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You might never need one but, given the right circumstances, they can be the perfect tool! In this lesson I'll help you understand how backbents work and why the shape has arisen.
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| 13 November 2024 14:09
Darrin I don't really have experience of this. Bottom line however is that the tools are a means to an end, which is your carving. So if you find something that works, or you modify a tool into something that works, then go for it!
Backbents are the prefect tool for some elements in a carving and, again, if that's the tool that helps you carve better and more efficiently, then...
| 13 November 2024 00:43
Hi Chris. I've been experimenting with carving celtic knots and vines in 3d and I've found that back bent gouge make things less awkward than using straight gouges upside down to round over segments, especially on curves and where one branch dips under the other. I've used a Pfeil #30 (their #3 backbent) to good effect, but I thought having a back bent chisel would allow me to round over the sides of segments without having the edges dig in as even a #3 backbent does. Aside from Pfeil, the only other modern maker is Ashley Ilses and Two Cherries/Hirsch. I really like older tools, so I found an old Mathieson sold as a "back bent chisel". Having now gotten it, I think it's actually a #21 spoon bent that has the bevel and heel completely ground off. There's no bevel at all on the top (where a back bent would have one). It raises a question for me: is there any functional difference between a true back bent chisel and a spoon bent chisel with it's bevel ground completely off? This tools seems to work pretty much the same as another true back bent I have (not marked, but is likely a Sheffield #33). Ashely Isles makes them, but they're not in stock anywhere that ships to the US. So I'm wondering if I can make my own by just grinding the heel off of a spoon chisel. Thanks for your time!
| 19 August 2019 18:02
Jof - There isn't a standard shape for backbent tools, any more than there is for shortbents, and what you get does vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.
I always think of a backbent as having a curve right from the edge that lets it scoop around a shape, like an upside down shortbent. A straight section rather misses the point and I don't think any of mine have this feature.
You don't need much to correct that flat section; just add what would be an inside bevel. (In the same way it enables a straight gouge to be used upside down.) Merge any heel into the blade.
| 19 August 2019 16:20
Hi Chris. In the video you show how the backbent enables you to add a radius to the inside of a curve without digging in (as a straight tool would). And yet I note in your sharpening videos that a) they don't have inside bevels normally and b) sometimes the last half inch or so is not curved but relatively straight. I've found that my backbents - Ashley Iles - do dig in unlike the one in this video. So is this a special tool you've shaped yourself? Or do some brands tend to continue to curve right until the tip rather than stopping early?
Many thanks.
| 03 September 2018 03:06
I love my back bent tools. I use them a lot for undercutting as well.
| 05 September 2012 00:36
Bill - I always recommend buying tools on the basis of need. Depending on the carving you are doing, you may never need a backbent. However, you should know about them and, when the time come that you say, 'I really wish this gouge was backbent', you'll know that you can buy it - and the chances are you'll use it again in the future.
| 11 March 2012 00:58
Beautiful explanation. Until now, no one has been able to explain clearly to me what that tool is good for or how it should be used. Now I know. Thanks for that Chris.
Cheers
John
