. I'm not familiar with the zig-zag japanese rasps,
: could you elaborate on exactly what they are? Actually, I'd like to hear
: how you carve in general.

Imagine six (I don't remember the exact #) double sided hacksaw blades connected together with the 4 middle ones bent in a zig zag fashion. So it doesn't have big teeth like a rasp but it has big open spaces for debris to clear out. Doesn't grab and is very controllable. Mostly I find carving with that tool, curved surform and some sandpaper or dry wall sandpaper is all that's needed. I haven't found a way to use a power tool safely or with much controll when grinding minicell. Maybe Joe has some advice?