This smaller of my two carving knives works quite well for sculpting, notice I am sharpening it first.

This knife will lower the bottom leaf, leaving a nice concave surface to the center of the leaf.

This tool is double cut and angular and will get into some tight corners.

Now a small round gouge with a rounded end will scoop out the unfolded leaves.

The small carving knife will round off the square edges. Bring the round edge to the bottom.

Notice the little curl of wood coming off the corner. Also notice the angle of the light which makes it easier to see all the cuts.

Now I am using the larger carving knife also making concave cuts.

You could also use a gouge with a long radius, notice the slightly rounded nose on the gouge.

Cutting the little v notches in the edge of the leaf with a small gouge makes them look more natural.

If you find you have little fuzzy edges you can remove them with sandpaper. Be careful don't go too far with the sanding.

A little scraping will smooth up other surfaces if they are a little rough.

These cuts are made with a small very sharp gouge.

Now it is time to repeat the same procedure on the next section and I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

This is another way of scraping. Use a small file, grind the end with a slight radius and you can use the tip and the cutting surface of the file. This works well on open areas that are easy to get to. This is another perfect example of having the light at the right angle. When I am carving I turn off the overhead fluorescent lights in the shop so that I get the full effect of the light coming in from one side.

Now, it's time to carve the patch box door.

Stamp or plunge in the design.

Remove the background.

Scrape the background with a flat chisel.

Another way to scrape is using a small file, grind the nose off round and carefully file or scrape any surfaces that you can reach.

Let's take a look at the whole project with the stain applied and thoroughly rubbed down with 0000 steel wool.

Where did that silver come from??? That will be the next very short tutorial if it is requested. I already have the pictures.

End of part three. Visit the Gun Maker's Hall page to see more photos of the finished project.