A Legacy of Whittling

[knifewhittler]

When I was a boy I remember watching my Grandfather whittle. They had an old pioneer house in Utah where we would help out every summer moving the sprinklers across the acres of alfalfa.

Each night as the sun set my Grandpa would sit o the front porch and whittle. I don’t recall seeing any amazing carving lying around the house. Although, now that I’m thinking about it, I suppose the wooden Christmas candle’s he sent us every year weren’t store bought. He must have carved us each 20 or so over the years. Every year we would get pajamas and a single wooden candle to hang on the tree.

My Grandpa died before I was old enough to really watch his hands, worn thick from labor, make careful cuts with his pocket knife.

When I finally started to take an interest in wood chip carving I had no one around to teach me. Not only was I too old to go back to Boy Scouts I was too embarrassed to call my old scout master and tell him I wanted to whittle!

So I did the next most logical thing I could think of. I tried to start on my own with no instruction! After nearly cutting off my thumb I went online and found a professional wood carver who would teach me how to whittle and not rob me blind in the process.

The day before I received my first lesson I couldn’t sleep. I sat all night starring at the small pile of ivory soap and bass wood I had prepared for my lessons. My thoughts invariably drifted towards my grandfather, realizing that all summer long he would sit on the porch and think of us every night as the sun set, whittling his love into those darn wooden candles.

The lessons finally arrived by morning and within 15 minutes I was whittling away at a piece of basswood that would become my very first Christmas candle, just like the ones my Grandfather made… well mine weren’t JUST like it, My “candle” looked more like a wooden carrot in a coffee mug.

All in all I received 100 pages of instructions from the Pro and we carved over 20 projects together!

The greatest part is, regardless how much I paid for the lessons, I can keep my Grandfathers tradition of Christmas candles alive.

And even better I havepublished the 100 pages into an e-bookso that when the time comes I can spend my evening thinking of my own children, and grandchildren while I whittle my love for them into a wooden carrot… err, uh a Christmas Candle.

[gene-messer]

Great story my friend .. whittling is a old as some wood itself .. so glad your up holding the family tradition

Gene

[jimmy joe]

Great story and glad your whittling away

[Greyhair]

Like you I had no one to teach me to carve and I bought the World Santa carving book and just started. I chose that book because that is the only carving instruction book I found that had patterns that covered all four sides as well as the top and bottom and it allowed me to visualize what 3D carving in the round was all about.
Since then I have attended my share of seminars and honed my skills. This year I started teaching my 12 year old grandson how to carve. We carved a wooden hunting knife as our first project out of found wood.
For Christmas I got him a beginning book on carving, that has cowboy boots, dogs, and a manager scene. I cut out multiple bass wood blanks based on the patterns as well. I assembled some early tools I had acquired and sent them to Rick at Little Shavers to sharpen and included the whole group as a package for his Christmas along with a kevlar glove and carving tape. Hopefully, he will find it as enjoying and fulfilling as I have.
These are traditions that we need to pass on. I have more younger grandchildren and hope to teach them when they get older as well.

[bigEd_H]

Great story. It brings back memories of my grandfather whittling away. I too have kept an interest in working with wood from those many years ago watching my grandfather.

Merry Christmas.

[hwallen48]

Originally Posted by knifewhittler

When I was a boy I remember watching my Grandfather whittle. They had an old pioneer house in Utah where we would help out every summer moving the sprinklers across the acres of alfalfa.

Each night as the sun set my Grandpa would sit o the front porch and whittle. I don’t recall seeing any amazing carving lying around the house. Although, now that I’m thinking about it, I suppose the wooden Christmas candle’s he sent us every year weren’t store bought. He must have carved us each 20 or so over the years. Every year we would get pajamas and a single wooden candle to hang on the tree.

My Grandpa died before I was old enough to really watch his hands, worn thick from labor, make careful cuts with his pocket knife.

When I finally started to take an interest in wood chip carving I had no one around to teach me. Not only was I too old to go back to Boy Scouts I was too embarrassed to call my old scout master and tell him I wanted to whittle!

So I did the next most logical thing I could think of. I tried to start on my own with no instruction! After nearly cutting off my thumb I went online and found a professional wood carver who would teach me how to whittle and not rob me blind in the process.

The day before I received my first lesson I couldn’t sleep. I sat all night starring at the small pile of ivory soap and bass wood I had prepared for my lessons. My thoughts invariably drifted towards my grandfather, realizing that all summer long he would sit on the porch and think of us every night as the sun set, whittling his love into those darn wooden candles.

The lessons finally arrived by morning and within 15 minutes I was whittling away at a piece of basswood that would become my very first Christmas candle, just like the ones my Grandfather made… well mine weren’t JUST like it, My “candle” looked more like a wooden carrot in a coffee mug.

All in all I received 100 pages of instructions from the Pro and we carved over 20 projects together!

The greatest part is, regardless how much I paid for the lessons, I can keep my Grandfathers tradition of Christmas candles alive.

And even better I havepublished the 100 pages into an e-bookso that when the time comes I can spend my evening thinking of my own children, and grandchildren while I whittle my love for them into a wooden carrot… err, uh a Christmas Candle.

Thanks much i enjoy the great story!

[hwallen48]

Originally Posted by knifewhittler

When I was a boy I remember watching my Grandfather whittle. They had an old pioneer house in Utah where we would help out every summer moving the sprinklers across the acres of alfalfa.

Each night as the sun set my Grandpa would sit o the front porch and whittle. I don’t recall seeing any amazing carving lying around the house. Although, now that I’m thinking about it, I suppose the wooden Christmas candle’s he sent us every year weren’t store bought. He must have carved us each 20 or so over the years. Every year we would get pajamas and a single wooden candle to hang on the tree.

My Grandpa died before I was old enough to really watch his hands, worn thick from labor, make careful cuts with his pocket knife.

When I finally started to take an interest in wood chip carving I had no one around to teach me. Not only was I too old to go back to Boy Scouts I was too embarrassed to call my old scout master and tell him I wanted to whittle!

So I did the next most logical thing I could think of. I tried to start on my own with no instruction! After nearly cutting off my thumb I went online and found a professional wood carver who would teach me how to whittle and not rob me blind in the process.

The day before I received my first lesson I couldn’t sleep. I sat all night starring at the small pile of ivory soap and bass wood I had prepared for my lessons. My thoughts invariably drifted towards my grandfather, realizing that all summer long he would sit on the porch and think of us every night as the sun set, whittling his love into those darn wooden candles.

The lessons finally arrived by morning and within 15 minutes I was whittling away at a piece of basswood that would become my very first Christmas candle, just like the ones my Grandfather made… well mine weren’t JUST like it, My “candle” looked more like a wooden carrot in a coffee mug.

All in all I received 100 pages of instructions from the Pro and we carved over 20 projects together!

The greatest part is, regardless how much I paid for the lessons, I can keep my Grandfathers tradition of Christmas candles alive.

And even better I havepublished the 100 pages into an e-bookso that when the time comes I can spend my evening thinking of my own children, and grandchildren while I whittle my love for them into a wooden carrot… err, uh a Christmas Candle.

Thanks much i enjoy the great story!