Rich Smithson of Helvie Knives announces that he is making Collector’s Edition Knives bearing his own wood burned artwork on the handle of all the caricature images of the Signature Series of knives. The photographs above show both sides and top and bottom of the six inch long cherry handle trimmed with pakkawood. Those who participate in the Signature Series are Tom Brown, Gerald Sears, Bruce Henn, Chris Hammack, Mark Akers, Randy True, Floyd Rhadigan and Don Mertz.
These special Collector’s Edition Knives will sell for $100 each and take up to four weeks to be shipped after order is placed due to the hand burned art work done one at a time. Knife blade shapes will include Standard Helvie Long, Roughout, Detail or Universal Scimitar (as in photo above). Inquiries and orders may be placed with Rich or wife Holli at Helvie Knives. Read the rest of this entry »
Helvie Knives markets a ready to carve basswood handled knife for any carver who would like to carve a unique handle.
A carving friend wanted a Pirate knife handle carved for another friend and a Wizard knife handle carved for himself. Read the rest of this entry »
Michael Keller has just posted a very informative “woodcarvers’ public service announcement” about health and safety. Check it out at http://whiteeaglestudios.wordpress.com/ and while you are there look over his entire web log and then web site. He is a “carver’s carver” and a good friend who is an artist with wood and an artist with words.
Jim Hecker is a carving friend from Minnesota who carves in a very unique style that comes from his Scandinavian roots. Recently he finished two carvings of his Grandpa Peterson. In his own words he talks about this unique carving style and the process he used during the carving process. Read the rest of this entry »
Don Stephenson, my artist/carver friend who I call “Idea Monster” has come up with another unique carving idea in the form of Green Man Trees. Using his drawings as a guide the two Whittle Green Man Trees in the middle photographs were carved out of an inch square and an inch and half tall block of basswood. First the square block was whittle-carved into a cone shape and then random and stair stepped leaves or boughs were carved using only a knife. A nose was carved with deep recesses for the eye sockets were carved along with a mouth opening. Leaf boughs shaped the eye brows, mustache and the cheeks of a face peeking through the leaves.
A littler dab of Sap Green artist oil paint was mixed with a little dabble of Howard Feed N Wax to form a coloring for the trees that is thin enough to allow for the wood to show through the coloring.
These Whittle Green Man Trees can be carved to any size and can be embellished with different shaped boughs and have snow carved on top of some of the boughs. The Idea Monster teaches us to use our imagination by taking the inspiration from a drawing and creating a unique carving of its own personality.
Thanks to Don Stephenson for his gifts of drawing and friendship which are an art in themselves.
Sean Reynolds is a very enthusiastic budding carver who is so eager to learn and is growing in his carving experience. So much so that he experienced a tendonitis in his wrist that side lined his carving activities for awhile but is now back at it by pacing himself in a healthy manner. He is developing an inner eye to see within a block of wood what needs to be carved away to set free the image hiding inside the wood.
The following photographs are examples of his advancement and growth in the carving pursuits. And besides that he is fun to talk with about the wonderful world of wood carving as evidenced by the many friends he has made on the Wood Carving Illustrated Forum. Whenever he visits me from time to time for a carving chat and carving session his eagerness indicated that he has been bitten by the “carving bug.”
Tony Perry is a fellow member of the Dayton Carvers Guild (Ohio) and beside carving whimsical houses in tree branches, he makes wonderful carving knives out of old carpenter hand saw blades. He fashions each in a unique handle shape that has a surprising comfortable fit to the carving hand. Here are two that he made for me according to my design of the blade shape. Tony is a “sharp” friend. Thanks Tony
Bob Holmes has been carving only a few months since March when he was a student in a introductory class I taught for senior citizens. The carving bug got hold of him and he has not been able to put the carving knife down as he continues to fulfill my adage, “The more one carves the better one carves.” He is also a testament to the reality that one is never too old to learn something new. It is my pleasure to share his most recent carving done all on his own using only the posting about Cy Clone on this site. Read the rest of this entry »