[reinhart_menken]

Hi all,

New to the forum and new to whittling (haven't even started yet, haven't even gotten my tools). Life's pace has slowed a little and school's nearing an end (yes, I'm 21 and from that place they called New York and I want to whittle, surprise!), so I want to pick up a hobby that I can develop whenever and wherever I want or permitted to without having to feel like I'm forced to (like going to classes somewhere remote and 2 hours away every week).

So, I have some question about how to start. Are there things that are good ideas for just starting out or should I just "dive in" and "feel the experience" so to speak? I've noticed on various boards that some people start whittling with chess pieces.

I really just want to whittle (just one knife) instead of wood-carve, because I travel somewhat often and I travel light. I don't want to carry with me 15 sets of knifes and I don't want to keep that many at home either (I don't even have that many for food). Maybe somewhere down the road when I realize I absolutely have to wood-carve to achieve shapes I want I'll start with the specific tools. My end goal is really to just make figurines of people and animals (or monsters).

I've read through a couple threads I have some idea of what to get first. Of course woods are a must, I should start with basswood or balsa wood? I read someone said balsa isn't good for whittling? I have my eyes on this whittling pocket knife, because I don't want a whittling knife laying around that could puncture someone, and also because of its portability. Otherwise I also have in mind this whittling knife and a super bench knife, but I really don't know if a super bench knife is for whittling. I really like this 6 in 1 swiss-knife style pocket knife but it's a little steep to start with. Maybe I'll get it once I'm sure I have sufficient dedication to the hobby. I'll also need Arkansas Stone and some mineral oil, as well as sandpaper and a kevlar glove.

So I think that's basically it for a basic startup. Anything I'm missing? What do you think fo the knife choices? And what of what to start whittling?

Thanks!

[BobD]

Welcome!
Sorry you post didn't show up immediately. We've got an anti-spam setting on the forum that flags messages that have a lot of links in them from new members. I've approved your message, and you shouldn't have any problems now.

Bob Duncan
Technical Editor

[Just Carving]

Welcome!

As I do with everybody that's just starting out, and haven't heard a complaint yet, I tell people to go go to Little Shavers Wood Carving Supply

Rick and Therese are great to deal with, and you'll get your money's worth. The bench knife you showed was okay, but you'll get a better deal from Little shavers. Here's a link:
Murphy Knives at Little Shavers

The price is better, the knife will ready-to-carve right out of the box, and on top of it, you get FREE sharpening as long as you own the tool. If you're not certain what you want to whittle, call Rick, and chat with him for a bit. He'll help you out and steer you to what you need to accomplish what you want. He has gloves, stones, strops, books, etc.--pretty much whatever you need to carve. He even has a downloadable free pattern on his website for chess pieces if that's what you want to carve! He also has a beginner's kit which is good. It has everything you need and then some--and for what you get, the price is good--and the quality is good, too. But if you're set on just using a knife, then that's fine. He also has folding knives but I would start out with a bench knife until you get sharpening down pat, and then go from there.

As far as wood, start out with GOOD basswood. Contact Dale at Heinecke Wood Products and he will get you set up with what you need. He has basswood and some butternut--and they're both great quality. His prices are the best I've seen, and you order, he'll ship and then you'll get a bill. You write a check, and mail it back. That's how he does business--not too many vendors do that any more but he does.

Good luck!
Bob L

[Gear Dog]

Welcome to the site, where in NY are you located?
I live up in Newburgh and found a club nearby, check out the club search.
The first thing they told me was get use to my bench knife and figure out what type of carving I want to do.
I got the knife because I wanted to whittle as well and I liked the portability of it. I’ve done 2 pieces on wood and now I’m carving golf balls all with the same knife. The guys at the club were very helpful and offered to let me try out their tools to see which felt better; they also said to buy the tools as needed instead of a kit. This way I don’t end up with a bunch of things that I wont use.

[reinhart_menken]

Thanks BobD. It was no problem, it's just that a moderated board is new to me. I usually frequent computer and games boards and they're a little different. But it's all good

Thanks for the link Just Carving. I saw the link for Little Shavers somewhere too. I looked over the knife section a little more and saw that the pocket/folder knife they have is only the Kenshaw one (or at least only one displayed), and the edge seem a bit longer compared to other knifes, wouldn't that affect functionality for whittling? At least for a beginner like me it might be harder =/ Otherwise I think I'll start with bench knife, and buy the foldering knife I linked as well, just so I'll have one sitting around when I feel like I can use it.

Although the Arkansas stones I linked seems to be cheaper by only 2 dollars, I think I'll purchase the diamond hones sold by Little Shavers as they do not need oil to sharpen blades; and that saves me time and money when I run out of oil (lazy person).

Gear Dog I live in the boroughs (to people not familiar with NY, that's New York City), so I didn't even know where Newburgh is until I looked it up on wikipedia, no offense *wince* I'm pretty sure I ain't going to find no whittling club around here anywhere, and yeah, I think I'm going to start out with just the items I listed - knife, gloves, honing, sandpaper and wood.

[Mitchell]

There are some carving clubs in the NY City area. One of the CCA members (Peter Ortel) carved from the area, but I believe he has moved.

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

You might take a look at Ricks site, Little Shavers Wood Carving Supply and his Kershaw modified knife.....or the "Oar Carver" two bladed pocketknife.

[Gear Dog]

There are clubs listed in the Bronx as well as Queens. I didn't know where in NY you lived which is why I mentioned where I was from. I'm just saying by attending a meeting you can see what tools other carvers are you using. Some will even let you use their tools to see if that tool works for you.
As for whittling knives I just picked up a cool little pen knife and 2 winchester pocket knives from Gander Mountain for less than $20. I already started carving a golf ball with the pen knife. I'm going to have it sharpened at the next meeting but for golf balls it's sharp enough. I have a few pieces of driftwood that I'm going to try next. Good luck and post some pic's once you get started.