CHIP-CARVING, characterized as it is by angular incisions in the surface decorated, occupies a very limited field in the realm of wood-carving. But with its limitations frankly recognized, it may appropriately be employed to enrich an otherwise plain surface. Because of its angularity, care must be exercised in applying it to curved surfaces or to surfaces having curved outlines, lest it become as degenerate as so many of our designs in cut glass have. Decoration by means of incisions has been utilized by many primitive peoples, because it is applied to an other wise finished surface. While handling his weapons and implements in times of leisure, the primitive man would naturally turn to scratches and incisions as a method of embellishment. To appreciate what chip-carving may be at its best, one should see some of the ceremonial adz handles and paddles produced by the primitive men of the South Pacific islands. The decoration of these articles is characterized by an all-over pattern of small units, for the most part deeply cut. The chief element in their beauty is repetition, and to achieve such beauty one must exercise great patience. As these articles were decorated for ceremonial occasion and not for daily use, no adaptations for convenience were necessary; some of the adz handles, for example, were hollow square tubes even as large as six inches on a side. Sharp comers and deep incisions were freely used. When we remember that these primitive craftsmen used a bit of shell or a shark's tooth as a cutting tool, we can appreciate better their devotion to their art. And let us always remember that without that devotion no beautiful thing is ever created.

Tho all the designs suggested in this book can be cut with the chip-carving knife shown in Fig. 2, the following additional tools will be found convenient: a wood-carver's veining tool, Fig. 3; a parting- tool 1/32" to 1/16" wide, Fig. 4; and a 1" skew chisel. Fig. 5, for the larger chips. In flower form rosettes, as in Plate XVII, a carver's gouge of proper curve shown in Fig. 6 is helpful for stabbing. These cutting tools should be honed to a keen, perfect edge on a fine sharpening stone, stropped on leather, and then protected from all injury by sticking them into corks when not in use. Results can be attained with perfect cutting tools which are simply unattainable with dull ones. For the single purpose of veining (cutting narrow grooves), the veining tool should be sharpened so that the cutting edges of the V slant forward somewhat so that they cut the wood just ahead of the point of the V as shown in Fig. 3. Only in this shape will this tool cut smoothly across the grain.

Since the designs in this book are all full size, it is expected that they will be traced and transferred to the model by carbon paper. Should they not be traced, the following drawing tools will be needed: T-square, 45degrees triangle, 30 X 60 degrees triangle, 22 1/2" x 67 1/2" triangle, compass, divider, scroll, and ruler.

After one has acquired considerable skill in carving, not all the lines shown in the design need be drawn, for some of them will result from stabbing and some from cutting the chips. In general the important point to lay out is the point where the knife is set to stab the design.

The first cutting operation is to stab the design, making a vertical cut, the point of the knife being at the deepest part of the incision to be made. Fig. 7. Care must be taken to hold the knife vertical and make the stab coincide with the lines of the pattern. To remove the chip, the knife is held as in Fig. 8 with the thumb held firmly on the work to serve as a sort of pivot on which to swing the hand while forcing the blade of the knife under the chip. In doing this the point of the knife must be kept from going into the vertical wall made by the stab, or into an adjoining chip. Small chips in straight grain wood should be removed at one cut; large ones, curved ones, or those in crooked grain may require two or more cuts to remove the chip smoothly. A smooth, crisp, clear-cut chip is the only one which should give satisfaction; but one should not give up if this is not obtained with the first trial, for sometimes unsuccessful cuts can be improved by recutting deeper.

In these plates dimensions are always given in the following order: length, width, thickness. The sign for inches is omitted because no model is large enough to require measurement by feet.

To add crispness to the carved pattern, it is sometimes necessary to stab it all again and thus clearly emphasize the deep places, the divisions between cuts.

In the selection of wood for the various articles illustrated in this book, the following considerations are pertinent. The soft, dose-grain woods cut easier than the hard woods, but if subjected to hard usage they do not wear as well. For an article which is used rather intimately and Viewed close by, a choice wood is appropriate. Some of the soft woods are pine, basswood, poplar or whitewood, and red-gun; those of medium hardness, mahogany and black walnut; the hard woods, cherry, oak, birch and hard maple. Of course, some trees of any of these kinds vary one way or the other from the average of its kind. Tho carved wood may be stained or dyed it is generally better to select wood of natural beauty, and to finish it without stain. Color, however, is such an important element of beauty and harmony that one should not hesitate to use the excellent commercial wood stains and dyes which are now available, if thereby the article is made more harmonious with its surroundings.

Before wood is finished it should be smooth and clean. No attempt should be made to sandpaper the actual cuts of a piece of chip carving. The tools should be sharp enough and used with such precision as to leave the surface smooth. If a surface needs sandpapering after it has been carved, the sandpapering should be done carefully with fine sandpaper wrapped snugly about a smooth flat block; and this should be moved in the direction of the grain. Great care is needed not to flatten the sharp ridges of the carving.

For articles which are not to be handled much, a wax or linseed oil finish is suitable. Dull rather than glossy finish should be used. An article that is apt to become soiled with handling and hence need cleaning at times is better finished with shellac or varnish. Thin white shellac laid on quickly with a soft camel's hair brush makes a good, hard finish. Shellac is not waterproof but turns white in a few hours under water.

A wax finish is easily obtained with the commercial prepared waxes or with beeswax cut with turpentine till a soft paste results. These waxes may be brushed on and then polished after a little time with a brush as shoes are polished. A good durable finish may be obtained in the course of several weeks by the use of linseed oil alone if successive applications of oil are rubbed well with a cloth and allowed to dry thoroly between applications. Sometimes a week is not too long a time to allow the oil to harden.