Don't worry if you can only get hold of a flat-tipped lino blade, it will carve
just as well, you will just need to exert a little more control over your grip
and pressure.
The best place I've found for buying carving tools is
Great Art. Here you can buy v-blades, u-blades, handles for the
blades, sharpening stones, barens, inks, papers for relief printing, and they
also supply lino, but so far no plastic based carving materials. I have ordered
several times from Great Art, and have been pleased with their service.
Another supplier of printmaking tools and materials is
Lawrence. I haven't ordered from here, but they have a good
selection in their catalogue.
Materials for eraser carving can be found almost anywhere. I find that the best
eraser for carving is the MarsStaedtler eraser, which comes in different shapes
and sizes. It has just the right consistency for carving. Any other plastic
eraser will do, however. Have a good look around your local stationery store
and you are sure to come across a cheap and carvable eraser. Always try to get
a plasticy eraser - crumbly erasers are not usually much good for carving.
Once you get the hang of carving, you may want to move on to bigger and better
materials. Erasers are fine for small patterns, but soon you will want to
expand and create larger carvings. Luckily there are places out there that
supply such material. Check out these companies for starters:
Stampeaz
Vendors of PZKut, a lovely carving block that comes in the huge size of 4¾" x
10". At $5 a sheet, it is extremely good value. I live in the UK and 5 sheets
can be shipped over here for a postage cost of $9.50, and at the current great
exchange rate that makes it just over £4 per sheet, including the postage
costs. Bargain!
Blade Rubber Stamps
sell pink Speedball carving material in three sizes. It carves almost as well
as PZKut, and is a good alternative. Unfortunately due to the cost of importing
it, you will see that it is more cost effective to order PZKut from the States.
Graphicus
also sell carving material, but this material is a bit too soft for my liking.
However, I would say that it is a good material for a beginner to use, as it is
soft and therefore easier to carve. I will also give a heads up here, and just
let you know that I work for Graphicus, but don't get any commission for
sending anyone their way!
When using small erasers, you can easily use normal inkpads available in any
stationery shops or rubber stamping shops. However, when you move on to larger
pieces of material, you may find it easier to use a brayer and printing ink.
Brayers are available from most art shops. Find a flat surface which you can
spread your ink out on to, I personally use plasticard - a thick sheet of
plastic that can be found in model shops. As a printing ink, I use water
soluble block printing ink - the type I use is made by Daler Rowney, and I
bought a large 300ml tube from my local art shop for £7.99, and the ink goes a
very long way - I have a small 22ml tube of the same product that I bought
early in 2000 (which in contrast was very expensive at £2.66), and I used it
for hundreds of prints, and it finally ran out at the end of 2001.
Dot a small amount of printing ink onto your plasticard (or other flat smooth
surface) and roll your brayer through the ink several times to get an even
coverage on your brayer. Then roll the brayer over your carving - again, make
sure you get an even covering of ink onto your carving. I usually print my
larger carvings by leaving the carving face up on my desk, and placing the
paper or card on to the carving, pressing down the paper all over the carving
to get an even print. Experiment to see what method works best for you.
Now that we've gone over the basic tools and materials - it's time to get carving!
Take a good look at the shape of the lino blade below - you will notice that the tip of the lino blade is sloped. Always try to get hold of one of these kind of sloped lino blades, as they make life extremely easy for the carver. They are easy to control and just perfect for carving out the tiniest of lines by just using the very tip of the blade:
The tools you need to carve with are very simple. Just an eraser and a craft knife will get you on your way. However, a lot of people find that a v-shaped lino blade is just the tool to get them started, as it is very easy to control, and naturally cuts out the the shape from the rubber. To start with, a number one v-shaped lino blade and an X-acto knife with a number 11 blade are the perfect tools to get carving with. I recommend the X-acto knife and blade as it has a very thin tip, which is perfect for cutting fine details. An example of both these knives is shown below:
