Flexcut Micro Palm Set.

look what came in the mail today!

Today has been crazy - I had to get some schoolwork done and posted, Chuck had to get his second COVID shot, we had a large shed moved on our property with a crane (of all things!), and this set of carving tools came in the mail! Well, you must know that as soon as I could break away from the other things, I was getting my hands on these sweet little tools!

My theory is that these types of tools, which are intended to carve wood, might work better on firmer material. It seems that too much tip pressure applied to soft material, like pink stuff or the Japanese soft block, might just bury the tip in the mud. That's no good at all. So, I got out some Tan Z, and gave it a go.

To get a good feel, nothing is better for me than to see if I can carve my own scrawl. After transfer (I use the simple pencil transfer method), I worked and worked with that Tan Z. I like how it feels as I make cuts, but I feel like our relationship is complicated. Next, I tried these tools with the same image only on Firm Kut. Gosh, I like the Firm Kut material - it really responds well to my style of carving. Surprisingly, it took me half the time to carve the image with Firm Kut than Tan Z. 

As for my theory ... the jury is still out. According to my hypothesis, the Tan Z should have worked better since it is the more firm material. But, that just wasn't the case.

So the tools themselves feel great in my hand. I feel like my hand is a bit small for them, but I will get used to it - I tend to choke up on the tip a bit because the tip feels so 'far away' when my palm is in the correct position. Further, I really like the smooth metal feel of the Staedtler tools - these tools are carbon steel, meaning a rougher feel and a bit more effort to remove tiny bits of material that get stuck. (I am kind of a freak about that, actually.) I think, with practice, that I could get some pretty precise detail using these. Definitely with practice.

Archival ink (coffee)

Here's the final stamp images - as you can see, the Tan Z is not as happy as the Firm Kut. Certainly more bobbles on the Tan Z. And, of course, the Firm Kut more easily takes ink than the Tan Z. I found that there was a LOT less carving 'clean up' on the Firm Kut stamp than the Tan Z. (I really don't like 'noise' on my stamps, I like them to stamp clean.)

Bottom line: I like the Flexcut tools and will continue to work with them; I am definitely not sorry I purchased them. I like how sharp they are, how they feel in my hand, and that I was able to get some good detail. The only downside for me is getting used to the new hand position and the carbon steel as opposed to a smoother metal feel of the the Staedtlers. All in all, it was a pretty easy transition from the Staedtler gouge to these tools, despite the change in hand position.