https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/cutting-tools-and-how-to-sharpen-them • Posted by The Crowood Press
Woodblock printmaking is a craft as well as an art, and understanding, sharpening and using tools is an enjoyable part of the process. Cutting a block with very sharp tools is a sophisticated pleasure – not least for the particularly lovely sound they make as they cut. For best work in cutting a woodblock the tools will be comfortable to hold, very sharp, and capable of cleanly removing wood from the surface of the block. Toolmakers and suppliers do not always supply their tools sharpened and ready for use, and until a tool for printmaking is sharp – however costly, and however refined in design and material it might be – it is of no use whatsoever. By contrast, even the humblest, most unpromising looking piece of steel will cut wood cleanly once it is sharpened properly, and will make good work in the right hands.
Woodblock printmaking is a craft as well as an art, and understanding, sharpening and using tools is an enjoyable part of the process. Cutting a block with very sharp tools is a sophisticated pleasure – not least for the particularly lovely sound they make as they cut. For best work in cutting a woodblock the tools will be comfortable to hold, very sharp, and capable of cleanly removing wood from the surface of the block. Toolmakers and suppliers do not always supply their tools sharpened and ready for use, and until a tool for printmaking is sharp – however costly, and however refined in design and material it might be – it is of no use whatsoever. By contrast, even the humblest, most unpromising looking piece of steel will cut wood cleanly once it is sharpened properly, and will make good work in the right hands.
There are four categories of tool for woodblock cutting to be considered: U-shaped tools: These will vary in size and curvature. The large, flattened U-shaped tools are used for clearing background areas quickly. The smaller ones will make rounded-end marks. V-shaped tools: These will vary in size and ‘inside angle’. They are used for cutting along lines, where the thickness of the line can be controlled with the depth of the cut. They will make a lozenge-shaped mark when ‘dived and re-surfaced’ into the wood. Knives and straight-bladed chisels: A very sharp, fine-pointed knife is useful for following intricate lines or clearing up difficult corners. Traditionally, in Japanese printmaking the block cutter will have a pair of knives, one with a righthand bevel, and the other with a left-hand bevel. For cutting letters, a sharp knife is essential.