any advice for a newbie

[daydreamer]

hello all. just wondering what advice you would give to someone just starting out in wood carving. what are the must have and have nots for a beginner.i've got no idea where to begin...lol

[Soggy]

First piece of advice is : ........Join this forum! Ok you've already done that. . Don't be afraid to ask questions; this is without doubt the most helpful bunch of people you will ever find when it comes to wood carving.
Perhaps one of the first places you should look is at this web site....Little Shavers Wood Carving Supply..... You will find their "beginners kit" quite afforadable and they are really great people to deal with.
Wayne

[jmischel]

daydreamer

Welcome to the forum. You're in the right place. The group here are great at answering beginners' questions.

Absolutely essential, in my opinion (I'm a relatively new carver with just 6 months into this) are:

• A good carving knife. There's a huge selection out there. Others will chime in with their specific suggestions.
• A carving glove and a thumb protector.
• A supplier of basswood. I had some success with getting the basswood grab bag from the local Woodcraft store.
• Some beginner patterns and/or instruction. There are great YouTube videos by Gene Messer, Allen Goodman, and a few others that I haven't yet looked at, and Lynn Doughty has some great tutorials on his blog.
• Learn to care for your knife and keep it sharp. If you treat it well, you'll never have to put it to the stone--just strop it from time to time.

One place I found some good beginner material was Little Shavers Wood Carving Supply. He has some simple free patterns with instructions. Little Shavers has a beginner's wood carving kit that's impossible to beat for quality, completeness, and price.

Things not to do:

• DO NOT try to carve complex things in found wood (random tree limbs) with your pocket knife.
• DO NOT get discouraged when you complete your first project and it doesn't look like the pattern from which you carved it.
• DO NOT go out and buy hundreds of dollars in tools, thinking that the tools make the carver. Get the bare minimum necessary, learn to use them, and then slowly acquire the tools you need to advance.

That's all I can think of at the moment. Give it a try. It's lots of fun and all you have to lose is a little time and some pretty inexpensive materials.

[Hoochie Papa]

I have been carving for 22 yrs. and the carving fool has given you very good advice. My advice is to learn to sharpen your own tools and keep them sharp. You will get hurt faster with a dull knife because you will be putting much more force on the tool. Above all, have fun and let your imagination go wild.

[Mark Dellinger]

Daydreamer,
All good advice so far. I would say that before you buy any tools identify what type of carving you are going to do. Learn to be patient, don't be afraid to make mistakes, learn to be safe, and when you buy those knifes, carve a little sharpen alot, don'y force your cuts.

Safe Carving and God Bless,

Mark

[daydreamer]

thanks everyone for the good advice so far.i'll have alot more questions i'am sure.so what would you say is ''the bare minimum necessary ''to get me started.''DO NOT try to carve complex things in found wood (random tree limbs) with your pocket knife.'' guess i better go drag that tree limb back outside....lol...how many different types of carving are there out there,and could you list a few so i can research them. thanks again guys.iam glad i joined this forum.as a complete beginner i dont want to just walk into a store and get sold alot of things that i wont need right away as a beginner.

[jmischel]

The bare minimum necessary: a carving knife (less than $20), a carving glove (less than $10), a strop and compound to keep your knife sharp ($10 - $20), some basswood carving blanks or roughouts (varying in price, but not expensive), and a pattern of the thing you want to carve. There are lots of free patterns available all over the place.

Honestly, that beginner's carving tool set from Little Shavers is an incredible deal. For $50, you get all the tools you need. For a few bucks more, you can get some wood or some roughouts and be on your way to carving. Lots of people on this forum have started that way, and are very happy. I wish I had started with that.

There are many different types of carving to choose from. The simplest would probably be what I consider "whittling": making relatively simple things from twigs and branches using just your pocket knife. Nothing wrong with it, and plenty of people are very happy doing that. With patience and persistence, you can "whittle" some incredible things.

If you look on the forum here, you'll see that many carvers specialize. There are animal and bird carvers, those who specialize in caricatures, those who do a particular type of carving called "flat plane," relief carving, chip carving, chainsaw, wood burning, walking sticks and canes, power carving, etc. It was a real eye opener for me.

[Dan S]

here's my two bits:
1. wear a glove.
2. wear a glove
3. remember rules 1 and 2.
Speaking as somone who can't get into the habit of wearing a glove and who has enjoyed several severe cuts, learn from my mistakes. Get in the habit of wearing one now and you will donate far less blood.

Have fun,
Dan

[Joy]

I would add one thing....no....two things! Read. read. read! Read all the old posts on this forum. Go to the library and check out a carving book. Check out the books at Fox Chapel.

And check out your area for a carving group. You can learn so much from watching someone else carve.

Have fun! Carving is good for the soul.

[Curtscarving]

Daydreamer-Everything said so far is good advice. If I were you I would buy some bandaids to go with glove-finger guard. Now you can have some FUN!!
Curt