” Sea Captain” is a title to refer to any carving that relates to a man of the sea.  What distinguishes this carving as a Sea Captain is his clothing and the items he holds in his hands.  In one hand he holds a rolled up map and in the other a sextant, an instrument for measuring  the angular distance of the sun, stars, and etc. from the horizon to determine position in the sea to then aid in reading the map.  Read the rest of this entry »

The “Wizard” has become a common carving subject for the mythical class of competitions at wood carving shows. There is something magical about the imaginative character of a wizard that appeals to the child in each of us. What distinguishes a wizard from an old world Santa is the style of clothing and the items each is holding in their hands. Read the rest of this entry »

The inspiration to carve Lucky the Pirate came from the following story about an aged pirate who walked into a tavern and the bar keep said, “Well, Old Timer, it looks like you have been through it.”  “Yes I have, but I’ve always been lucky,” says Lucky the Pirate.  Read the rest of this entry »

When the WOOD BEE CARVER started carving seriously around 1975 his tools of choice  were carving knives, primarily pocket knives reshaped and sharpened into carving knives.  He accumulated a few carving gouges and chisels at flea markets and junk stores with the only other known tool source at the time were catalogs from Woodcraft when it was still in Woodburn, MA and Constantines in NYC.  Read the rest of this entry »

Once a woodcarving friend, Ron Turpin, upon referring to one of my carvings, said, “Don carved that right out of his own head and has enough wood left over to carve another one.”

So where do carving ideas come from? From the block of wood we call our head, from a rough out of another carver’s idea, from a pattern in a book or from the observation of life and objects around us? Carving ideas come from all of these and even from word association. Most carvers are on the look out for carving ideas, Sometime inspiration comes out of one’s creative soul and other times we carvers borrow someone else’s idea in hopes that the more we carve we will be able to develop more of our own ideas of creativity. Read the rest of this entry »

They say that the best form of advertising is “word of mouth” of “one beggar telling another where to find a slice of bread.”  The same is true for wood carvers who discover unique wood carving tools that are often custom made by carvers who wanted a special tool, couldn’t find it, so they made it themselves.  Others saw their “one of a kind” carving tool and wanted one just like it and thus was born another custom knife and carving tool enterprise.

One such craftsman with tool steel and an artist in design is Bud Murray who has been custom making very unique carving tools and knives for several years.  The reputation of a Murray Knife has been spread “word of mouth” from notable carving teachers like Harold Enlow, Stu Martin, Debbie Edwards, Vic Hood, Gary Falin  and Wayne Shinlever (to name only a few).

A catalog can be requested using the following information:  Bud Murray’s Custom Carving Knives, 1490 Thunder Mountain Road, CAMDENTON, MO 65020 or by phone:  573-346-7321.

The unique thing about custom knife makers is because they do it for the “love of craftsmanship” and their reputation stands upon the quality of their tools.  Bud Murray’s tools speak for themselves in quality, beauty and uniqueness of design.  The tool part of a gouge, skew or knife blade cuts like a dream while holding the “proverbial” edge.  The handles, also custom made, are both comfortable to the eye and the  hand and are made of either chinaberry or walnut finished with a tung oil finish.

The WOOD BEE CARVER has a vast accumulation of knives and carving tools brought on by the affliction of “tool-i-tis” that says, “One is enough, two is too many and three is never enough.” The few Murray tools I  have are “tried and true” being some of my favorites among favorites.

The photo above shows only a sampling of his vast array of sizes and shapes that are well worth an inquiry to Bud Murray.  I highly recommend his carving tools.

The WOOD BEE CARVER calls his carving room “CARVING CENTRAL” since it is the center of carving activity.  When my wife and I build our home for retirement in 2006 we designed it as an “old geezer’s” house with a one floor plan with wide open spaces and a carving room inside the house.

The carving room is 18 feet by 19 feet and is located on the north west corner of the house with plenty of natural light.  It is entered by way of the great room and kitchen area  and has a door that opens into the attached garage.  There is a “dirty” carving area in the garage for hand sawing blocks of wood and for sharpening carving tools.  The carving room is the center of carving activity for hand powered carving.

The photos above give a visual tour into “CARVING CENTRAL” showing a hand made carving bench made in 1976, three different carving holding devices,  many tool cabinets and boxes with multiple drawers, comfortable chairs and display shelves.  Welcome to “CARVING CENTRAL” – the center of carving activity.