Whittling is the art of shaping a hand held piece of wood with a knife using various cutting strokes. The most efficient cut is a slicing cut since the cutting edge of the knife blade is made up of very small teeth very similar to saw teeth. Think of trying to cut a slice of bread. If the knife is laid across the loaf and pressure forces the blade straight down with a wedge cut, the bread will be cut eventually but will be squashed before the blade is forced through the bread. If, however, the knife is used in a slicing action allowing the cutting teeth of the blade to separate the fibers of the baked bread then a slice is possible with a smooth cut with little squashing of the bread. The same happens when whittling by using a slicing action allowing the cutting teeth of the blade to do what it is intended to do without forcing the blade into the wood. The key is to learn to develop a slicing action as often as possible to create clean and crisp cuts. Read the rest of this entry »

Whittling is the art of shaping a hand held piece of wood with a knife using various cutting strokes. The most efficient cut is a slicing cut since the cutting edge of the knife blade is made up of very small teeth very similar to saw teeth. Think of trying to cut a slice of bread. If the knife is laid across the loaf and pressure forces the blade straight down with a wedge cut, the bread will be cut eventually but will be squashed before the blade is forced through the bread. If, however, the knife is used in a slicing action allowing the cutting teeth of the blade to separate the fibers of the baked bread then a slice is possible with a smooth cut with little squashing of the bread. The same happens when whittling by using a slicing action allowing the cutting teeth of the blade to do what it is intended to do without forcing the blade into the wood. The key is to learn to develop a slicing action as often as possible to create clean and crisp cuts. Read the rest of this entry »

Every carver wants to jump right in carving without the benefit of the time invested in practicing and doing exercises. That is normal and natural until each carver learns that every carving one does is a practice piece, and the steps to complete the carving project are exercises in learning by doing. The WOOD BEE CARVER’S philosophy is: “Would be carvers would be carvers if they would carve wood,” meaning that we only learn by doing (practicing and exercising) the carving process. Read the rest of this entry »

The WOOD BEE CARVER  begins with a block of wood carving the subject to its basic form without any detail.  His rule is: “Form Follows Function – Detail Follows Form,” meaning that before any details can be carved the proper form or foundation must be established in order for the details to fit.

All his human figures begin by carving the rough form of the head covering of the subject being carved, the reason being is that the head fits into the head covering rather than the head covering sitting on top of the head.  The head covering could be a hat, a head dress or simply hair.  If there is no head covering then the head is the first thing carved to the basic form of a head. Read the rest of this entry »

The WOOD BEE CARVER applies a soft painted finish on his carvings using a combination of artist oil paint and boiled linseed oil.  This painting method is adapted from a method developed by John Heatwole, a woodcarver from Virginia who wrote an article entitled “Painted Carvings” in the March/April 1987 issue of Fine Woodworking.

Boiled Linseed Oil contains a chemical dryer that allows the mixture with artist oil paints when applied to a wood carving to dry within a few days.  The genius of this method is to apply a base coat over the entire carving if it is a small carving or if it is a large carving, apply the base coat over sections that are to be painted in sequence. The base coat is a combination of RAW SIENNA and BOILED LINSEED OIL mixed thoroughly together until it looks like honey in color and consistency.  The amount of each is a trial and error experiment, for example, combine two table spoons of Boiled Linseed Oil and a 3/4 inch strip of Raw Sienna squeezed out of the tube of artist oil paint.  Mix with a palette knife by squashing the paint into the boiled linseed oil until all the lumps are squashed away.  Then take a small stiff bristled artist paint brush to mix the mixture together into a finer consistency. If too thin, add a little more Raw Sienna oil paint from the tube or if not thin enough, add a few drops of Boiled Linseed Oil and mix thoroughly.  This suggested amount will cover a carving three inches wide and twelve inches tall or it will cover six smaller carvings which once again is simply  trial and error. Read the rest of this entry »