Final time, I mentioned the chip-carving lessons I educate to my sixth-grade college students and my rising fondness for letter carving—notably how efficient it may be with nothing greater than a chip-carving knife.
By means of experimentation, I found one tenet that makes the method a lot simpler: Keep away from rounded corners and tight arches each time potential. As an alternative, depend on straight strains and broad, average curves that meet at corners. This strategy produces letters that really feel robust and clear, whereas additionally echoing the prehistoric, pillowy-faceted look of polygonal masonry or “cyclopean” stonework.
The fantastic thing about this polygonal aesthetic is its flexibility. Even in case you adapt the typefaces I suggest—flattening an arch right here or curving a straight line there—you’ll nonetheless find yourself with letters of magnificence. In follow, nonetheless, some letters current extra challenges than others. To deal with this, I developed a number of templates that provide various approaches.
Letter B
One choice exhibits the central bar not intersecting the left upright groove. In one other, the letter is derived from the type of a P, with a further component descending from the decrease bowl of the P again to its base.
Letter J
The primary model begins with a horizontal prime bar, then drops right into a slender arc descending from the proper nook. Within the second, the highest bar is angled barely, the principle vertical is lengthy, and the foot ends in a curved arc.
Letter Okay
One model resembles an H with a damaged proper upright; the opposite resembles a Y with an added leg.
Letter R
Just like the B, it may be created from a P kind, both with an added right-angle leg or with a modified bowl.
Letter S
The letter S is constructed from 5 successive arcs. If the center arc is concave, the letter begins to resemble the digit “5,” which is an attention-grabbing variation to notice.
As these examples present—and as you’ll see within the letter template sheet I present—this polygonal, Steiner-inspired typeface is each lovely and sensible. I name this chip-carving alphabet Chiselgeist. The letters are simple to carve, visually placing, and a very good addition to chip-carving initiatives. For college kids, Chiselgeist makes lettering in wooden (utilizing a chip-carving knife) extra approachable and rewarding than conventional strategies.
Give it a attempt. You could be stunned at how elegant and satisfying the outcomes may be.
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