I own several hobby knives, a set of Speedball gouges, carving needles, and a few other stamp carving tools -- but up until today, the hobby knife has always been my primary tool, the tool I used to create the basic image. I used the gouges all the time, but only to help remove the chunks of rubber after the outlines of the image had been cut.

Yesterday I met with Geometry Junkie, a carver who already demonstrates supreme carving skills despite only having been involved in our pastime since December (I only wish I had been half that good three months into it). She carves primarily with the gouge, and only uses the hobby knife for the few places where a gouge won't get into the corners properly. We looked over each other's stamps and carving methods, and I came to realize that the difference isn't simply a preference for one tool over the other; it's about two entirely different ways of thinking about the carving process.

It might be difficult to explain to anyone who has only tried one or the other method, but let me put it this way: When you carve with a hobby knife, you think about blocks. You use the knife to slice the outline of a block that is to remain (and get inked) or the outline of a block that is to be removed (and hence become a white area in the stamp image). With a gouge, though, you think more about lines -- and only white lines, lines where material is removed. You can make a block by cutting a line all the way around it, obviously, but it's still a line you're thinking about rather than the block.

The difference, while perhaps not apparent at first glance, manifests itself as a difference in style as well. Stamps carved with a hobby knife generally have a different overall "look" than stamps carved with a gouge -- although I expect aficianadoes of either tool could easily carve a stamp that imitates the other's style.

With all this in mind, I was looking at a stamp I was preparing to carve today, and realized that part of this particular image lent itself to the gouge style of carving. So I carved it using a hobby knife for part of the image and a gouge for the other part. It came out pretty well -- and I learned a couple more things about carving with a gouge. For one thing, it's faster than a hobby knife. With a hobby knife, to make a white line you slice one side of the line, then the other side, then you come back and remove the sliver of rubber from the middle. With the gouge, you just dig the line out in one pass. Of course, there are other examples where the hobby knife might be quicker, but overall I suspect those using gouges are spending less time carving their stamps.

I also think that we'll find that stamps carved by people using gouges are generally larger than those carved by those using hobby knives. You can cut really fine detail with a hobby knife, and if you want finer you can switch to carving needles -- which are used exactly the same way but are available down to really small. You're limited only by your eyesight, magnification, and coordination. Being able to carve really fine detail means you can carve less-detailed images really small, and some of us do so because it makes more of a challenge out of it and can make a really cute little stamp.

Those using gouges are far more limited, though. The smallest gouge you can buy is a #1, and everyone reports it's the one you always use -- unless you pinch a #1 down to even smaller, then that becomes the one you always use. I think if Staedtler or Speedball would introduce two or three nibs smaller than a #1 (so a #1 became an average size nib), they'd be really popular -- and we'd see a sea change in stamp images out there.

I also think I may have a grip on the preferences for PZ Kut White vs. Orange. Those of us who carve with the hobby knife love the Orange because when you make a slice, you can see where you sliced. With any other type of rubber out there, the slice closes up after the blade passes and you can't see it unless you bend the rubber to open it up. With a gouge, though, the Orange does nothing for you; when you physically remove a sliver of rubber, the area remaining looks the same color as the parent material. In fact, after you make all your slices with a hobby knife and then start removing material, it all starts to look the same again -- but you really don't care at that point, your cuts are all made, the essence of the image is complete.

With the gouge, the winning scheme is to use the PZ Kut White and apply a coating of light-colored ink before transferring the image to the rubber. Each time you dig a groove with a gouge, that spot shows up bright white among the light-colored surroundings.

I think I may compel myself to carve more stamps with the gouges; in fact, I plan to get another #1 and pinch it down. I consider it part of becoming a better carver: learning alternative skills, even though the ones I've been using have served me well.

Thank you for this information.

I started out with the hobby knife and pink eraser and have tried various mediums and gouges, but am very new at this and appreciate information like this.

In fact, I'm so new I've not yet even seen the Orange or Grey stuff that's mentioned on some of these boards. But I have tried the beige Speedball (similar to Master carve but much more crumbly).

Personally, I prefer the thick white Master Carve (Liz-zard of Outdoor Girls turned me on to it) or even the thinner because while it's easier to make mistakes with Master Carve - it’s like butter, it inks so much better. I like the "pink stuff" because its density lends itself to intentional carving only, but it is more difficult to ink evenly and lends itself to positive images where the buttery stuff lends itself to negative images or knife drawings with color.

I'll have to look at it from the block and line perspective and see if I can gain some skill that way. The best way though is like with most things…practice, practice, practice. Still, these little tips from the masters are most helpful.

Thanks again.

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I also think I may have a grip on the preferences for PZ Kut White vs. Orange.

I was very interested in this post, as I have mentioned before I was taught to always use a Hobby knife, and have tried the gouges with limited success, except for scooping out the excess material.

You have hit the nail on the head as to why I prefer the Orange PZ Kut, and I now find it difficult to go back to anything white as the cut line does close up and I can't see it.

The other reason I find a gouge difficult is because you push it to make a mark, whereas with a hobby knife you pull it. I find having a hobby knife in your hand is much more like drawing, as the knife is held and used exactly like you use a pencil or paintbrush.

YT

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The other reason I find a gouge difficult is because you push it to make a mark, whereas with a hobby knife you pull it. I find having a hobby knife in your hand is much more like drawing, as the knife is held and used exactly like you use a pencil or paintbrush.

Uh, yeah, I neglected to mention that. As a hobby knife user, early on I tried to teach myself to use it either pulling towards me or pushing away from me (either way still holding it like a pencil). For some reason, today I find it more comfortable pushing it away. Isn't that odd? Logically, pulling toward me would seem preferable because you can see the cutting edge better.

But the gouge isn't used anything like this. It's held nearly level against the surface of the rubber and slid across it, directly away from you. It turns out to be absurdly easy to maintain a constant line width; the line width is determined by the depth of the cut (the cut being a V), and the depth of the cut is determined by the angle the handle is held at. On this first attempt of mine, I was deliberately trying to cut very narrow lines, so the handle was held nearly flat down on the rubber, and I got long, continuous "chips" that looked like curly hairs (the lines weren't straight, they were scrolling all around on the image).

Now, if you wanted the line width to vary during the cut, you'd need to vary the angle of the handle while cutting. I'm betting that would take some practice to get right. At this point, I'd just chicken out and make two cuts, one along one side of the desired cut and a second starting at the same place but moving in a slightly different direction to fake a single cut that gets wider as it goes.

My earlier experience using gouges to remove rubber after it had been outlined with the hobby knife did nothing to prepare me for carving with the gouges. The gouges are used completely differently for this, pointed steeply down into the rubber and used more like a shovel than a gouge.

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The other reason I find a gouge difficult is because you push it to make a mark, whereas with a hobby knife you pull it. I find having a hobby knife in your hand is much more like drawing, as the knife is held and used exactly like you use a pencil or paintbrush.

OK,I'm the weirdo here. I hold the knife nearly vertical and kind of twirl it in my fingers to go around the tight turns. I also sometimes hold the gouge between my thumb and fingers with my index finger on the end of the handle and push it towards me (breaking the rules).

Shiloh

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OK,I'm the weirdo here.

Well, you're in good company!! ;-)

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I also sometimes hold the gouge between my thumb and fingers with my index finger on the end of the handle and push it towards me

So, the cutting edge is actually facing up at this point? I'm trying to visualize this and am not sure I get it... It sounds as if you would have pretty good control with your fingers so well distributed over the handle, though!!

Webfoot

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So, the cutting edge is actually facing up at this point?

The gouge in relation to the carving material is the same as it would be if you hold the gouge the way it's *supposed* to be held. I'm just holding it funny. :)

OK, that's gotta make it to the *sounds dirtier than it is*

Shiloh