I pressed on, but I ended up getting blood all over my project. Another ten minutes in, the blade skipped off a knot and glanced my index finger. At this point, my wood was slippery with hemoglobin, so I had to stop.

It was like I was carving a warm block of butter. Basswood has been used for millennia for woodcarving. During the Middle Ages, it was the preferred wood of German sculptors who crafted elaborate altar pieces. It’s a good wood to whittle with because it’s soft and doesn’t have much grain. You can pick up basswood blocks in various sizes at your local craft store for a reasonable price. It’s a good idea to wear a thumb guard when you are using the pull stroke to add detail to your project.

In this manner you’ll pull the knife towards your thumb, much like when hold a piece of fruit and cutting or peeling it. The thumb brace cut is important for smoothing and forming contours in your work. Sharpening stone – Not only does sharpening the knife make whittling easier, but one could argue it also makes it safer. A dull blade does far more damage than a sharp blade if and when you slip. Whittling wood has been a hobby since there were sticks lying around and sharp things to shape them. Whittling has been passed down from one generation to another for millennia.

Of course, a soft wood like basswood or butternut should be used with this whittling cut type. You will have a lot of difficulty whittling through hardwood with the straightaway rough cut method. If you’ve ever seen an old-timer whittle, chances are you saw him using the pull stroke. To perform this cut, imagine you’re paring an apple.

Step 1: Draw In The Top Of The Head

Whittling is a great pastime for the man who wants to craft something, but may not have the room or tools to say, build a dining room table. Or for the man looking for something meditative to help him center his thoughts. Or simply for the guy who wants to while away time on a camping trip. It’s one of the cheapest and most accessible hobbies you can take up–all you need is a knife and some wood. Try to avoid wood with knots and growth rings and, where possible, avoid wood where the grain goes in multiple directions – a straight grain is easier.

I recommend loosely tracing your stick onto the paper first so you can make sure it fits and everything. Whittling is one of the oldest forms of woodworking with hand tools. The Shigir idol found in Russia in the 19th century is the oldest known example of a wooden sculpture in the world. It was carved shortly after the last Ice Age, during the Mesolithic period using sharpened stone tools out of larch wood. To use notching place your piece of wood flat onto a table and make a cut at 30 degrees into the wood to the desired depth. Pull back the blade and make the same 30 degree cut parallel to the first cut and too the same depth.

Keep Your Knife Sharp

As with all hand tool woodworking, once you become more skilled at whittling you can attempt to use some harder woods. Balsa wood is often used in wooden crafts such as model airplane making, you’ve probably encountered it. http://www.digthedirt.com/contributions/251581-Whittling-Santa-Pencils It’s very lightweight and available widely at craft stores and even Walmart. Pine is a traditional choice, plus it’s also soft and easy to buy. And now for the fancy stuff, because who doesn’t like a little tool-inspo?

What we like about this model is that it is delivered as a pair, so whether you are right-handed or left-handed, you can still use this protection guard. As stated above, the best wood for whittling for beginners is softwood. Once you’ve developed some skills, you can move on to more difficult and harder wood like Mahogany. Hardwood also lasts much longer than soft wood and tend to keep their shape and texture better over time.

Axe can literally kill your time, but with no blood. Have a great time carving a small axe out of wood. This kit is a great resource for beginners or advanced whittlers looking for a simple way to relax.

• Don’t be tempted to cut too deeply, just gradually remove the wood you don’t want.
• Additionally, we recommend that you go with wood that have straight grains.
• Throughout whittling history, whittlers used pockets knifes and some still choose them over specialised whittling knives.
• To get started in whittling, Tom recommends an easily transportable knife, like a folding pocketknife, with a locking carbon steel blade.

The handle is very comfortable and made from oiled birch wood. It is a very solid and durable wood, that still remains quite comfortable to the hand. My only complaint with Swiss Army Knife model is that it needs to fit in my pocket like a lumpy little thing. There are plenty of options out there for learning how to whittle, but these listed here are easy to work with and readily found. Every knife blade is different and might require a slightly different angle to sharpen, but the process remains the same. I love the use of a two-sided whetstone like the one I mentioned above because of its simplicity and ease of use.

(b) Whittling Jack Folding Pocket Knife By Flexcut

It’s a blade that ignores any flash and flair and provides some beautiful function. It’s a general purpose knife, but perfect for whittling with its no-nonsense blade and flat grind. The only consistent complaints are the symmetrical handle and the blade’s tendency to rust easily.