Whittle Doodles are the carving a variety of faces and objects into a block of basswood using only knives. This version began as a six-inch-tall by three-inch square block. It was also personalized for a carving friend who is a pastor in North Carolina as will be seen on one side of the block. As a doodle, what is carved comes about in random imagination making each Whittle Doodle unique and one of a kind.
“Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get,” can be adapted to many activities of life. It applies to the carving process, in that the carver does not know how the carving will turn out until it is finished. It is this sense of surprise and serendipity that continues the joy of carving and imaginative creativity ~ we never know what we will get.
The Wood Bee Carver is primarily a knife carver and the carving classes he taught over the years before he retired from teaching at the end of 2019 were “knife only” classes. With tongue in cheek I would warn students that if I caught them using a gouge or V tool on class projects or even heard of such tools other that a knife being used I would confiscate those tools. That branch of humor was revived in later years to refer to the use of any carving tool other that a knife would be “carving on the Dark Side.”
The two-inch-tall miniature Whittle Folk Gnomes are the latest version of the original Whittle Folk Gnomes who came into being around 2008 or 2009 as a three-inch-tall figure. In the PHOTO TRAILS box under the MAIN MENU box, click on “Whittle Folk Gnomes” to see a photo display of the original Gnomes.
Rich Smithson of Helvie Knives has written a history sketch of the Wood Bee Carver Signature Series knives. The photo above is a photo of the # 1 – Universal Whittler (at top) Prototype of # 2 (in middle) and # 2 – Scimitar (at bottom). The prototype in the middle was made early on with an oak wood handle as a trial run with the cherry wood handle becoming the accepted handle. There were many prototypes of the various blade shapes designed by Mertz and Rich would make. Mertz would test and offer suggestions for blade revisions and handle shape, back and forth until a prototype passed the test and Rich would put it in projection. Rich was always eager to try a new Mertz design and always developed each design into another Signature Series Knife.
The photo above is of sculpture created by Salvatore Virdis whose work can be viewed on Facebook by searching “Salvatore Virdis-Scultore in legno” in the search box on Facebook, The Wood Bee Carver uses this photo as inspiration for the study of carving faces in the folder entitled “Saving Face.”
Whittle Folk Busts originated in 1994 as a carving project that carved a face on the corner of a three inch by inch square block of basswood with a variety of themed subjects. An article was written in Chip Chats about that time to offer instructional guidelines for this carving project using only knives.
Don Worley has developed a large family of Dudes that have been popular at carving shows with collectors and carvers who use them as go-bys for carving caricature faces. He is providing a valuable service to his students and fellow carvers who want to carve his inspired Dude Faces on triangle blocks.