A very inexpensive, in fact a free tool to aid in the carving process is the very common business card. Every carver has one that bears the carver’s name, address and phone number or has another carver’s business card. In fact any business card will do as a measuring and straight edge tool. The standard business card measures two inches wide by three and a half inches long. These known measurement quantities can give approximate measurements when laid against a carving project. Let’s say for example the carver wants to measure a piece of wood and does not have a tape rule but does have a business card. Laying the card against the project and marking off in the increments of the known measurements of the business card, the carver can come to an approximate measurement. Three widths of the card would equal six inches; two lengths would make seven inches; and one width and one length would make five and a half inches; and so forth and so forth. Read the rest of this entry »
“Woodcarving is more the journey than the destination,” is a saying I often use in reference to the actual carving process as being the joy of carving. The finished carving is nice to view on display, give as a gift, deliver as the completion of a commission or enter in competition. Outside of that, the real joy is doing another carving, the journey of carving.
Having said all that, yet there is value in making a “Sentimental Journey” by looking and studying one’s earlier carvings, kind of like a “benchmark” to see where we have been on the carving journey. This post will show some photographs of such “benchmark” carvings. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by: woodbeecarver in Knives
As a boy growing up on the farm in the early 1950’s a pocket knife was my constant companion being used to whittle toys and other boyhood interests. When in the early 1970’s I met wood carver David Monhollen http://www.monhollen.com/ who showed me the A-B-C’s and the 1-2-3-‘s of how to get started in carving, the pocket knife continued to be my carving tool of first choice. Read the rest of this entry »
Scott King, publisher of the CutleryNewsJournal, recently interviewed me on the subject of WHITTLING. The interview may be viewed by visiting http://cutlerynewsjournal.com/2009/05/02/meet-a-master-whittler/ . I am very honored to be able to share my ideas about Whittling with those interested in collecting antique pocket knives.
Ten or twelve years ago our local carving group asked the organizer of a knife show that was meeting in our area if we could come for one day and demonstrate whittling and carving. He was thrilled that we would want to do so and even asked if we would organize and conduct a “whittling contest” for the show and he would donate two pocket knives to the winners. Our carving group decided to have a letter opener as the subject for the whittling contest since letter openers have a blade. We carved up some examples of letter openers, wrote guidelines for how to whittle a letter opener along with photographs and supplied basswood sticks for the contest. Read the rest of this entry »
Most carvers have more than one carving knife and if the truth would be known, we carvers have in unquenchable thirst for accumulating carving knives. Among the several carving knives that a carver uses, which one is a cut above all the others? Which knife maker makes the better knife is sometimes a question asked as the search goes on for the best knife. Read the rest of this entry »
A pipe smoker’s pipe carousel was rescued from an antique store for fifteen dollars. The glass tobacco humidor was missing so in its place a piece of red oak was cut to fit the opening and seven 7/8″ holes drilled to become tool hangers. Eight additional holes were drilled to make the second row inside the outer ring of twenty holes making a total of thirty five holes to receive palm size carving tools.
The first photo shows the tool carousel holding thirty five Harman, Drake and Henry Taylor palm tools. The second photo shows the carousel holding thirty five re-handled carving tools using Bud Murray designed walnut handles for palm tools.
The carousel has a built-in lazy-susan so that it can be rotated to find the tool the carver is searching to use next. The base measures 11 3/4 ” in diameter and the top measures 9 1/4″ in diameter. This Tool Carousel is a neat way to have carving tools at easy access.
Posted by: woodbeecarver in Knives
Wood carvers of every level of experience soon come to have and use their favorite carving tool. Old pocket knives reshaped and sharpened have long been the favorites for the WOOD BEE CARVER. Ever since a boy growing up on a farm three miles south of Poneto, Indiana, a pocket knife has been used for whittling and developed into a style of whittle-carving. Read the rest of this entry »
