Do Nuttin Bunny

[JimSawyer]

Just finished this guy. He's from Mike Shipley's Woodcarving the Country Bear & his Friends. 4" tal. Basswood, Acrylic paint.
This is the first time I carved a figure with only a knife. Most of the time I start on the vise and use gouges to do most of the carving, then I take it off of the vise and carve the rest with my knife.
Do nuttin bunny 1 cropped.jpg Do nuttin bunny 2 cropped.jpg
As always, Critique and comments welcome.
Thanks for looking,
Jim

[Plain_Ol_Ed]

Looks good to me. The teeth really make the carving, I think! It's amazing what you can do with only a knife. Kind of liberating too. You can take your carving anywhere.

[Ron T]

Hi Jim,

Nice little fella. I like that you were able to paint such detailed patches on his clothes. Makes him more in character.

[catbird]

I love that book of Mike's. You did an excellent job on the bunny. Cute little guy.

[chuckbolton]

i have seen a couple of carving instructors that start their students with a knife-- only a knife and carve for the whole week with that one tool. i wish i had started that way. i know gerald sears does about 75-80% of his carving with a knife-- it speeds it all up. i want to learn to make the tool an extension of my hand-- doing what i want done with a knife and using other tools very little-- and im getting better at it. you dont spend as much time changing or looking for that tool that you want. just my opinion and im sure that there will be folks who disagree with me. u do have a very nice rabbit, jim

[Iowa Carver]

Nice job Jim, Mikes stuff is great to carve. I had fun doing that one as well. That whole book is fun.

Corey

[Eddy-Smiles]

Really nice job, Jim! I had to check the book I couldn't remember the rabbit being in it! My copy's so worn that all the pages are stuck together. I love Mike Shipley's carricature's!

[Plain_Ol_Ed]

The neat thing about using just a knife is that you can carry a piece of wood and a knife everywhere you go. You're not tied down to a bench or tool kit. It's also traditionally American (well, a little Scandinavian also). I've been full circle. Started with a pocket knife many years ago. Slowly started carving with tools. Then started collecting tools. Eventually went back to almost totally pocket knife work again. Still collect tools. I like the fine old ones from the 1800's. They don't make em like they used to. I don't know how they did it back then, but those tools are a joy to use.

[Lightningbolt]

Cute as a button! I especially like all the patches on his outfit. Thanks for posting.

[JimSawyer]

Thanks guys. He was really fun to carve. I'm lookin at trying other things with just a knife. I'm thinking of going to the state park near me to sit and carve away the afternoon. They have some nice sites in the park that offer a good degree of privacy. I'm thinkin of packing a lunch and some cold drinks and just sittin there listening to the birds. Only I haven't figured out what to carve next.
I appreciate all of your nice comments though. It's something to help keep me carving.
Oh yea... I've got to give some credit to Gene Messer. Watching his you-tube videos helped me to learn to reposition the piece in my hand constantly.