Highlighting stock carving?

[wiscoaster]

I'm thinking of ordering a Kibler Woodsrunner in cherry with the carved stock option. I'm wondering if people ever highlight the carving by dyeing or staining one side of the carving channel a darker color, and if that's been done, how it has worked out for them? Thanks....

 

[CuNosecap]

Finish will naturally accumulate around the edges of relief carving and in the incised carvings. Stain, oils, waxes will all contribute to the carvings standing out.

 

[James Kibler]

You certainly can highlight the carving. For me it all depends on how it looks as I am finishing the stock. Bone black, paint, tinted shellac , pumice, rotten stone etc can be used for different effects. You can also decrease contrast of the carving by tinting larger areas.

Some tend to just do a basic finish job on a stock and let it be. I tend to fuss and adjust things quite a bit.

 

[James Kibler]

I guess you might be referring to staining the carved design different relative to the background.

If this is the case, yes. You sometimes see this on original work. Not frequently, but definitely remnants can be seen.

Done well, I think this could be really neat

 

[wiscoaster]

I guess you might be referring to staining the carved design different relative to the background.

....

I guess what I was thinking of was creating a shadowed effect by darkening one side of the carved channel relative to the main color. Upon thinking about it some more, it seems to me it might appear too "artificial" depending on the lighting conditions. Probably a neat effect for a fixed piece hanging on the wall, but not so much an article in use under dynamic conditions.

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

not so much an article in use under dynamic conditions.

Uh OH, not dynamic conditions!

 

[The Appalachian]

Can't recall where I grabbed this screenshot of a carved woodsrunner from but I personally prefer the aged look. Used, and mildly abused.

Dings, dents, grime, and all.......

 

[Eric Krewson]

Yep, the patina and wear patterns look real, shading will look artificial. Wear patterns are an art, there is a Kibler video on using bone black and producing wear patterns.

 

[user 34300]

The carving will naturally try to be a bit darker. I have not been able to get as fine and perfect a sanding job in the carving as the side open spaces. If you scrape or carefully cut the carving it will stain darker than the sanded areas. Also gunk accumilates in the contours.

You can make a shallow cut to emphasize the inside curves of relief carved scrolls. What I am learning is that effortless looking clean carving is much more difficult than it appears to be when watching someone do it.

Original carving was often pretty crude.

So, after about 10 carved stocks I am still not satisfied. I want mine to look like Kibler did it. That is not going to happen so I settle for good enough.

 

[S.Kenton]

This is my Woodsrunner that Ken Netting finished for me, he highlighted the moderate carving i asked him to do, giving my rifle a used and aged look.

 

[wiscoaster]

Uh OH, not dynamic conditions!

Life is dynamic. New wood grows, changes, modifies to accomodate changing dynamic conditions. Old wood dies, rots and burns to ash or petrifies and thus becomes history. Any living organism that can't cope with change is doomed to die. Thus: any organism wants to live as long as possible learns from and copes with dynamic change. Any person that can't tolerate (note I don't say "accept") change has already one foot in the grave.

 

[Jay Templin]

I guess what I was thinking of was creating a shadowed effect by darkening one side of the carved channel relative to the main color. Upon thinking about it some more, it seems to me it might appear too "artificial" depending on the lighting conditions. Probably a neat effect for a fixed piece hanging on the wall, but not so much an article in use under dynamic conditions.

I’m a chip carver, and what I do is to use a gel stain on my pieces. Brush it into the carving and the rest of the wood, then rub it down with a cloth. The cut surfaces retain more of the stain, so it makes the designs pop. Try it on a piece of scrap!
Jay

 

[Whisper]

I have been using leather dye on my rifles and use an antiquing gel which is water based to accent carvings.

 

[wiscoaster]

I’m a chip carver, and what I do is to use a gel stain on my pieces

Gel stain!! Ya!! Great idea - thanks!!

 

[Col. Batguano]

Undercutting your raised carving will cause the stain to accumulate there. If you then take a bit of steel wool to the tops (after it dries), and knock a bit of the stain back, (go slow here) those will be highlighted. If you keep the undercut thin, the varnish will then accumulate in the same undercut and effectively glue it back down.

I also recall a member using a pencil at the base of his raised features prior to staining.

The thing with wood and stains is that the open ends of the cells are going to absorb stain going in both directions, so while you might wish to darken only a portion of the feature, and in only one direction, the stain absorbing is going to go as far as the wood wants to take it, and in all directions it can go (which is why the stripes are dark, and in between them is light).

The idea of a wiping or gel stain is a very good one, though I would like to know the technique for applying / controlling / removing it in the very very small and intricate features that we sometimes carve. Sounds promising though.

 

[user 34300]

Maple does not take hardware store stains. Use AF or dye stains.

 

[Wncman]

I'm thinking of ordering a Kibler Woodsrunner in cherry with the carved stock option. I'm wondering if people ever highlight the carving by dyeing or staining one side of the carving channel a darker color, and if that's been done, how it has worked out for them? Thanks....

He offers something called bone black. Not sure how it would work in small carving. He’s got a video showing how to use it to antique spots