I am in the process of creating a website where I will post a template for the handle profile. It should be up and running within a few days.

[@neuro518]

Looking forward to your website: the fact that you identify tools and materials and where to buy them makes your videos superior. So many how-to video makers fail to do this, not realizing that if you can't find the correct materials/tools the whole exercise is pointless. For a while I’ve wanted to make a dogleg chisel for clean-up work in corners on relief carvings. The tip would be shaped like a narrow arrow head with a flat bottom and two bevels on the top. Do you think using 01 steel (1/8 to 3/16 dia) I could bend the shaft and hammer the tip flat. The bends in the dogleg would have to be fairly sharp. I would like to send a sketch but I can’t figure out how to add one to a KZbin comment. Thanks for your help

[@PatrickSullivan]

I feel pretty sure a chisel with a cutting head that is either angled or offset could be made using the processes I have shown. I have not tried making such a tool, but O-1 in its annealed state is pretty malleable. If the angulation is not too extreme, you may be able to bend the rod while it is cold. If that proves difficult, you can heat the shank in just one small spot to a bright red-orange color, and quickly apply force with either a hammer or a pair of pliers. It may take a little practice, and a little ingenuity to figure out how to hold, heat, and bend the rod before it cools too much. Consider buying a rod or two and experimenting.

[@neuro518]

Thanks, I'll give it a try

[@lumberjaxe8910]

Could you please tell me? Why would you use this material and practice over Stainless Steel ? Thanks.

[@PatrickSullivan]

Stainless steels, in general, are more resistant to drilling, sawing, and shaping than annealed O-1. Heat treating stainless is more challenging than O-1. Most stainless alloys don't hold an edge well. The two that are the most common in commercial knives, 440C and 154cm, have adequate edge-holding abilities, but are much harder to sharpen to a razor-edge than O-1. The only downside to O-1 is that it is not rust resistant. This is an important consideration in kitchen knives, but not much of a drawback in carving tools (at least, not in the climate I live in). Carving tools are usually stored carefully, and receive frequent touch-ups on a honing strop or stone, which keeps the steel surface fresh. If you become very proficient at knife making, you might want to consider trying some specialty steels. For most amateurs, O-1 is cheap, simple, and very good.

[@lumberjaxe8910]

@@PatrickSullivan Ok, thanks for the info.

[@Bsholder]

Hi Patrick where are you getting short 0-1 rod without $$$ postage Thanks I love the videos

[@you-tubejunkie2926]

Another great video... Plz..... the name and model of (that) lathe ? Thank you very much.

[@PatrickSullivan]

Nothing very special about the lathe. It is a Central Machinery 10x18 Mini Lathe, sold by Harbor Freight. It is one of the cheapest lathes you can buy, and yet it performs surprisingly well.

[@you-tubejunkie2926]

thank you

[@muradalansari4870]

Thanks for your hands

[@mylesmacinnes9741]

What varieties of wood are best for handles ?

[@PatrickSullivan]

Virtually any reasonably hard wood will work. I have made handles out of walnut, maple, white oak, red oak, several species of mahogany, and cocobolo. This is a perfect use for small scraps that are left behind from other projects. If you are using a lathe, choose a wood that turns cleanly.

[@linda7kellum310]

DO YOU SELL YOUR TOOL