dent to adapt it to the shape of the tool which requires
his attention. There remains only the V tool, the Spoon tools, and the
Maccaroni, which all require special attention. The point of the V tool
is so acute that it becomes difficult to clear the inside. A knife-edged
slip is used for this purpose, and it is well also to cut a slip of wood
to a thin edge, and after rubbing it with paste and oil, pass it down
frequently over the point between the sides. Unless a very sharp point
is obtained, this tool is practically useless; the least speck of burr
or dullness will stop its progress or tear up the wood. In sharpening
it, the sides should be pressed firmly on the stone, watching it every
now and then to see what effect is being produced. If a gap begins to
appear on one side, as it often does, then rub the other side until it
disappears, taking care to bear more heavily on the point of the tool
than elsewhere. If the sides get out of shape, pass the tool along the
stone, holding it at right angles to the side of the stone, but at the
proper angle of elevation; in this case the tool is held near its end,
between fingers and thumb. Spoon tools must be held to the stone at a
much higher angle until the cutting edge is in the right relation to the
surface, or they may be drawn sidewise along it, taking care that every
part of the edge comes in contact and receives an equal amount of
rubbing. These may be treated half at a time, or all round, according to
the size and depth of the tool. However it is produced, the one thing
essential is a long straight-sectioned cutting bevel, not a rounded or
obtuse one. Strop the inside by folding up the leather into a little
roll or ball until it fills the hollow of the tool.

[Illustration: FIG. 11.]

For the small set of tools described in Chapter II one flat oilstone and
two slips will be found sufficient for a beginning, but as a matter of
fact, it will be advisable, as the number of tools is enlarged, to
obtain slips of curves corresponding to the hollows of all gouges as
nearly as possible. Many professional carvers have sets of these slips
for the insides of tools, varying in curves which exactly fit every
hollow tool they possess, including a triangular one for the inside of
the V tool. The same rule sometimes applies to the sweeps of the
outsides of gouges, for these, corresponding channels are ground out in
flat stones, a process which is both difficult and laborious. If the