Does Anyone Whittle Anymore?

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GeneL74

Joined
Nov 16, 1999
Messages
384
Whittling is something you hear little about anymore. I still love to carve up a ceder limb. Sometimes I'll be sitting in the house and the urge will hit me and I'll have to go outside and find me a stick. I have got into trouble with the wife on more than one occasion for whittling in the house. I try to hit the ashtray! She should atleast give me credit for that.

Also what kind of knife do you whittle with? Do you have a favorite? Mine is an old Treebrand Boker that belonged to my Grandpa. I have seen him whittle with it probably 100 times. After he died my Dad got it since he purchased it for him and he gave it to me. It is an ugly, battle scarred knife, but I still love it like it was a $1000.00 custom.

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Man Who Fights With Woman All Day Gets No Peace At Night!
 
Yeah, I still whittle. Usually when I'm out camping and find a nice fallen limb of the right size. The shavings go into the fire and the stick usually ends up as a skewer.
 
Oh yes, I still do that once in a while, specially when I'm just sitting around during the weekend, talking to my dad.
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We both talk and whittle, just getting that father and son bond stronger by the day.
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I usually end up with just a pile of wood shavings. My dad's almost always ends up with something useful... hehehe..

I dunno about you guys, but whittling seems to let time pass by a lot faster, and makes one remember good 'ol days, huh?

Dan
 
I'm just getting my feet wet with it after being inspired by Hoodoo's thread and some of his pix.

He also recommended a great book on the topic:

"Whittling And Woodcarving" by E.J. Tangerman, written in 1936. I liked it so much I just purchased an out of print hard cover edition of the original (7th printing).

Hopefully, Hoodoo will chime in here and share some of his experiences and a link to his pix.

Blues

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Live Free or Die


 
GeneL74, you made me laugh, whittling in the house!!!

Women just don't understand.
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LD
"Every Dog Has His Day"
BFC Member Since October 2, 1998

 
Hi Blues, how's the whittlin' going? I just came back from a nice local store that has all the wood I ever want to whittle. The store is called WoodSourceInc. The address is 2715 29th St. S.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49512. Their phone is 616-285-0600. Great stuff there!

I bought a couple of books while I was there: More Carving Twigs and Branches by Chris Lubkemann (evidently there is a previous book). This is a cool book of things you can carve from a simple branch.

The other book I bought was Whittling by Bill Higginbotham. This one has an ISBN: 0-8069-7598-9. Lots of nice stuff in there on carving small, sculpted wooden figures.

Here is a link to the whittling thread I posted earlier with some links to balls and chains. http://www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum32/HTML/000822.html



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Hoodoo

He who slings mud generally loses ground.
Adlai Stevenson
 
I love to whittle, much fun, sitting in the yard with a sharp knife and a stick!
I try and find a stick that has a branch that goes off at an angle, and then carve an animal's head using the top section as tines, like an antelope or something, or an African mask like thing, I think the wood has something hidden within and it's up to the carver to bring it out, so each stick is a challenge.
My favorite knife to whittle with is my David Boye/Loveless Persona, very sharp wharncliff blade.
G2

oh, and I did try to get my youngest daughter to take a pencil into school, one where I've whittled the point so that the facets of the pencil follow out to the point, and have her pretend to sharpen the pencil in a pencil sharpener and exclaim `Teacher! look what the sharpener did to my pencil!' but she wouldn't do it. should have had boys I guess...
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My mind is made up,
So don't confuse me with the facts!

www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Cabin/7306/blades.html

Gillett PA

[This message has been edited by Gary W. Graley (edited 30 November 1999).]
 
I whittle a bit. I'm working on a cane now and I've made a bunch of hiking and fighting staffs. I'm also making a Cross for my deceased Cat of 16 years.
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The knife I use is my Benchmade 710BT because it is my only good knife. It takes the Bark off real quick, which a lot of the time is all I need to do. When I get a smaller one I will probably use that.


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David Gardner
Vineland NJ

"If you fake the Funk, your nose will grow."
-W. Bootsy Collins


 
Do I get up and go outside and set in the rocking chair and whittle? No.

But--when I find myself standing, or setting around with a bunch of guys, just shooting the breeze, I will usually find me a stick or stalk or something to whittle on then.
 
I used to whittle a lot. I started when I got my first pocket knife. A Craftsmen stockknife.I still have it but its about worn out. Whittling helped me improve my skill with a knife and made me learn how to take care of them and sharpen them. It led me to take up chip carving and freestanding carving and I've expanded my tools to a decent sized collection of fixed blade carving knives and gouges.And by working on all my tools I got the knife bug and I've started to do a little bit of knife making. Its still a lot of fun to just grab a stick or block of wood and whittle away though.

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Fix it right the first time, use Baling Wire !
 
I whittle, and my all-time favorite is a Boker Treebrand stockman. Its main blade is worn down about a third from sharpening, but the spey and sheepsfoot are close to original. Solid as the day I bought it around 25 years ago, not a wobble. Holds the best edge of any sliplock I've ever had. My favorite wood is yellow cedar (cypress) from the west coast (Canada, of course). Made a 32 link endless chain out of it a long time ago.
 
I agree that it is a lost art. I still whittle when I get a chance even during the work day when I get a chance, usually during lunch. Its great to lose yourself in the wood and forget all the stress of the day.

I use an Old Timer stockman that belonged to my grand dad, it is worn smooth and the blades have been sharped so much that they all come to a needle point. Just great for making a box of toothpicks.
 
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