Rich and Holli Smithson, owners and operators of HELVIE KNIVES commissioned the WOOD BEE CARVER to carve a World War I era airplane pilot. Research was made of several historic photographs and images with a few chosen to be a visual and inspirational guide while the block of basswood was being shaped into a pilot figure. The main image chosen wore a leather flight coat, white scarf and a leather helmet with googles. The pilot was carved in a basswood block nine inches tall, three inches wide and two and a quarter inch thick.
The knives used for the carving of the Mahogany Relief Carvings were all made by the Wood Bee Carver for his personal use that are called “Other Knives.” Each one is of an experimental blade design that can be variations of some of the Signature Series knives made by Helvie Knives. The photos below will show some of the blade designs being used to make specific slicing cuts in the shaping process.
The Wood Bee Carver is primarily a knife carver who enjoys the challenge of using only knives to carve various projects. Relief carving is a challenge of combining a three-dimensional image on a two-dimensional surface using a variety of slicing knife blade cuts.
The Wood Bee Carver is primarily a knife carver who enjoys the challenge of using only knives to carve various projects. Relief carving is a challenge of combining a three-dimensional image on a two-dimensional surface using a variety of slicing knife blade cuts. A profile image of Abraham Lincoln was Relief-Carved on a Mahogany block four inches tall, two and a quarter inch wide and three quarters of inch thick.
CLASSICS are carvings from an earlier time that have sentimental value in the carver’s collection. Read the rest of this entry »
Carving “LOU” the Cat was an exercise in carving outside the comfort zone. Woodcarving is a learn by doing process making every carving project a learning experience and a practice carving. Carving a project that is outside the carver’s comfort zone is especially a stretch in the learning process.
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Hillbilly caricatures have been a common theme in the carving of figures. Roscoe and Rufus are six-inch-tall hillbilly caricatures Whittle-Carved using only knives to shape and detail the basswood block.
The best way to test a knife is to use it almost exclusively in a carving project to experience all the various slicing cuts it can make to shape the block of wood into the envisioned image of the carving project. In this test a six-inch-tall woodworker is holding a saw in one hand and a hand plane in the other hand. The completed carving is seen in the opening photos.