I was cleaning my sculpting knife, quickly raking it against the cloth edge of my work chair like I’ve done a hundred times a day for the last eight years when, “PING!” I heard it snap. So, now it’s time to make a new one! Here’s how I make one of the custom sculpting tools I routinely work with.

I start by taking a normal P3 hobby knife blade and a pair of vice grips. I lock the pliers so the blade is held securely, giving me sufficient room in which to work. Using a rotary tool and a sanding drum (use safety goggles!), I take off the sharp edge, dull the tip, and remove the kink on the back edge of the blade. Essentially, I remove the surface of both sides of the blade.

Now comes the really fun part: taking fine-grit sandpaper and sanding the surface as smooth as glass. This might take a little while….

You want to make sure there are absolutely no surface abrasions or scratches your sculpting material can stick to, as that will mar the surface of what you’re working on. This is super important!

Last, I polish the blade with fine steel wool to give it a really nice, glass-smooth finish. It took about forty-five minutes to achieve this, but your time will obviously vary.

So, here it is: the final product, ready for many more years of sculpting warcasters and warbeasts for you to enjoy!

Brian Dugas
Staff Sculptor