Cypress Gnome

[vacation212]

Very nice,do you harvest your own knees?

[Iowa Carver]

Nice gnome carving!

Thanks,
Corey

[Graywolf71]

Originally Posted by vacation212

Very nice,do you harvest your own knees?

Unfortunately i do not, i live in central Ohio so i have to depend on others to harvest for me.

[watereerat]

knee gnome.jpgWell, you just never know when something's going to become a live issue on this forum again!

I've started a cypress knee "gnome" (I think) but since I've never carved a gnome and really only seen a few I like, I'm stumped over WHAT I want this guy to look like other than wanting him/her to be pretty simple. I.e., no arms, legs, etc. So I came back to the trusty WCI forum, as always, looking for inspiration and advice.

I really like your gnome--you did a great job of bringing him to life and you've given me a possible direction for my yet-to-be gnome. Unfortunately, I'm once again facing the great "fear of messing up wood." Since I bought three cypress knees for $5 at a yard sale several years ago, there's nothing to fear but fear itself, right?

What's funny is that after spending three days with Billy Reynolds carving spirit faces, I no longer fear my ever-growing stack of cedar logs and posts and I have a pretty good grasp of the wheres and wherefores of spirit (and other) faces. But this little knee has me frozen with fear.

Here's my question: Does anyone power-carve Cypress Knees? I just don't have the strength in my hands to manage with a knife. I do have hand tools, just haven't used them in a while.