The Whittling Corner

[WhittlinAway]

I thought I'd share an in-progress photo of a little penguin I've been working on:

I'm winging the design, so it'll likely change a bit along the way. For one, I'm probably going to start again on the tuxedo coat and make better lapels. Fortunately I need to bring that area deeper to accentuate the wing anyway.

The fixed blade is a Morakniv Classic Original #1 that I received as a gift a couple of months ago. It's an excellent carver and has been handling the bulk removal. The small clip on the Camillus 72 is handling the detail work. Together they make a fine combination.

I hope everyone has had a good weekend. Anyone else get in a little whittlin' time?

 

[yablanowitz]

Yeah, I've got a long chain loop I've been working on for a while. It's starting to look more like an unfinished chain than a block of wood with some lines on it. When I get some light I'll see if I can get a picture up. I really wish Seattle would come out here and get their weather, and bring ours back when they come.

 

[Old Biker]

I like the penguin. I hope you post some finished pictures when you are done. I have been thinking about doing one for a while now. So far it has just been thinking. I haven't started making any chips yet.

O.B.

 

[WhittlinAway]

Yeah, I've got a long chain loop I've been working on for a while. It's starting to look more like an unfinished chain than a block of wood with some lines on it. When I get some light I'll see if I can get a picture up. I really wish Seattle would come out here and get their weather, and bring ours back when they come.

I look forward to seeing your chain loop. I bet that's quite an undertaking.

I hope you have seasonable weather again soon.

I like the penguin. I hope you post some finished pictures when you are done. I have been thinking about doing one for a while now. So far it has just been thinking. I haven't started making any chips yet.

O.B.

Thanks. I will, but it'll probably be a few weeks until I've had enough whittling time to finish it. Who knows, maybe you'll start and finish your first.

 

[Ace Rimmer]

I tried carving another bas relief -- this one a representation of a sunflower. Using my Rough Rider 106 split-back whittler.

A couple of weeks ago we went to Michigan and happened across a big yard/trunk sale. I found a couple of basswood boards for $5 that should be good for carving reliefs -- better than these little 2"x2" blocks.

 

[WhittlinAway]

Thanks in large part to the spoon carving discussion in the first few pages of this thread, I've caught the spoon bug. I recently completed my first from green wood, using a piece from a neighbor's plum tree:

This was about as far as I was confident shaping the blank with a hatchet on my first attempt:

From there I used a band saw to complete the rough shaping of the blank. I've since studied books and videos by Wille Sundqvist and Barn the Spoon and others and am excited to try my next one using only a hatchet and knives.

I left too much material and spent a lot of time removing it with knives. Here it is part way through:

As you'll see in the finished pictures, there was still a lot to be removed at this point. I'll attempt to correct that next time and do more rough shaping with the hatchet. In this case, though, the extra material gave me a lot of opportunity to experiment with a variety of knives and grips.

Speaking of knives, these were the ones that were responsible for the majority of the work:

The top two are hook and sloyd knives from Pinewood Forge. The bottom two are a Mora Classic Original #1 and a Pasi Hurttila puukko. Any one of the straight blades would have been sufficient to complete the project, but it was fun and educational to experiment with the lot. I used the puukko the most and used the sloyd when I wanted a finer tip. The Mora was used the least, but only because the other two were a very capable duo and I didn't feel the need to switch.

As an aside, I understand why the Mora 106 is popular with spoon carvers. Its blade shape looks to be a nice compromise between the shapes of the Pinewood Forge sloyd and Hurttila puukko. I plan to try one in the future.

I decided not to sand this spoon. I like the hand-tooled look and this one will be a good baseline against which to measure my progress as my knife skills improve.

Here's the final product, finished with flax seed oil:

Close-ups of the bowl:

I'm happy with the result and welcome any constructive criticism on things that could be improved, whether in design or execution. I learned a lot along the way and have a list of things to try differently on the next one. I can hardly wait to get started on number two!

By the way, once the oil has cured, the spoon will be going into service in my kitchen. I suspect its use there will also highlight some changes to make next time.

 

[akaMatt]

Here's the final product, finished with flax seed oil:

That looks great! Good job!

 

[kamagong]

The 106 with its narrower blade is definitely more optimized for wood carving compared to a general use puukko.

 

[WhittlinAway]

That looks great! Good job!

Thanks!

The 106 with its narrower blade is definitely more optimized for wood carving compared to a general use puukko.

Thanks for the comparison shot. I had a good idea of the 106 blade's shape, but was unsure of the scale. Your photo answers that question perfectly. It does look like a great carving blade.

 

[mb>]

I've been working on my first spoon. Also took a limb and turned it into a grill scraper so I could quit gunking up our wooden kitchen spatula. We had some limbs available after the last hurricane cleanup.

I'm pretty new to carving/whittling. But I find it enjoyable in that you can listen to music or a podcast, etc, yet it fully engages your mind in the focus required. Great way to destress.

Not done, but here's a few shots of the tools I've been trying. I was pretty pleased with the detail work possible with the small forrest axe just by choking up near the head. Worked really well for stock reduction.

 

[Jeff_R]

Hi fellas,

I've enjoyed reading about y'all's whittling projects. This is one of my favorite threads.

I haven't done much whittling lately, focusing more on fixing things around the house. Last week though, I did do a project where whittling skills came in handy: repairing a couple of dog-chewed windowsills in the house. Instead of using epoxy putty I went "old school" and inletted wood pieces in the damaged areas, whittling down and then sanding the pieces to match the original profiles. Pretty pedestrian, so I'll spare you the dull pictures.

 

[onojoe]

I have just been inspired...

 

[jonathan creason]

I got a wild hair that I wanted to whittle/carve again for the first time in a long while. Started on an open spiral with a taper. I started this project with what I had on hand, a Case medium stockman. It worked ok, and would work better if I took the time to reprofile the bevels. However, the width of the sheepsfoot blade made getting in the right spots difficult. I have been toying with the idea of getting a new knife, but being on a very tight budget I can’t afford to try different ones out until I find “the one”. I happened to remember I had this old Boker, that belonged to my grandfather, sitting in a drawer and decided to dress up the edge and give it a try. The thin grinds and narrow blade made the job much easier. The handle gets uncomfortable after a while because it’s so small, but for the time being it’s getting the job done.

 

[jonathan creason]

Crap, nevermind. I can't figure out how to use imgur.

Check that, I don't know what I did but something finally worked.

 

[gmwolford]

I whittled a whistle from a locust branch this weekend using the basic idea from this video

I used a 1/4” dowel and s bit of superglue in mine. It works surprisingly well for as simple as it was to make.

 

[WhittlinAway]

Whittling friends, I've got a new knife for show and tell.

A couple of weeks ago I received a package from the ever generous @Jack Black and was delighted to find inside of it this whittling knife--known as Thwitel--made by Arthur Wright & Son in Sheffield, England:

I believe the steel is the same C70 carbon steel they use on their lambsfoot knives and I'm guessing the handle is rosewood. The knife is light and comfortable in hand and gently whispers "I'd love to be used for pull cuts, please" whenever I pick it up. It also came with a leather sheath, which is a nice touch.

It wasn't until last weekend that I had an opportunity to sharpen it properly for whittling. It took a shaving sharp edge quite easily.

Yesterday I had a couple of hours free and decided to take it for a spin. I was in a whimsical mood, so I thought I'd try to carve a unicorn in the style of a Dala Horse. Not having a ton of time, I decided to try something new and cut the rough shape with a bandsaw before shaping with a knife.

Here's the pattern I sketched out:

After bandsawing, I set to work with the Thwitel and found it to be a delight to use. The thin blade slices through basswood with ease, both for V cuts and for taking wide, thin shavings. The spine is just thick enough near the handle to still be comfortable under my thumb during push cuts. And, as I hinted at above, it loves to be used for pull cuts.

I used it for the majority of the shaping and then stopped at this point:

From there the small clip blade of my Camillus 72 took over the work. I probably could have done everything with the Thwitel, but I'm more comfortable using a small, curved blade for detail work.

Here's the nearly-finished product, before I did a bit more cleanup:

It's a bit short and squat, and the horn is quite a bit too big for a unicorn. Instead of a Dala Unicorn, I guess I ended up with more of a narwhal/rhinoceros hybrid. Oh well, it was a fun way to spend a couple of hours and get to know a new knife!

It was a different experience using a bandsawn blank rather than starting with a rectangular block of wood and going from there. I hadn't realized before how much I enjoy the process of "opening up the block", as Don Mertz calls it. It takes more time and requires planning, but I find it to be an enjoyable and fulfilling pursuit. I think I'll go back to a raw block for my next project and save the bandsaw for rough dimensioning.

Thanks again Jack for the new knife. I'm enjoying it!

 

[Ace Rimmer]

I haven't done anything in ages so I decided to do another simple bas relief. Since I last posted I have re-dyed my RR split-back whittler. I find the Opinel mini-steel handy for a quick edge touch-up.

 

[WhittlinAway]

Nice job A Ace Rimmer . Glad to see another of your projects here. You've got a knack for relief carving.

Anyone else been whittling lately? I started something over Christmas that I hope to finish and post soon.

 

[Neko2]

I was working on a giraffe that I'll have to post some pictures of later.
I'm at the point where you start in to the details and ruin finish it.

 

[Markous]

It's a W.I.P. but this is a 5' pine hiking stick i'm working on. Thinking about treating it with minwax wood hardner when it's finished.

Using my Millie for the majority of the work, and my KOA hand saw putting in an even(ish) depth guide.

Thinking of using some yellow 3/16" kevlar/aramid rope i have as a wrap in the groove for a look blending natural and synthetic.

Also have some rubber coated N52 neodymium magnets to install in the base for a black sand probe & possible panning spot locator on the river hikes we do in the summer on camping trips.

The red line was for a goofy idea i still may follow through with, installing a SOG team leader (scales removed obviously) with sawback for reaching up for kindling and possible defence against any Yogi's or big kitties hopefully not encountered on our treks. I would get some kydex and make a cover for it when not in use.