New carver needs help!

[sonsw87]

I am completely new to wood carving. My first project is to make a smoking pipe for my father. I bought the pipe from ebay and its pre-drilled. I dont have any fancy equipments but thinking about getting a knife and some sand papers. Do you think those will be enough? The pipe is made out of briar wood. I asked one of my friend and he suggested that I should damp the wood before carving to prevent it from chipping. But of course i dont know how to damp the wood properly... anyways it would be great if I could get some tips like what kind of knife i should get or any other tools (on a small budget so nothing too much) etc..

Thanks a lot!

[Whittled Thumb]

For a first time carver, thats a huge project to take on. I would think you should learn to use the knife first after you buy it before just jumping into an intracant project such as your talking about. And if you have to wet the wood, you want to use a mixture of alcahol and water, not just water, because it will swell up and make a mess of things when you try to carve it

[Donsexton]

No don’t dampen the wood. Yes a knife and sandpaper will be fine to carve what you want to do.

[Whittled Thumb]

All a matter of opinion and preference when it comes to making wood soft. Some masters on here who sell their work for thousands use the alcahol/water method and sware by it, and you will not get every cut with one knife. You need atleast a regular carver and a detail knife.

My opinion on wetting the wood.....not unless you have to

[Big Barn]

I realize you really would like to make the pipe, but like previously stated, I would NOT try a pipe as my entry into carving. I could be totally wrong & you could be a natural & get right into it. Briar wood can be difficult to carve with a knife, however people do & can do it - just go slowly. I would think using power carving tools would achieve a better result or using gouges/chisels. Now for the disclaimer - since I have never carved a pipe, if anybody contradicts any statement(s) here --- go with whatever they say.

[Scott Hagerty]

I think it's grand that you are planning to make this for your Dad! I did some quick searching and came up with http://www.amsmoke.com/Services/PipeKit.html. It is quite informative and down in the article it discusses carving the briarwood. He recommends power carving tools but did say that a knife could be used. Good luck on this project and please come back for questions and definitely post some pictures as you go.

[sonsw87]

Thanks everyone for great tips!!

I bought two of this kit so i can practice on one of them
Also i was in art uni so i do have some experience working with wood.
I was wondering what kind of knife would be best for this job. Is a pocket knife from hardware store going to be good enough? or should i get something better?

I am attaching the photo of the kit i bought I hope i get them soon!!

[sonsw87]

the kit i bought is some what pre cut & drilled so i hope it wont be as hard as you guys said

[Big Barn]

I personally would not recommend using a hardware store pocket knife for this particular task. If your harware store carries fixed blade carving knives - I'd go that route & there are MANY brands & blade types, just try it before you buy it. You may want to do a search/google on pipe carving & see if they have any recommendations? Whatever you decide on, make sure your knife is sharp, go slow since the wood is hard & wear a glove since you'll be holding the pipe in your hand while carving. Personally I like Flex Cut 1 1/2" straight detail blade but like I stated before - there are MANY very good brands & types. keep us updated as you go...

[brent]

Don't forget files or rifflers too. They can help a good bit............as always, WEAR A MASK especially if you try power carving.