Is chainsaw carving really carving?

[Colin-Partridge]

Hi gang,
I have pondered asking this question for some time now and was just wondering how you all felt about it. Do you consider chainsaw carving wood carving? I find that although there is a lot of interest in it a lot of people shy away from it or trying it. I read a lot of wood carving magazines and find that there are few if any articles on chainsaw carving. As most of you know I am a chainsaw carver although I do other carvings as well I try it all but my love is carving with the chainsaw. There is a chainsaw carvers forum and there is a lot of debate on there on if you use any kind of tool other than a chainsaw then it is not a chainsaw carving. So if I start my carvings with a chainsaw and finish them with a hammer and chisel or even a knife are these not considered woodcarvings or should they be called chainsaw sculptures. I would personally love to see a chainsaw carving magazine but I dont think that will happen unless I start one and I am too old for that. So just would love to hear your opinion on this subject. If nothing else it will make for a great discussion.
Colin

[BobD]

Good question, Colin!
I believe chainsaw carving is as much carving as power carving is!

From a magazine perspective, though...only a small segment of our readership chainsaw carves. So when we do an article on chainsaw carving, it's going to be less frequent than a relief carving...it's just demographics...

We try to put in articles that would benefit all carvers (facial features, etc.)


Bob

[Just Carving]

Hi Colin

Speaking for myself, I shy away from chainsaw carving for the same reason I shy away from power carving--I specifically like using hand tools, keeping it as simple as possible. So, if I can carve something using a single knife, that's my thing--and I'm ecstatic! I thought of getting an electric chainsaw for roughing out, but I used a reciprocating saw to do the job--it worked, but I just didn't like using a power tool. I have used a lot of power tools when riding on the rescue squad, and to be quite frank, now I hate the noise, the smell, the power of any power tool--especially when the tool kicks unexpectedly, and maintaining the tools. But I will use a power tool when I need to. I'm cringing at getting my snow blower ready for the winter--but I ain't shoveling no 2 feet of snow!! LOL

I bet that the noise, the smell, the cost, and the power--plus the associated inconvenience and the safety accessories, and the fuel and the oil, etc. are probably the reasons for people shying away from the chainsaw. (I don't think I'd be a good PR man for chainsaw carving, huh?) And let's face it, there aren't a lot of young men interested in wood carving--and I might be wrong about this, but they're probably the predominant part of the population that would most likely be interested--and able--to use a chainsaw. There are quite a few carvers--both women and men--myself included--that don't have the desire or manual dexterity or strength to handle a chainsaw at awkward angles for an extended period of time.

As far as chainsaw carving not being a form of wood carving. If that's the case, then any of those gorgeous decoy carvings done with a Foredom, Ryobi, or other similar power tools, or any of those hilarious caricatures roughed out using a bandsaw, aren't wood carvings because they were done with a machine. A machine is a machine whether it is portable or not, whether it is gas powered or electric powered. But if it is a power tool and it touches a piece of wood, then it is not a wood carving, or it is now a wood sculpture? BALONEY!!!!!

I call wood carving, wood carving. I don't care what's used whether it be a knife, a chisel, a gouge, a riffler, a grinder, a chainsaw, a rotary tool--it's wood carving. And that's that!

That's my opinion....

Colin, if you're happy, and you enjoy what you're doing, keep doing what you're doing!

As far as a magazine, it could start out as a self-published newsletter that can be printed up on a household printer using 11"x17" paper folded in half, stapled, and sealed with a sticky dot--nothing fancy, a few articles of interest, list of competitions, just get the ball rolling, and before you know it, you have a list of subscribers--and a network of chainsaw carvers. There's strength in numbers, and a publisher will see that and start printing that magazine.

Thanks for asking a great question--I'll bet you'll find a few more people interested in chainsaw carving.

Bob L

[BobT]

It seems to me that shaping a piece of wood into something pleasing is carving, no matter what tools you use. I have admired CHAIN SAW CARVING for many years. Will I try it? No, never. I can't afford a chunk of wood that big to start with. And I do not want to spend what it would take fo equipment. I will say though, I am totally in awe of the carving abilities of you, Colin, and many Chain Saw Carvers I have seen. You are an artist. You just chose a different size medium, and definitely different tools. You are still a carver.
Bob

[Mitchell]

YES IT IS....and I don't do it either.

I seen magnificant work done with a chain saw. It still takes artistic skill - no matter what the tool.

I would like to try it sometime, but it's not as easy to get into because it takes a special tool and is rather noisy.....requiring more special equipment.

[gene-messer]

Colin .. Absolutely carving , I love to look at chainsaw carvings and some of them are fantastic ..

I have tried chainsaw carving twice and loved it .. but only one problem ..

I live in the city and the noise is too much for most neighbors if it is constant everyday .. So theres a drawback ..

Also .. I dont have the equiptment to transport larger logs and I guess if I lived in the country .. It would be different ...

But in the city .. the noise factor is too much of a problem with people .. So you live with what you have ..

But as far as carving ... No matter how you get to the finished product .. I consider it a form of carving ..

Gene

[cats pa]

Really? Is it really carving, or is it just cutting holes and grooves in firewood?

I firmly agree with JC: carving is carving, bud. Look at the finished product - does it have more value and interest than the tree trunk you started with? When you carve a bear, can people tell that it's a bear? You're pursuing a craft that few people can do, and many can appreciate.

IMHO, strong young men go after what catches their interest, and soon most of them are starting a family, which restricts their hobby time severely. Also, they need a steady income at that point. When their kids grow up and move away, then they have more time to carve, and more disposable income to tool up for it. You've got to admit, it isn't everyone that can peel off what a chainsaw costs, especially one set up to carve.

Before, say, WWII, there weren't any chainsaw carvers, they had to be axe-and-whipsaw carvers. Fortunately, advances in tool technology are making chainsaws lighter and more efficient all the time, not to mention the toothed grinders and boring tools that our forefathers (and mothers) just didn't have. That brings chainsaw carving within reach of more people all the time. Someday, we'll see laser tools, or 3D plasma cutters for wood, or (who knows what?) And somebody will say, "Well, it's not really carving unless you use a chipped flint and a bone burnisher, Cro-magnon style, wearing a loincloth made from a sabertooth skin. And, the bone has to be from a spear-killed mastadon..."

Phooey.

Parker, who has this sudden urge to carve a spear with power tools and go mastadon hunting...

[tucker1931]

Hey Colin, you're the man, I really mean that, I've seen some pretty feeble attemps at chain saw CARVING (which is what you do). I would love to try it myself, but dang, if I cut my finger every time I pick up a knife, imagine the damage I'd do with a chain saw. Rest easy my friend, chainsaw carving is more than carving "it's an art onto itself" Keep the pix of your work comming bud.
Cliff

[AlArchie]

What the heck ELSE would you call it? Baking? Sewing? Carpentry?

Chainsaw baking.......NOPE!
Chainsaw Sewing......Nope!
Chainsaw Carpentry...Nope!

Chainsaw carving......YA, that's it...Chainsaw Carving!

Al

[MelNM]

Chainsaw carving is just what is, chainsaw carving. Its just a different style of carving.

Power carving is a style.

Carving with just hand tools is another style.

Bottem line carving is carving, and we all like doing it no matter what style we use.
Mel