The Wood Bee Carver has reached that age-old age of 84 with its “slowing down stage” of activities. Wood carving has been central and active part of creative endeavor for fifty years. “Carve to stay Sharp” is my way to keep carving skills up and running since I no longer teach or do carving shows.
This Gallery is a presentation of recent carvings of Favorite Carving Projects in their Dressed Up coloration. “A picture is worth a thousand words,” as the old saying goes and this Gallery will be without words other that these six subjects have been carved several times over the years reminiscent of favorite subjects carved in the Whittle-Carving style of knife carving.
The two photos above are presented for comparative study with the goal to “see to study and study to see.”
“Other Knives” is a term coined by the Wood Bee Carver to name the carving knives made for personal use. In 2020 several of these knives were made for carving miniatures that required smaller blades. Salvaged blades from old pocket knives were used in the process of inserting a wire in the tang hole of the blade, twisting the wire into a tail that was inserted into a brass tube that was then filled with epoxy to solidify the assembly to be inserted into a hole in a wooden handle filled with epoxy. When the epoxy was cured into a solid assembly, the handle was carved to shape and the blade was shaped and sharpened into a functional carving knife.
The knife in the photo of Other Knives for Miniatures above indicated with the four (<<<<) needed to be repaired due to the breaking of the blade. Utilizing the same handle required the portion of the handle that housed the inserted brass tube/blade be cut off. The next step was to repeat the assembly process of the twisted wire in the tang of the blade, inserted into a copper tube that was long enough to go through a one inch wood block and a half inch into the old handle with epoxy solidifying the entire assembly. The photo below document that process with the final photo revealing the refurbished knife in its “ready to carve” condition. Additional information on this process can be viewed by clicking on OTHER KNIVES FOR MINIATURES.
Progressive Steps in the progress of Whittle-Carving of the “Nite Lite” character. The Half Pint format uses the scale of a half inch equals a foot. “Nite Lite” is the title of a three inch Half Pint carving depicting an old man wearing his night shirt, night cap and carrying a candle on his way to bed.
Half Pints are three inch by inch square carvings of various figures and subjects that utilize the half inch scale equals a foot of the proportions of a figure. They are slightly above the miniature two-inch size. A monochrome oil finish of Raw Sienna artist oil paint thinned with boiled linseed oil give a soft glow to the surface that allows the faceted texture of the slicing knife cuts to create a texture of color.
Half Pints are three inch by inch square carvings of various figures and subjects that utilize the half inch scale equals a foot of the proportions of a figure. They are slightly above the miniature two-inch size. A monochrome oil finish of Raw Sienna artist oil paint thinned with boiled linseed oil give a soft glow to the surface that allows the faceted texture of the slicing knife cuts to create a texture of color. Each is carved using only knives in the Whittle-Carving style of making slicing and rolling cuts to shape up the basic form of each figure and then refine with precise detailed slicing cuts.
Here is a Carving Tip from an old carver with over fifty years of “learning by doing” as the Wood Bee Carver. Carving is a journey that is filled with “practice to make progress” experiences from which a carver can “learn a thing or two.”