A Brotherly gift

[woodtrapper]

This carving was given to my brother and in turn he gave it to me. No history of who did this but it's from the mountains of Tennessee bordering North Carolina. I just wanted to share this with everyone because it is a different style of carving. I use it as a model to help me with faces. My wife does not like it displayed because she says it looks evil. It has a crack on the side of the head and looks semi-dry. I know the carving is very old and would like to preserve it. It's really light and I think it could be pine possibly. I would love some input on what I could do to preserve it without desturbing the patina.

[AlArchie]

There are several brands of paste wax that you can safely use to seal and preserve the wood and patina. Make sure you use one that does NOT have any cleaning agents or abrasives in the product. Minwax makes a very fine paste wax for this purpose and it comes in several shades from clear to dark.

I apply it with a soft shoe brush. not the daubers, but the buffing brush. I run one end of the brush across the surface of the paste wax, then apply to the wood...just like buffing your leather shoes.

It gives a nice sheen to the wood and adds some moisture and seals from further deterioration.

Very interesting carving, by the way! And leave the crack to it's own devices.

Al

[woodtrapper]

Thanks Al, I will take your advice on the paste wax and also try it with my other carvings.