Sharing knowledge for the art of artificial craft pumpkins.
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By wookie66
#56420
Am i the only one who carves a foamie with an X-acto knife. I tried saws before but i just never liked the roughness it leaves behind. It takes a lot longer to carve with an x-acto knife but the lines are so much smoother. Tried a hot knife once but i don't like how high i have to have my hand. Does anybody else just use an x-acto knife.
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By Zombie Pumpkins!
#56436
I agree that the saw leaves a rough edge, and that the heat knife requires an awkwardly high hand hold. But I've never tried an x-acto on it's own. I always assumed it would be tiring to have to push through the dense foam without the help of heat or serrated saw teeth. But I'm sure it's possible, and would leave a clean edge. I've recently recommended to some new foam carvers (who don't have the heat knife) to maybe try with the saw first, and then clean up the edges with the x-acto for a nice smooth look.
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By wookie66
#56454
Well so far i have carved 20 foamies and i did it all with the x-acto knife(pictures will be coming very soon) and it is does take a little longer but im going to buy a foamie after Halloween and try it with just the versa tool so i can try to master it. Well since the foam carving is done for awhile looking forward to carving a real pumpkins this week with the all new orange swirl ZP carving tool which is available now at the Shocking Shop.
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By Zombie Pumpkins!
#56455
What sort of x-acto knife handle do you have? Does it maybe have a soft grip, to give you some comfort when pushing through all that foam?
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By Kayo
#56459
i used the wood carving (D) handle for my first foamie this year. i wasnt sure foam was for me because it did seam more difficult and i didnt want to buy a hot knife incase. it took FOREVER the way i did it but i did it the same way i cut mat, i just went back over line by line over and over again. sad to say not as pretty as i had hoped but thats more my handy work than the knifes fault.
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By wookie66
#56507
Just your standard metal handle. On the intricate patterns it can start to hurt your fingers after awhile,scraps took forever by the way with all of the small round bones,but it came out good. I need to find something to fit over it to make it a little more comfortable but as they say no pain no gain. So far all of my carvings look good but maybe its time for a change.
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By Lala
#56776
I just carved a foamie with an x-acto knife - I can't get those artificial pumpkin saws to work without breaking the pumpkin. :-(
By MIKECOZ8
#56811
I have carved over 50 foam pumpkins over that last 3 years and have used the PM fake pumpkin saw. Never had a problem with breakage ~~~ I guess its "to each its own"
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By Rich D
#57850
I use X-actos almost exclusively. I tried a Dremel tool this year, but like the xacto better. I was in a home improvement store and they had a set with larger handles that fit more comfortably in my hand. When I used the regular metal handle, I just used a foam pencil cushion for comfort.
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By amandap80
#69753
I use an X-acto on Funkins, due to the nature of the foam. Then cut very smoothly. I tried using them on Micheal's foamies, but they were just too rubbery for me to get the handle of.