cypress knees and cottonwood bark

[A_Swope]

i was thinking about buying some cottonwood bark and cypress knees. how do they carve? which one carves easier?

[Curtscarving]

aswope-Have carved cypress knees,when someone says have a sharp knife,you need it double sharp. Wood seemed to be spongy like balsa. I thing most people power carve it . Some say cotton wood carves like butter.
Curt

[Gulf Coast Handyman]

I have never carved knees, but cottonwood is great, easy and fun to carve, no pattern needed just a good imagination. I buy mine from Art Olver, good bark and good prices. I will try to find his contact info.

Dave

[Gulf Coast Handyman]

Here you go :

Art Olver - 253.804.3488

artolver@comcast.net




Dave

[mobjack68]

I have never carved cottonwood/bark but I have carved cypress. Very easy, yields well to knives, BUT...the grain has a tendency to, almost interlock. You can be cutting along and all of a sudden the edge will "dig in" with little or no warning and because it is rather soft, will split along the cut line. If you need to remove a lot of wood?? powercarve to basic shape, sharp tools with small cuts as you progress towards finishing. Good luck

[Thomp]

Originally Posted by aswope

i was thinking about buying some cottonwood bark and cypress knees. how do they carve? which one carves easier?

ive carved very little cottonwood bark seamed similar to me like carving paint layers with its hard and soft layers kind of chippie,

but i have carved quite a bit of cypress knee, about 20 years ago,
the wood is part of the root system of the tree like an elbow that starts under water in most cases and extends above the waterline,
the bark is thin and best removed in the same way we boil potatoes, if boiled the exterior of the knee will take on a dark tea color from the bark tannin.

when dry the knee cuts similar to popcorn or styro foam, it squeaks and talks while your carving it, a knife will produce a reasonable detail, ive never power carved it.

be ready to hone your knife often and take it back to a light grit stone more often than with basswood, it takes a scary sharp knife to preform good in cypress knee maybe becuse the wood holds some silica from the silty bottom where it grows.

In big cypress knees you may find 2 harts near the bottom of the root because of the elbow growth,
and older, larger knees usually have some pithy wood that may have been caused years ago from a bug or boat prop and growed over in time,

ive found fence staples old lead bullets and nails in them when i use to go to the swamp and harvest them,
look out for dark spots their the sign of trouble.

there use to be a feller in breaux bridge louisiana that sold them in the internet and a google on them should bring him up if hes still selling them.
heres one site
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[artolver]

Thomp... You must have not good cottonwood bark at all. If you are interested I'll send you a nice little medium size. I will send it if your post office box. way up here I cypress knees comes cleaned all ready.
art