The new guy

[Crazy8]

Hello all,
I am new to chipcarving and I have a lot to learn about it. I have done some practice and my first piece came out well for my learning. It is a rosette I used carbon paper on to transfer from a book. It copied a little rough but I pulled it off. I have yet to purchase a chip carving knife, I am using a folding utility knife with a blade I stoned and polished up for now. I am limited to what I have where I am and plan on getting a real set of knives but this will work for now. I have one piece of Basswood for practice, the rest of the time I use pine that is here I scavenge. The pine is good to work with in practice because it is a little dry and I need to be more careful so I don't chip out. The trivet I made is from pine, 4" diameter. The picture didn't come out that great because the camera I have is not the best, but I did what I could. The only good thing I can do by the way of chip carving so far is sharpen a blade. I have been sharpening my knives since I was 13 or so and I have learned from people and trial and error. I have a question for all and any; If I want to sell ornaments or other chipcarved things, how is it priced to sell? I know I have to include the materials and my time, but I have not seen any place online that has prices. If anyone could direct me in the right direction I would appreciate it. I have time on my hands and I keep practicing to do great and wonderful things, I would like to see if there is a market for hand made chipcarvings. Thank you for your support!
Rich

[jimmy joe]

Not sure about the market for chip carvings but you did a nice job especially with limited tools and supplies .

[bigEd_H]

That's trivet looks really nice. A chip knife is nice to have, but a utility knife can do a pretty nice job if you don't have one. BTW, welcome to the forum. As for pricing for sale, it's a personal preference and what the market will bear. Just don't sell yourself short.

[Claude]

Welcome to the forum!

I don't have a clue about the potential market for chip carvings. As to the price to charge, you can do all the calculations you want on board feet of materials, amortizing tools, your time, etc., but it all boils down to "how much are you willing to take for it.

Think of it this way, about your trivet:
Would you be willing to accept $500 for it?
Would you be willing to accept $200 for it?
Would you be willing to accept $100 for it?
Would you be willing to accept $50 for it?
Would you be willing to accept $25 for it?
If someone at a show pulled out his wallet and offered you $15 for it, would you accept?

In other words, only you can determine how much "value" the carving has to you. If your "value" is less than or equal to the "value" that the great unwashed place on it, you can sell it; otherwise, might want to just give away to friends and family. Sorry to be pragmatic about it all, but I've sold Santa carvings at a rate of $5 per hour carving time because I couldn't get any more than that, and I was willing to accept that amount because it paid for an occasional new tool, and some more wood.

Your mileage may vary...
Claude

[shane_1]

Hi there welcome to the group

[Crazy8]

Thanks all for the welcomes and advice. I didn't know I carved a trivet until my wife told me what it was. She also had to tell me what it was used for, so that goes to show you how new I am I know the first things I will be doing will be given away like name plaques or ornaments. I will be making firewood like some refer to it here. I have gotten through about 2/3rds of the pages so far reading and looking and it gives me hope. I came across Marty in December on youtube and it was so cool and I had to try it. My wife got me two books on chipcarving when I was home and I was off. I did some stuff before I got there and it was a start. I do have time until I get back so I may as well do something with time. Thank you again and I hope to post something I am working on soon.
Rich