Whittle Folk Tree Noggins are Whittle-Carved with a knife out of basswood tree limbs.  Other carvers may call them “Wood Spirits” or “Tree Spirits” but the Wood Bee Carver has called them Whittle Folk Tree Noggins since he began carving them over twenty years ago as part of the “Folk Art of Whittling”

Tree Noggins were first carved as demonstration pieces at festivals and carving events since they are simple carvings that can be completed in a relatively  short period of time. Observers of the carving demonstration can see before their eyes a section of a rustic tree limb transformed before they eyes into a “noggin” or head of a human figure.

Several hundred of these Tree Noggins have been carved over the years and have been collected by some year after year.  First intended as a “novelty” carving, Tree Noggins have become a good staple in the  variety of carving subjects on the carving display table.

Any tree limb can be carved into a Tree Noggin but basswood is perhaps the best in carving wood for this purpose.  Friends who were cutting down basswood trees for carving blocks gave me the smaller tree limbs.  Each limb was cut into shorter lenghts of three to eight inches tall choosing the cuttings where there was a branch, a gnarly section or other decorative imperfections.

The first step in carving a Tree Noggin is to remove bark in an wavy lined oval on the side of the limb that shows off some rustic protrusions of a branch, a gnarly section or other interesting bark formations.  The face in carved into the white sap and heart wood which may have variations of color due to the drying process.  Such color variations adds to the rustic appearance of each Tree Noggin. Howard Feed-N-Wax is applied to the carved sections of the Tree Noggin to enhance the whittle-carving facets.

The Whittle Folk Tree Noggin gallery below will show a variety of “Noggins” with no two exactly alike.  Imagination guides the carving skill to create unique Noggins that have a rustic whimsy of humor mixed with Natures carving designs in the tree limb.

Carving Tree Noggins is a good exercise in learning to carve faces and learn to carve a variety of faces.  Such an exercise affirms the Wood Bee Carver’s philosophy: “Would be carvers would be carvers if they would carve wood.”