Bud Murray and his wife Carol live in Camdenton, MO where they both carve and Bud makes carving knives and carving tools. Shortly after he began carving over twenty years ago, Bud began to make his own knives. A carving friend in Georgia made one for him and then taught him how to makes knives. Like carving, making knives grows with experience and with experience grows quality. A Murray knife has gained a reputation as a quality carving knife over the years. Murray Knives and Carving Tools are made by a carver for carvers and it does not get any better than that.
For almost two years now Bud has been making knives for the WOOD BEE CARVER according to his blade design and pistol grip handle. These knives are designed for Whittle-Carving style of utilizing the slicing cut as often as possible.
Used planer blades from the lumber industry is what Bud uses for the shaping and sharping of the blades that are mounted in either Walnut or China Berry wooden handles custom shaped by Bud. The photos that follow show a portion of his basement work shop area where the knives are transformed from high carbon tool steel into a functional carving knife. Bud uses grinders for stock removal in the shaping of each blade and then moves on to other motorized tools to continue the sharpening process. Finally, he strops by hand the finished blade on a series of finish abrasive paper held flat in specially designed holding devices. A final buffing brings the knife to the next stage of testing for carve ability which completes the final process. The wooden handles are treated with tung oil and then waxed for durability. Read the rest of this entry »
The idea for carving a Madonna and Child in the shape of the letter “J” connected to letters “O and Y” to spell “JOY” came from an editorial cartoon drawn by Steve Breen in 2007. A cartoon does not always have to evoke humor as much as it captures one’s imagination in a thoughtful manner. Such was the case with Steve Breen’s cartoon that nagged and prodded the creative muse to become a wood carving. Read the rest of this entry »
Doc Holiday is a historic figure who was part of the Gunfight at the OK Corral of Western lore. Many stories and movies interpreted with artistic license the character of Doc Holiday and there is no definitive and accurate account of where fact ends and fiction begins. Carving a figure of Doc Holiday becomes the imagination of the carver through various depictions of the Western outfit. In this case Doc is wearing a long dark duster over his suit vest, string tie and trousers. He is carrying a double barreled shot gun in his right hand while the butt of a pistol peaks out of the edge of the left side of his duster. Read the rest of this entry »
Rich Smithson along with his wife Holli and daughter Skylar own and manufacture Helvie Knives. Besides making popular carving knives, Rich is also an artist who decorates many special edition knife handles with his wood burning creations. Read the rest of this entry »
“Never judge a book by its cover,” is a wise old saying that is often truer than fiction and yet it is the cover that invites a look inside the book. Steve Prescott was commissioned to develop a book cover for a collector friend, author Coleman Archer who has written a collection of short stories about western life in the Texas panhandle in the early 1900’s. Read the rest of this entry »
The BEFORE and AFTER photographs of the “Cowboy Limo” created by CCA Member Steve Prescott demonstrates how a good idea can be made even better. The “Cowboy Limo” was first introduced to this blog in the February 1, 2012 posting entitled “Steve Prescott – Cowboy Limo” (which can be found by going to “Main Menu” in order to click on “Blog Site Map” which will bring up a written index of postings by title listed under “Categories” and look under “Carving Friends” to find the title of the posting).
Even though the Cowboy Limo in the BEFORE photograph stands alone as a eye-catcher of a caricature carving, yet its “presentation” is enhanced with the “Better Idea” presented in the AFTER photograph. Read the rest of this entry »
CCA MERIT AWARD was presented to Ray Price of Beavercreek, OH at the Artistry in Wood Show in Dayton, OH on November 11, 2012.
The award is presented to a carver who exemplifies the art of caricature carving and as an encouragement for the advancement of caricature carving. Ray has demonstrated over the years at various woodcarving shows his unique creativity and imagination of carving caricature scenes. CCA Members who presented the award to Ray are pictured left to right: Jack Williams, Don Mertz, Joe Schumacher, Ray Price, Bruce Henn, Dave Stetson and Gary Falin.
The picture below is of Ray at his display and shows two of his caricature carvings.
CCA MERIT AWARD was presented to Arnold Smith of Adrian, GA at the Artistry in Wood Show in Dayton, OH on November 11, 2012. The award is presented to a carver who exemplifies the art of caricature carving and as an encouragement for the advancement of caricature carving.
. CCA Members who presented the award to Arnold are pictured left to right: Jack Williams, Don Mertz, Arnold Smith, Bruce Henn, Gary Falin, Joe Schumacher and Dave Stetson.
Arnold has sharpened his caricature carving skills over the years and has shown his carvings at woodcarving shows in the South. This is his first time to show at Dayton and his caricature laden table speaks for itself of the excellence in caricature carving. The following photographs are of Arnold at his display table with examples of his caricature carvings.
