HELVIE KNIVES announces the introduction of the MINI MERTZ II ~ # 6-2 Signature Series detail knife.  This new and additional version of the MINI MERTZ utilizes a different blade material and shape as well as handles shape. Read the rest of this entry »

My wife, Frances, commissioned Rich Smithson of  HELVIE KNIVES  to create the wood burned art depicting the logo and names of WOOD BEE CARVER Signature Knives made by Rich, Holli and Skylar Smithson who are owners and manufacturers of  HELVIE KNIVES.  Thanks for a cherished gift.

This Plumber’s Helper caricature of a plumber riding a Helper like it was a pogo stick is a humorous way of illustrating how that Helper could be used in the imagination of the absurd. A caricature is always an “exaggeration of realism,” both in the carved figure and in the story it is telling.

The child in each of us remembers the suction cup toy guns and bow and arrow toys that would shoot a suction cup missile.   Licking the inside of the suction cup with moisture would cause the suction cup to stick to the object it touched. The suction cup was very much like the “plumber’s helper” which was often used in childhood cartoons like the suction cup toys.

This caricature was carved out of a three inch tall by inch and half square block of basswood and painted with artist oil paints thinned with boiled linseed oil. Read the rest of this entry »

The iconic Mother and Child image was created a long time ago in antiquity using a simple design whose beauty is in its simplicity.

This woodcarving is an interpretation carved only with a knife in butternut wood.  The three inch by two and half inch carving is finished with an oil finish followed with a coat of Deft and then Howard Feed-N-Wax.

The various views from different angles give a panoramic view of the Mother and Child carving whose simple beauty is the story it tells ~ a Christmas Story of Love. 

UNCLE JIMMY is a caricature of someone everyone knows, either as a family member or a character of our acquaintance.  “Jimmy” is a nickname that is given to a short “crow bar”, to a “truck” or in some locales “Jimmy” refers to a “Stranger.”  Often used in the phrase “jimmy a lock” a Jimmy is ingenious for getting into and out of tight places.  A Jimmy may be short and stocky and is still as strong as a truck.  A Jimmy may be a stranger but not for long because most a-fella called “Jimmy” is a fun loving and lovable character.

 This carving of caricature Jimmy is carved out of a four and half inch tall by an inch and half square block of basswood.  This particular block of basswood is not the best quality due to its dark streaks and flaws and yet like people there are no worthless pieces of wood.  The key in both is to find their good qualities and make something of them.  A stranger is a friend who has not yet been discovered and a scrappy piece of wood is a work of art yet to be created.  So whether the “Jimmy” is a person or a wooden caricature discover the hidden treasure in each.

 Caricature Jimmy was carved using a HELVIE Signature Series # 3-1 and a # 6-2 Mini.  Jimmy was finished with the monochrome finish of artist oil paint Raw Sienna thinned with boiled linseed oil.  The monochrome finish was chosen to show off the flaws in the wood that gives character to the caricature. Read the rest of this entry »

HELVIE KNIVES introduces two more in the Signature Series Knives.  The DRONE BEE ~ # 11 has the traditional straight cutting edge blade.  The CUCKOO BEE ~ # 12 has a variation of the WOOD BEE CARVER designed blade with a curved cutting edge with an extended tang.  Both knife blades are made from specialty steel that has its own unique “feel of cut”. Read the rest of this entry »