The WOOD BEE CARVER grew up with the pocket knife being used for whittling and when it comes to carving, refurbished, reshaped and sharpened pocket knives are still the first choice.  The pocket knives depicted in the photo show the shape of blade preferred for its slicing action ability and getting into tight spots.  Of course it all boils down to what one gets used to using and personal preference.

The small bladed knives in the photo above were made from broken blades reshaped and sharpened.  The larger bladed knives in the photo began life as a pruning knife with a hawk bill or hooked blade.  To get the shape as they now appear, the blade was cut to shape using a cut off disc on a Dremel Tool on what is now the back edge of the blade.  Read the rest of this entry »

The WOOD BEE CARVER is primarily a whittler who carves with knives in a style he calls WHITTLE FOLK ART. Often I am asked what is my favorite carving knife and my response is always, “The knife I am using at the time.”

The reason being that I have always loved pocket knives and whittling on a piece of wood ever since I was a boy growing up on a small farm three miles south of Poneto, Indiana (which is south of Bluffton and further south of Ft. Wayne and west of Berne.)  During those formative years every boy carried a pocket knife, even to school, and if a boy has a pocket knife he is prone to whittle on something.  In my case, even though I whittled often to make toys and “boy stuff” I did not really know what I was doing, did not know how to sharpen a knife nor what was good carving wood nor have anyone show me how to carve.  Still the carving urge persisted as I grew older occasionally whittling on something and drawn to wood carvings that would be on display in stores or magazines.  Read the rest of this entry »

Every carver has an inner anxiousness about making a mistake while carving but when you boil it down there really are no mistakes in carving, only learning experiences.  A wit once said “Nothing in life is ever a complete failure because it can always serve as a negative example,” which is a lot more truth than humor.  David Sabol of the Caricature Carvers of America often says in his carving instructions that carvers should treat each carving project as a “practice” piece by which he implies that each carving project is a learning experience, so relax and have fun and if you mess up the carving, you can learn how  to make adjustments.  Read the rest of this entry »

There is an old wise saying: “Life is full of endings, but it is never The End for with every ending there is always a new beginning.” Such a wise observation fits every experience of life if only we resolve to “begin again.”

The WOOD BEE CARVER has as one of his sayings: “Woodcarving is more the journey than the destination,” which means that satisfaction does not come at the end with the completed carving.  Satisfaction comes while doing the carving project so when the carver comes to the end with a completed carving there is the eager anticipation to “begin again“ with another carving project. Read the rest of this entry »

Christmas is a special time to be reminded again that peace and good will happens every time, no matter what time of year it is, when we give our selves away in love and friendship.  In the wood carving world such a friendhip is experienced over and over again where ever and when ever wood carvers gather together.  There is a spirit of generosity and willingness to help one another and share the experiences of wood carving. Read the rest of this entry »

The WOOD BEE CARVER is primarily a knife carver who started out as a young boy whittling with a pocket knife.  Thus, the pocket knife has been the first favorite carving knife even though custom made knives and commercial knives make up the arsenal of Whittle-Carving tools.

The key, learned over the years of experience is that a knife properly sharpened, no matter the make or brand will serve as a reliable carving tool.  Whittle-Carving is a term the WOOD BEE CARVER  uses to describe carving a hand held project and using only a knife to carve the wood to its final detail. 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 »