Starting Whittling

[LFCmark]

Hello everyone. I am new to the forum. I am interested in starting to carve figures from people to animals. I was wondering if you guy can help me get on the right path to reach my goals. What kind of tool i should get(brands names) and a book or maybe video that will help me learn the proper techniques. Any help would be great.
Mark

[pallin]

Since your subject mentions Whittling, you should start with a sharp knife and suitable wood. Many of us whittlers started with an ordinary pocket knife and "found" wood - a stick we picked up in the forest.
Whittling is usually done by holding the piece in your hands and cut with "paring" cuts with the muscles of your hand, moving the knife blade toward your thumb. So it is often limited to small (hand-sized) projects. You will soon find you need a way to sharpen and hone your knife blade, and (if you're typical) a carving glove.
As you move to larger figures of people and animals, you may want to acquire some palm or full handed tools with more specialized knives.

[Mark Dellinger]

Mark ,
welcome to the forum. You have definitetly come to the right place. Do as I have beeen doing everyday since joining, just start surfing the different threads and you will see some of the most beautiful carvings around. Check out anything related to Gene Messer in regards to figure carving he has some awsome videos that you can view by looking to the left of your screen under
the "carving community" heading and click on carving video galleries or simply go to yuo tube and type in flat plane carving. There are also many other great figure carvers that you will see in the community.

Safe Carving and God Bless,

Mark

[Dan S]

Hey there,
Welcome to our addiction! My suggestion would be to get the starters set from little shavers. It seems to get really good reviews and you can't beat the price.
Get in the habit of carving with a glove. Speaking as one who has cut himself repeatedly it's a good investment. (It is included with Ricks set.)
My other suggestion would be to find a club in your area and learn from someone with experience. It saves a lot of time. It will also give you a chance to try new tools before you spend money on them.

Have fun,
Dan

[Ron T]

Hello and welcome, Mark. It's nice to have you here with us. Little Shavers is definitely the place to get your starter kit. I just got two razor knives back today that I had sent to Rick for sharpening. Super sharp.

[Sam]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Try this site Whittling: The official home page I am sure it will get you started. Then take a look at this one WoodBeeCarver
Have fun.

[Sam]

Sorry, forgot the rest. Get yourself a decent carving knife (Wells, Denny). You can find places in an Internet search for Wells carving knife or Denny carving knife or you can't go wrong checking out Ricks knives at Wood Carving Knives at Little Shavers
A knife with a blade around 1.5 - 1.75 long should be good.

[jillsy]

Hi Mark!

I agree, Little Shavers is where I buy all my carving supplies. They've got all kinds of kits for beginners and the knives are razor sharp at very good rates too. Following the recommendations from others from this site, that's how I found them and have been very happy with their products and service.

As for books, I always recommend Shawn Cipa and Ron Ransom for beginners who are just learning the basic cuts. Both have books with close-up pictures and very good directions. I often refer back to both these books for faces especially.

Shawn has 2 books I often use, "Carving Folk Art Figures" and "Woodcarving the Nativity". Both of these books have very clear, crisp, close-up pictures, detailing specific cuts.

Ron's books are just as good for beginners. What I like about Ron's is that he also shows very simple projects (mostly Santas and angels) that are easy to learn from and grow with. The more experienced you become, the more detailed you can make his carvings.

If you don't want to carve Santas or folk art figures, that's ok. These books are great reference guides and teaching materials as well. As soon as you are comfortable with the basics, you then apply it to more intricate work.

They also give different views of the carving, so you can see it from all sides and get the whole picture.

Good luck and have fun!

[wildhare]

Sam,
You really need to sell your work! It is fantastic. I am going to bookmark your site and look back from time to time. Or even post a tutorial on how you do your figures. They are charictures but they seem so annimated. I am in awe.
Wanda

[cseymour]

Hi Mark,
I second the advice to take a look at Rick's website (Little Shavers Wood Carving Supply). I started with his beginner kit and have been making chips ever since.

You are taking up a great hobby / pastime / addiction.

This is a great site as well -- people are friendly and you can usually get a laugh or two every time you come here, not too forget you will get top-notch advice and inspiration here as well.

All the best.

Chris