Stay well & an impromptu needle-file handle

This month's blog is about staying safe and well, in two ways.  I've banged on about physical safety in most if not all of my tips and quick tips, so the first is about mental health.

Mental health is as important as keeping yourself unharmed by your carving activities.  Carving is generally a solitary occupation, and maybe at times the joy of carving can become a bit muted when things aren't going as well as you'd like them to.

My wife and I recently visited NZ and caught up with the two carvers who most showed me the ropes.  Buddy and Steve, and their partners.  It was wonderful to see them all after the COVID lockdowns, my wife's retirement and the continuing renovations on our new property.  As a result, we'd not seen each other for a number of years, and I'd missed them.

That made me think about mental health.  It's great to have a feeling of kinship, friendship and belonging with other people.  So keep in touch with your family, friends, go to your local rock & mineral club, see the people who are important to you.  And if none of those answer your needs, there are any number of organisations which you can reach out to.  You may be a solitary carver but you don't have to be alone!

​Figure 1 - these were the work of a few minutes, and much practice!  Why not try it yourself?

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The second tip is to keep your hands safe when you don't have a suitable needle-file handle.  Whilst my wife & I were visiting Steve he made up the two "bubbly" cork needle-file holders for me.  He told us it was an old watchmaker's trick.  I attach the picture above to show you - you just have to do the whipping as soon as the cork is out of the bottle because once it expands and dries it won't be dense enough to hold the file securely.  Steve kindly agreed to my including the idea in this blog.  So there you go!!  And thanks Steve!

​Happy carving!