[Jewelry making - Article 00271] - Re: [Orchid] Wax Carvers for Beginners

[LJM]

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Hi Sara

    Kate Wolf's wax tools are superb. I didn't buy mine but attended an
    excellent class where Kate taught us how to make our own (her) tools
    and how to use them. The class was a week long and cost significantly
    more than a set of tools. I had to travel to attend and stay in a
    hotel. Was it worth it? Yes, every penny but I'm not all that inclined
    to make a lot of my own tools even when I can. It's not how I like to
    spend my limited studio time so when the tools I made there are ground
    to a nub I'll buy a new set. Did I carve wax before I took Kate's
    class? Yes, rarely and I did it supremely badly with a cobbled
    together set of pretty ineffective stuff because I was never taught
    the process beyond sheet wax and an alcohol lamp, no carving in sight.
    I know there are a lot of people out there who carve/construct
    beautiful waxes with pretty rudimentary tools and little or no
    formal training but I wasn't one of them. My post casting cleanup
    took forever. I had developed a real aversion to wax working even
    though I kept designing things that were crying to be carved. Kate's
    tools and approach really opened my eyes and made me aware of a lot
    of the reasons I was a good fabricator and a lousy wax modeler. The
    irony of the whole experience is that while I really don't want to
    take the time to make my own tools I made 5 abbreviated sets for my
    students. The tools had made such a difference in the way I did things
    I wanted the kids to have a good wax working experience and couldn't,
    with a high school teaching budget, justify buying a couple sets. (I
    was just pinching budget pennies to buy a few of the tools I didn't
    make when my budget was frozen because of fuel prices this season. I
    had gotten to the time/money conflict again.) So anyway, if you can
    afford to buy them and learn how to do things well the first time (the
    booklet that comes with the full set really does wonderful things for
    your learning curve) it will save you time which is really money in
    the long run. I think with any tool purchase the real question is one
    of time vs. money. Can you afford to spend more time because your
    tools make a process more laborious or would you rather speed up the
    process with an initial investment in both equipment and knowledge?
    This is very strange for me to write, but, I now carve the occasional
    wax for fun. The tools are that much of a pleasure to use and made
    that much of a difference in the way I feel about wax. I think I have
    just convinced myself to buy the tools we didn't make in class! Oh,
    and Bill Wismar is right. An electronic wax pen is a great thing to
    have.

    As a tie-in to another thread that is currently getting a lot of
    response here, Kate is one of the most remarkable people it has been
    my privilege to have as a teacher. She shares her knowledge freely
    which is a gift beyond price. Her boundless enthusiasm is the icing on
    the cake. I may have mentioned something of this nature before but
    positive things in life bear repeating. 

Linda M

 
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