[bbswampgirl]

Hi All,

I am from Louisiana and I am now officially hooked on wood carving. Long story short, I took a carving class last spring - which I LOVED. My first (and so far, only) carving was a cypress knee Santa that I presented to my father.

Now I want to take up wood carving as a hobby, and I don't really know where to begin. Santa is giving me about $125 towards whatever I determine I'll need to get started carving (I don't even have a knife yet).

I have a fairly good idea of what I need to get in the way of basics, like a good bench knife, detail knife, gouges, glove, thumb guard, strop, etc. But I am curious as to what everyone else out there thinks I should invest in. Any suggestions on basic beginner books?

And what about knives? In my class, I used my instructor's Helvie knife and really liked it, except that the handle was too bulky for my hand (now I am aware that Helvie knives come with varying handles). Anyone out there with smaller hands - I'd love to hear which knives you prefer.

Well, anyway, it is getting late here. I was excited to stumble upon this board, and I look forward to any advice, pointers, tips, etc. that you all can share with me. Thanks in advance!

[slivers&dust]

Hello and welcome

Funny you mention knives check out the thread on detail knives. you'll get a lot of info there on different ones

I just gave away a couple of books to another new carver here on the forum. I have a few more that I'm no longer using. I can PM you a list in the AM you are welcome to one or two at no charge to get you started. You can save that christmas money for your new tools

[wood-whittler]

bb swampgirl,

hello and welcome to the board it sounds as if you have a good idea as to what you need, as far as knives go they are all good but i like the helvies and the denny's but my favorite is my custom made rick ferry knife.but to start with either of the first two are good choices,

bart

[squbrigg]

First of all, welcome aboard.

As for tools, you could do no better to begin than a starter set from Rick at Little Shavers. That will only take $40 of your budget. Look through his site ( www.littleshavers.com ) at knives, and ask him for recommendations, he's a great guy and really helpful.

Glad to hear that the carving bug has bitten another one, it will bring you years of enjoyment and relaxation.

Bob

[Lynn O. Doughty]

A Cajun Carver.....Great! Welcome to the group. I understand the Swampgirl but what does "bb" stand for??

[Nancy-ID]

Originally Posted by Lynn O. Doughty

A Cajun Carver.....Great! Welcome to the group. I understand the Swampgirl but what does "bb" stand for??

Let me guess . . .blue bayou???

Welcome Swampgirl

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

Bacon Burger?

[heineda]

Hello swampgirl,

For a good quality roughout knife with a smaller handle, I would suggest a Ron Wells knife with a 1 3/4" blade. For a detail knife, my recomendation would be a DEnny 1" blade. Rick at Little Shavers carries both knives, and they will arrive razor sharp.
For gouges, there is a lot of debate. If you have access to a carving club or show, or know another carver, try out as many different brands as you can, and decide what you like. I love the Denny gouges, and the Pfeil palm tools. Many on this list swear by Flexcut. The Flexcut SK107 set gives you ten tools for only $90.00
http://www.flexcut.com/products/cart...ategory_id=206
The FR405 set gives you nine tools for $129.00:
http://www.flexcut.com/products/cart...ategory_id=113
Rick also sells these tools. Rick will also re-sharpen any tool you buy from him at no cost. You only pay the postage.

Good Luck and Carving,
Dan Heine

[bbswampgirl]

Well,

I didn't expect to get so many responses so quickly - how wonderful! THANK YOU ALL for the assistance.

FYI - the "bb" in bbswampgirl happened when I tried without success to claim "swampgirl" for my Yahoo user name. It had been previously claimed. While working at a state park, I tried other combinations (aswampgirl, bswampgirl, etc.) until I landed "bbswampgirl". Interestingly enough, I took a job not too long after at Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center and the "bb" seemed very appropriate (blue - bonnet???). Anyone believe in fate??? HA!

Silver&dust, thank you very much for the offer on the books - how generous of you! Can you email me a list of what you've got and let me know which ones you recommend the most?

[wood-whittler]

bbswampgirl,

the knives that have been mentioned are all very good knives{ dennys,helvies,and ron wells}

as far as gouges i like the denny gouges and the pfiel swiss made tools but starting out the denny gouges would be a good place to start and expand from there. denny has a wide range of sizes and styles.and they are not to bad on the pocketbook.

bart