Whittling Wood Carving

A spoon. Rushed it a bit in the end, the piece of birch I used wasn't particularly fun to work with.

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Had a look and 80 euros for one of his knives seems like great value to me. Certainly more than what Morakniv charges, but for a one man operation I think the price is fair to say the least

That’s stunning

I definitely wasn’t insinuating it wasn’t good value. I just don’t have that kind of dorra to spend on a new knife

When you read his website he knows his shit

Thanks. I've got a stash of birch firewood, so I used that but I guess birch is generally a bit hard for hand tools... plus this piece had knots and weird porous bits that kept splintering. There's a bunch of overgrown hedge thuja in the yard, with one that fell a month or two ago so might try that next.

That’s what I found with birch. I have a load of it. I even found a grub inside the wood

Nice spoon @paradroid

Sycamore Catapult prototype in progress.

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Lovely. It’s beautiful and dangerous

My nephew is spending his lockdown whittling a chess set using a Swiss Army knife. It's his 15th birthday soon - is there a forum-recommended book on whittling and carving suitable for a novice young adult? Something more on techniques than 'easy projects for beginners'?

Sounds like he could do with a proper knife as well?

Probably - that would involve some negotiation with my sister-in-law. There's got to be a Victorinox tool for opening a can of worms?

I used to use a Swiss army knife when I was a teenager too - fairly hazardous since the blades don't lock, at least on mine.

If he’s already whittling it’s a bit late for that conversation...

Get him a Morakniv 120. I really rate mine, esp for the price.

https://www.nordicoutdoor.co.uk/by-brand/mora-of-sweden/carving-whittling.html

One conversation started a couple of birthdays ago when I bought him a swiss army knife - apparently there's something about teenagers and knives that a retired woodwork teacher wouldn't understand - I thought a book and possibly some Danish oil would be less controversial.

Surely Uncles buy knives, not sensible books and oil?

Small project this evening, a scoop from the rogue Sycamore I chopped out of our hedgerow.

Easiest wood to work with out of all taken from the garden, although a batoning / stop cut error means this has a crack on the shoulder of the scoop.

It doses 6g of coffee beans, meaning my next one needs to be 50% bigger.

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Surely Uncles buy knives, not sensible books and oil?

Apparently not any more, or so I have been told with great clarity.

Is it 'cos they're worried it might be a bit stabby? This might be a useful compromise?

https://uk.knivesandtools.eu/en/pt/-old-timer-woodworking-knife-24ot-wood-carving-knife.htm

Looks good - thank you.
And yes, knives have been an issue in some of the local schools.

Understandable then. Hope the Old Timer can be agreed upon.

Mk2 Scoop in progress.

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I went by the part fallen poplar and took a 2m length from a fallen branch from the fallen branch off the main trunk.

It is very soft & dry compared to anything I've carved before, reminds me of Balsa Wood from kids craft projects. Has nice markings throughout too.

Anyway, here's an unsanded spoon and an exciting shot of the breaks in the branch I cut through.

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320 grit and Flax Oil made a nice finish on this one.

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Has everyone stopped whittling? Be good to see more of what folks on here are making.

I took a punt on an Old Timer multi knife so hoping to have a go at some different detail beyond spoons.

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I made another spoon at the weekend. Will dig it out and get a pic.