Of course, you do not have to make such large chips. The same tool can just as easily make very fine, hair-like spiral chips when finish carving intricate details in a bas relief, or incising the feathers on a bird carving. When tilted to either side, the circular edge can skew-cut a clean V-groove, and is great for carving letters, scrolls, and other features on a quarter-board.
For most work, the tool should be adjusted and held approximately as pictured above. However, for access to deep hollows, the clamping band can be loosened, and the cutter and saddle-block can be rotated to whatever angle is best suited to the task at hand. In the straight position, the DENKER Shave can be used like an ordinary carver’s knife for hand-held work, where the tool is levered against the thumb of the hand holding the work. By adjusting the cutter head over center (so the cutting edge faces forward) the tool can be held backhand for access to very confined areas where there is no room for your wrist and arm when holding the tool in the preferred position as pictured above.
