whittling-knives and stuff

D

dennis75

Joined
Jan 2, 2003
Messages
820
somewhat in addition to Boink's recent thread:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=337646&page=1&pp=20

i've recently bought Tangerman's book on whittling and woodcarving and thought this would be a nice hobby for me. i tried some of my knives on wood to see what i could do, but found it pretty hard to do, even though the wood was no oak or nothing.

often i'd also found myself needing excessive force or awkward movements to get a certain piece of wood carved the way i want it. i only have locking folders now, and i've tried some of my spyderco's, my leatherman charge and an opinel. i found it quite difficult, and my hat is off to guys who can whittle a ball-in-cage with a non-locking slipjoint out of black hardwood.

now's some of my questions: can i really whittle wood safely with non-locking slipjoints, like 'stockmans' and 'whittlers', is there some special trick to using non-lockers for whittling or does one simply have to be very careful not to fold the blade while exerting force?

for whittling/woodcarving, is a slipjoint indeed the best knife? and are the stockman- and whittler-pattern indeed the most useful models?

what knife (slipjiont) can you recommend me for succesful whittling? i've read that Case's CV-models and Queen's D2-models are amongst the best choices, but brands such as these are hard to come by in Holland, and lately i'm pretty much done with ebay, too much hassle. so i'd like some advice on alternative brands with good models that are more easily found in Holland. i've noticed on their website for example that Buck has a 'stockman' and a 'cadet'. are these good? any other good whittlers from well-known and well-distributed brands?

is Case's stainless steel really that bad? does whittling work better with good old carbon blades? if so, why is that?

also, are there any locking stockman/whittler-knives available on the market, or should i just get the hang of using non-locking slipjoints?

please forgive all the ignorant questions, but i really like to be prepared and get off on the right start with this new potential hobby. i have no woodcarving-experience whatsoever, nor have i ever managed to whittle something useful, other than the usual pointy stakes. i already know that i should buy soft woods, like white pine and basswood, and i got a book to learn from, and i know how to sharpen freehand to razor-sharpness.....

..; so all i basically need is some good technical advice on which whittling-knife to buy, and some good brands/models you can mention, and about the 'locking VS non-locking', and the 'stainless' VS 'non-stainless blades'

any input, advice, tricks and tips would be highly appreciated.

dennis
 
A good high carbon stockman or whittler works great -- you don't need locking blades. an X-acto is handy for real fine work, like making chains. you can also get specialized wood carving chisels -- see Lee Valley Tools. Have fun!
 
thanks. could you explain the choice for high carbon blades instead of stainless?

btw, do you think the Buck Stockman/Cadet are good knives? they got 420HC steel, btw.
 
If you can get a copy, an alternate starter book would be "Whittling Twigs & Branches: Unique Birds, Flowers, Trees & More from Easy-to-Find Wood" by Chris Lubkemann. I bought it about a year or so ago, as the very first book I bought on whittling (and so far, the only one).

I bought it mostly because the starting projects in the usual texts seemed to me to be harder and more time-consuming than I was interested in doing. Maybe some day, I'll get more into it - but as a starting point, the book I mentioned above has been great. I'm able to whittle a decent-looking rooster in less than an hour. The wood is free, the instructions clear, and the cost is minimal (i.e. just your knife).

I've used a Case Seahorse whittler in stainless (not CV) to do most of them so far. There are many critics of that steel, but for me, it works just great. It doesn't require the maintenance (oil, etc.) that CV or high carbon does. Keeping the 3 blades sharp has not been a problem on my Sharpmaker. By the way, a high percentage of the work is done (at least, with the Lubkemann method of whittling roosters) with the smallest blade. That didn't make sense to me at first, but I've found that it's far easier to whittle with a smaller blade than with a larger blade...

BTW, I would consider my whittling skills to be only slightly beyond the "newbie" level, but maybe that point of view helps you if you are just getting started.

Have fun! If it isn't fun, it probably isn't going to work as a "Hobby" :)
 
There are several European companies that have decent whittlers, with more servicable steel than Case.

Boker of Germany, JA Henckles, Bulldog to name a few. They have good carbon steel (1095) with good heat treatment, as well as stainless steel models.

For whittling, locking blade knives are not needed, whittling knives are best when they are equipped with more than one blade.

Spend some money on some good sharpening equipment, your blades must be kept razor sharp for safety and best results.

Move away from very hard woods while you are learning, Basswood and English Limewood are the best woods for learning......carves easily and takes great detail. I believe Tangerman's book talks of these woods, and he is correct.

Good luck,

Thomas Zinn
 
One of the D2 Queen's or Schratt and Morgans would be great , or if you can find one a Schrade old timer in hi-carbon steel .
 
A Shrade Old Timer Stockman is a great whittling knife. You can use slipjoints, you just have to be more careful. I could show you some grips if I had a camera, describing them won't really show you how I do it. You will have to work it out yourself, I did. You will probably get cut a few times learning. Getting cut shows your what NOT to do. Bleeding and pain are powerful motivators that teach care. So is busting or over cutting and ruining a piece you have spent 20 hours on. Knowing when to put the knife down and walk away for a little while is one of the hardest things to learn. Carbon steel works best as it is easy to keep sharp by touching up a lot. Carbon can also take a finer edge, it has to do with the grain structure of the steel. Stainless steels have elements in them that inherently cause bigger grain structure that also makes them stainless.
 
I like useing small fixed blades for roughing out things I am carving. Then I use whatever is in my hand at the time. I have a tinker that works well. I also have two other slipjoints....A sharade old timer 80T and a old craftsman that looks like the sharade. Both are great little cutters.
 
For whittling and woodcarving I would succest a finnish puukko. Puukko's have been used for centuries here in Finland to allkind of cutting but they are specially designed for whitling and woodcarving.The blade angle of puukko is about 45° so it is good for whitling wood. There are lots of puukko manufactures here in Finland, one good one that makes good whitling puukko's is Iisakki Järvenpää.
 
thanks for all help and suggestions. appreciated. i think i go buy a buck stockman or cadet and read more in Tangerman's book first. i've also ordered some basswood from some hobby-shop in Holland. man, that stuff is expensive!

thx again.
 
I've tried a bunch of knives for whittling everything from flowers to canes, but my top picks for super sharp edge retention are German Eye Brand, (Carl Schlieper) especially the Trapper models.

The best German Eye I have owned is a Stockman made from Surgical stainless. It is the only model I have found locally with that type of steel, and it cuts great, but for doing a lot of prolonged cutting the trapper seems to fit more nicely in my hand.

You can buy a celluloid version of the trapper for around $35 bucks (US) and if you like to carve you will not regret it. You can get a large or small version.

I guess the best help for me in whittling, (and it helps feed my love of playing with my knives), is to keep it razor sharp. Slight dullness in wood carving means more labor intensive, and the more potential you have of not being uniform in what your doing.

Whittling is a blast, I hope you enjoy it half as much as I have.
 
thank for the advice barrabas, i'll make sure to properly prepare myself for this adventure. i think i'll enjoy it because i like knives and i like wood, like to whittle when out fishing and such, and i got lots of spare time on my hands. i have only 2 character-flaws that might contrict me a little: little patience with boring fiddly stuff (but i consider whittling not boring...), plus a bad temper with short fuse. we'll see. i go do some reading to educate myself first, while i wait for the wood to arrive. i think i go buy the buck stockman or cadet this weekend and try it out. if the knife is no good, i'll go look for something else.

thx all./


:)
 
Locking folder carver = Flexcut's 'Carvin' Jack'.. See here.. <http://www.flexcut.com/shop/customer/infopages.php?choice=carvin_jack>
A bit pricey for a newbie, but if you can afford it You can get it for about $120. or better. Various shape blades. Comes with sharpening and honing system. Google it up. You have to buy the bandaids somewhere else. It is pretty safe, but not 'fool' proof! *__-

Carving can be a great meditation that could help 'cure' that temper and fuselet! I find that when I'm carving 'in the zone' I am no longer working within 'time'. Time no longer exists, for me, 'till I'm done. Perhaps that is why the most annoying question is, "WOW!! How long did that take you?"

Have fun! Peace...
 
thanks guys, that flexcutter looks vry impressive. those pencil carvings look amazing, balls in cages on a PENCIL?! wow! :eek:
 
The key ingredient for whittling is patience ...lots and lots and lots of patience. The reason some whittlers do just fine using slipjoint knives is because they are extremely patient and generally only remove a fraction of wood at a time, with very little force applied. Locked blade or not, if you get impatient and exert too much force, you eventually will slip ...and cut yourself badly.
 
yes, patience is a virtue. i'm usually not patient, but somehow for some reason when i'm holding a knife and a piece of wood and just carve away some i get really relaxed sometimes.........odd. that's why i thought this might be a hobby for me, since i seem to take a liking to it.

"i love the smell of freshly whittled wood in the morning" :)
 
Whittling teaches patience. Get impatient and you get cut or ruin the piece. You'll see. ;)
 
I sometimes use slipjoints for whittling, especially a Queen Whittler which has a thin coping blade that is very useful for doing deep stop cuts. I also use the small pen blade on a SAK. Just don't bury your blade and then try to pull it back up - this will cause the blade to fold and give you a nasty cut.

Most of the time I use a Warren whittling knife, with interchangeable blades. I'm constantly changing blades, though, so I'll probably buy some fixed blade whittling knives. In any case, whatever you are using, keep your blades sharp. I strop every couple of minutes and whenever I'm contemplating difficult or risky cuts. Keeping you blades sharp reduce the amount of force you have to use and greatly reduce the risk of personal injury. I also wear a protective glove on my left hand (holding the piece being carved), and a thumb guard on my knife hand to protect my thumb when drawing the knife towards it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top