What are carvers?

Carvers cut occlusal and proximal anatomy into a restoration before it hardens, removing excess and re-establishing form, contact and embrasure. The Hollenback pattern that makes up most of this range carries angled blades on both ends, which is what lets it reach along a margin and into an embrasure at an angle a straight blade cannot approach.

How the carvers range is organised

Hollenback:

#3 standard, #3S slimmer blade, and #3S in a hollow handle.

Ward:

#2.

Choosing the right carver

Carve amalgam while it is still carvable but firm enough to hold an edge — too soft and you pull it away from the margin, too hard and you burnish rather than cut. The #3S is the one to reach for in restricted interproximal access, where the standard #3 blade is simply too wide to enter the embrasure.