Constant Carving
ask an expert: halloween decoratingcanada
(Oct.26.10)
Halloween is just around the corner, so we're asking a pumpkin-carving pro, how we can make our jack-o'-lantern the best on the block.
Getting started:
- First, clean the pumpkin. (I bring them with me to the coin-op car wash and use the pressure washer. Hot wax is purely optional.)
- Before I take a knife to them, I draw the design on the pumpkin with a dry erase marker. I get these
from work the office supply store. Dry erase markers will rub off of the pumpkin skin, so if I don’t like my design, I can start again.
- Use an old towel to create a "donut" around the pumpkin so it stays in place while you cut. You don’t want to slip and have an accident.
- To take the top off a pumpkin, I use a drywall saw. This is the tool that your neighborhood electrician uses to put an outlet hole in drywall. It is a hand tool that looks like a steak knife with saw teeth. They cost approximately US $6.
- When cutting the top, tilt the blade so that the tip is in toward the centre of the pumpkin and the hilt is toward the outside. This will make a cap that is conical and easy to remove.
Removing Seeds & Pulp:
- Use an ice cream scooper or a large metal spoon to get the fibrous flesh and seeds out. This makes the pumpkin easier to carve and keeps the squirrels away from the finished product.
- If you want to look like a pro when you're scooping your goop, scrape all of the goop off of the sides and then just dump it into the trash can. Let the amateurs remove their goop one scoop at a time.
How To Use a Stencil:
- If using a stencil, attach it to the pumpkin. Tape the stencil at the top and bottom in the centre. Use a nail (any sized regular nail) to poke through the paper stencil wherever you want to cut it.
- Start at the centre and work outward. Poking through along the cut-lines will result in a series of dots on the pumpkin surface. When you are done transferring all of the lines, you will be left with a sort of connect-the-dots.
Colour Coding:
- For complex designs, colour code some areas. Use dry-erase markers. You only get one chance, so colour coding helps you to avoid mistakes.
- Most people use a little pumpkin saw to carve the face. I use a jigsaw. It is like an electric version of a pumpkin saw. Both tools do the same thing, a jigsaw just works faster and is a little bit out of control.
- If you're removing the pumpkin skin in certain areas, they will give off a yellowish glow. The effect is nice and allows you to have three different tones (dark, light, medium). To remove the skin, you can use a razor blade, a knife or a chisel. I use a dremel tool (approximately $70 at a home improvement store).
Tip: Do you want your pumpkin to last until Halloween? I recently did a study about what works best and I found that bathroom cleaner with bleach was the best pumpkin preserver of all. It doubles the life of a pumpkin.
Tom Nardone is the founder of www.extremepumpkins.com, an alternative pumpkin-carving website with a large following. He has written three books: Extreme Halloween, Extreme Pumpkins and Extreme Pumpkins II. You can find them all at www.amazon.ca.
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