[sodajazz]

LOL Just been to Asda and they are selling that exact same 'carving kit'. Now you know why us Brits rely on these sites and ebay for our carving goodies

[CorpseBride]

I can't wait to get my smelly pumpkin fingers on a set of Ryan's carving tools...they look great

[Dementia]

I think that I will stick to the old way of cleaning pumpkins. At least there are new patterns this year, not a lot of the same thing with a different title.

The old way is nothing compared to using the Pumpkin Gutter! I bought one last year and I LOVE it.

http://www.getcarvingquicker.com/

It is the best pumpkin carving tool I have ever purchased.

I read that so fast I thought it said "Pumpkin Glitter." *shakes head*

[rosesrunred]

I used a pumpkin gutter last year, It works great for cutting big long lines, nothing intricate or detailed.

[Zombie Pumpkins!]

Are you thinking of the Power Master Saw, rosesrunred? The Pumpkin Gutter is for gutting the inside of your pumpkin, not carving.

[reignman40]

Has anyone tried the new PM kit that has the cd software? I was curious if that one had anything new to offer. I have to agree PM's patterns have been on the decline for a couple years now. Even last years kit there was really only like one pattern I thought looked good.

I'll have to pick up the ZP carving tools. Haven't had much extra scratch around the past couple weeks. Spent it all on foam pumpkins. =)

[Dans banana Loafcake]

:lFellow forumite matspud pointed out that last year a British company, SuperCook, sold what looks to be the PM Kits re-branded but I never saw one out in the shops, I'll try and find out if they plan to sell them again this year.

I feel your pain S.A.M., I dont even bother looking in the supermarkets anymore for stencils or carving tools, thers no point. Supercook did release about 6 really basic stencils with a safety saw and I think there was a small disclaimer saying they were originally PM's. Maybe they think there's not a serious carving market over here and just release them for familes. But saying that, lookin around this forum, theres a fair few brits who I think are formidable carvers. Sad we get a bit of a bum deal.

Dan

[GUS]

All those in the uk, be on the look out for a brand called 151
they do a 17 piece "Art Kit" knife set consisting of 3 aluminium
x-acto copycat knives & blades in a hard plastic case.

at £1.50 it's VFM!

whilst its not a gutter cutter etc it's cheap & indispensable at the price! ..ps seen it on ebay for around £12.00

[Bonster]

I bought the new PM kit - just to get the poke wheel. Good concept, bad execution. The wheel's teeth are too small to penetrate the paper and flesh of the pumpkin. The tool itself is too small to hold in your fingers for any length of time.

So far, my favorite tool for poking is the ulu-shaped poker that PM came out with a couple of years back. But the wheel did give me an idea... I use a whartenburg to poke the longer, straighter stretches of patterns.

The Whartenburg Wheel is a medical tool used for checking the function of nerves (just google it). It's metal, and the teeth are fairly long and sharp. The handle is long and comfortable to hold. It glides over the pumpkin and gets into the cracks and crevaces with ease. I only wish I had thought of this sooner!

It's not great for the detailed bits, but as I said, you can't beat it on the straight-aways!

Cheers!

[matspud]

:lFellow forumite matspud pointed out that last year a British company, SuperCook, sold what looks to be the PM Kits re-branded but I never saw one out in the shops, I'll try and find out if they plan to sell them again this year.

I feel your pain S.A.M., I dont even bother looking in the supermarkets anymore for stencils or carving tools, thers no point. Supercook did release about 6 really basic stencils with a safety saw and I think there was a small disclaimer saying they were originally PM's. Maybe they think there's not a serious carving market over here and just release them for familes. But saying that, lookin around this forum, theres a fair few brits who I think are formidable carvers. Sad we get a bit of a bum deal.

Dan

Intended to post this earlier in the year. Sorry.

PM kits produce kits for Supercook and they are available online at
http://www.supercook.co.uk/products/hal ... -kit/11328
However, over the years they have done several differnt kits and you seem to take pot luck with the online ordering and the kit you get may not be the same as the advertised one. Also they don't update the site with the new kit ( only discovered a 2007 kit by accident when ordering - pot luck thing )
Also there used to be a company at www.pumpkicarvingkit.co.uk that were VERY similar to PM kits but they hadn't released an updated kit in years and seem to have disappeared.
Carving is taking off big time here and I am hoping that ASDA will bring in better kits this year ( It is WALMART after all)

[cuvers]

pumpkin masters has changed quite a bit over the years and I have come to find out that the Bardeen family has actually sold it to the company that handles paas egg kits and such, so the family that started it is not even involved anymore.

[Lithium_joe]

This year I've improvised:

For gutting I use the pumpkin gutter drill attachment from the shop. Does exactly what it says on the tin. I also use a extra large cooking spoon to scrape out the innards. I've yet to find anything better to hollow out a pumpkin with.

I already have the cutting tools from Ryan from last year and I bought a modelling exacto knife. I find those saws are great for sawing at large areas they are good and soild and brilliant bit of kit but I find it difficult to control them to make designs. The exacto knife I find comes into it's own for neatening edges and widening the space on the rear of cuts to allow more light through.

This year I've purchased a handle with a tightenable screw (from an art and craft shop) that can hold objects (similar to a drill bit without the alan key)

I visited a haberdashery (love that word!) and bought some needles and I insert those into the handle and use it to prick the designs through. I also use the same handle, and I swap out the needles and insert scroll saw blades (very, very) thin saws (£3 B&Q warehouse x 12) - perfect for detail work.

I also got a set of files which has some needle files in it which I find and good for doing circular objects like highlights for eyes.