Knife for whittling?

how well do you think opinels would work for whittling? they are carbon steel and supposed to be very thing and great for slicing. plus they are incredibly cheap and come in many sizes/shapes.

they dont seem to make a wharncliffe but I wonder if you couldn't use the tradtional to shape and the pruner(hawkbill) to "pick out" fine details. you could get both for less than 20 dollars.
 
Pointy,

Opinels work well, esp the smaller ones. However, they aren't terribly strong in the joint, and they don't tighten up very well, or rather, they don't stay tightened.

MUCH better is a cheap nordic sloyd knife like the Mora. These are made by a number of Nordic makers and they work a treat. No Wharncliffe, but you'll be carving with the sloyd long after the Wharncliffe fad is gone :-)

Cheers/Carron
 
Alot of the carving catalogs we get have swedish Moras in them and I have heard they hold an edge well. They are as close to the opinel as you can get just no folders..............RB
 
Yes thats it. Now that I have been thinking about it I had one when I was a Scout and they were sharp and held quite an edge. As far as knives for carving my wife and I use dedicated carving knives and tools. Right now we use Flexfit knives.They are made in the USA and are made of good carbon steel and hold an edge and all we have to do is keep them stroped.Most any woodworking site will carry the moras. Here is a fast and accurate search engine. http://ixquick.com/do/metasearch.pl...ess_search&language=english&query=mora+knives ...RB
 
ichor,

Old Timer knives:

Old Timers come from the factory with poor bevels for wood carving. You must first use a flat stone and make the secondard (small) bevel go away. Lay the blade flat and now raise up the spine a very small amount. Keep removing steel on both sides until the blade has one continuous flat down to the edge. I use a coarse diamond to make the basic shape then a fine diamond and lastly a leather strop with aluminum oxide powder.

This must be done just once and there after use a leather strop to maintain the razor sharp edge. Old Timers use 1095 steel with excellent heat treat and are among the best for wood carving. Once the edge is formed and polished, the knife will be among your favorites.

Regards,
FK
 
"Old Timers come from the factory with poor bevels for wood carving. You must first use a flat stone and make the secondard (small) bevel go away. "

Thanks for the tip, FK
 
I did the complete reprofile to convex edge on a couple of knives, and it did wonders for cutting ability. I thought the Case stockman (Cr-V) took some work, until I did it to a Queen D2 stockman. That D2 takes some work, even with a coarse diamond stone.
 
I was fortunate enought to get my hands on a fixed blade handmade knife in 52100 that is suitable for the larger cuts. This steel is almost unbelievable when used for carving. It will cut longer than anything I have ever seen when it has a very slight convex edge, without needing to be resharpened. I have two other knives in D2 that are suitable for the smaller, finer cuts and both hold an edge for a long while. I have no problem in resharpening the D2.
 
Basswood isn't especually strong. That's for sure. I guess it's a matter of what pocket you put it in. I haven't had any problems with carrying it in my shirt pocket or the leg pocket of my cargo pants. But I wouldn't try putting in the front pocket of my jeans or anything.

Thanks for the compliment. That particular ball-in-cage now resides with an old friend of mine. I moved from an apartment complex last year when I bought my house. I gave the ball-in-cage as a good luck present to a great friend who happened to be my neighbor. I figured that at 88 years old, he needs all the luck he can get!!!
 
My favorite as my name implies is the Buck Cadet, their small three blade stockman. I purchased the one I am using now in 1997. While it did take some effort to reshape the sprey blade into a pointed pen blade for detail work. when I sharpen the sheep foot and the "pen" blades, I have never had a knife hold such a sharp edge. I have not had to put the blades to a stone once they were sharpened. All I do is hone on some worn wet-dry sandpaper and some equally worn crocus cloth. The steel has a shine and a smoothness that shows the hardness and durability of the steel. I have whittled for over 40 years with many pocket knifes and fixed bladed bench/whittling knives and this Buck has them all beat. Most of my carving is with green branches and twigs to make roosters, herons, whistles, letter openers, and other things. Many of my ideas come from books that have been written by Chris Lubkemann, who taught me how to take twigs and branches and turn them into "works of art".
I have also carved charactures and small figures and bass wood is the best for that, although pine is almost as good.
 
I remember this thread.

I highly recommend trying the ball and cage carving. Very challenging (especially with bigger knives).
 
Yes,
I have carved several of the "whittling Trick" items: a chain, a ball-in-cage, a wheel and axle. Right now I am doing a lot with branches and twigs. making roosters, herons, hens, various positions of them when the forked branch allows. I have always liked to carve especially with "raw" wood. I like to leave some of the bark showing so that an observer can see that it did come from a tree. I also have carved a number of spoons, the type they some call wedding spoons. These are with various shapes included and some of the "whittling Tricks" included. Each Easter I carve a different rabbit, most are of the comic and character variety. Whittling is a very relaxing hobby. All you need is a good sharp knife made from good steel and wood and off you go. For the past 30 years or so it has been a Buck three bladed pocket knife. The only time I have every needed a new knife is when the one I have is lost. My present one, once shaped and sharpened, has been with me for 10 years without a complaint. Still as good as when purchased except much sharper.
 
Well resurecting this thread seemed like the most logical way to go, seeing as how there are so many good pics in it already.

Without further adew here is last weekends projects. They are both basswood from a local hobby store, the ball in cage just looks darker because I put some linseed oil on it after I sanded it down.

carving002small.jpg


carving001small.jpg
 
Great job on the chain and the ball in the cage. I have done a number of them but never that degree of fine finish. How did you get the indentation in the top of the cage? I guess that is why do alot of branch carving which allows more of a rustic finish. When I do characters they also stay on the folk art side, with the carving marks still on the wood. I also started to carve peach pit monkeys also. They do not require a finish.

What type of tools do you use?
 
Referring to the earlier comment on opinels, I have a number 8 that I have reground into a wharncliff specifically for whittling - can't beat the steel and blade profile on opinels, but I've never liked the shape
 
buck cadet said:
Great job on the chain and the ball in the cage. I have done a number of them but never that degree of fine finish. How did you get the indentation in the top of the cage? I guess that is why do alot of branch carving which allows more of a rustic finish. When I do characters they also stay on the folk art side, with the carving marks still on the wood. I also started to carve peach pit monkeys also. They do not require a finish.

What type of tools do you use?
Click to expand...

Sorry for never answered this question. The only tool I used on those two pieces was the "Carvin' Jack". It is a 6 bladed carving tool made by Flex-Cut. All six blades lock, and it works really good. The indent was caved with one of the tools on it. Its kind of like a 90 degree scoop, but I am not sure what it is actually called.

The Carvin' Jack is a great tool in my opinion. Its nice having all the little tools in one place. Very nice for camping.
 
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