Whittling Beguinners Guide

Often we are looking for a hobby, something to spend a good time, maybe relax for a day more stressful and we do not know which hobby choose.

Whittling is a great hobby to start if any of those cases is yours or if you just suddenly you became interested in this activity.

But what Whittling mean?

Whittling is the art of carving with a knife a piece of wood in order to make it a sculpture or an object, which can be anything from a knife in wood to a bird…

The secret is to go carving wood in the direction of the vein (woods with many veins or nodes do not recommend) to give the shape you want, whether it is a branch or a block of wood.

Imagination brings new objects and new challenges, it just goes trying to do something different with the accumulation of experience.

Let's see then what we need to whittle.

Knifes

Whittling emerged as an activity which simply took a piece of wood and anyone with his pocket knife was beginning to chop wood.

Purists argue that true whittling can only do it this way. The advantage of using a pocket knife is that typically have more than one blade and this helps whenever you want to make a different type of cut.

I recommend using a specific knife for whittling and I'll explain to you why…

Whittling Knifes

 

Check this knife on Amazon Check this knife on Amazon

These things are more suitable for whittling than a pocket knife and the main reason is the grip.

As you can see, both knives have a soft grip that form fits your hand much more easily. This helps a lot when this whittle will have some time and do not want to lose that feeling of comfort and get you to hurt your hands…

The goal is to be a hobby, something you can do to relax, so it's a very important reason in my view. The first knife has the characteristic of having a shorter blade, which helps when making a notch slightly smaller to give a little more detail.

While the second knife has a longer blade, which helps when you want to get more wood once, chopping faster and also has a blade like a normal pocket knife, which gives you the same convenience and can shove it in your pocket and when you feel like you practice your favorite hobby is so pull her from the pocket.

What wood choose for Whittling

You should use softwoods, and why? They are easier to carve and do the details on your pieces.

A list of this type of woods:

• Basswood
• Pine
• Balsa
• Butternut

If you want to know more about this woods, range of prices and what to do, you must see Best woods for Whittling and Wood Carving.

 

Shapen Whittling Knife

Always keep your sharp knife is crucial to be a good whittler. Obviously, when you have your sharp knife, it is quite easier to carve wood as you wish with all the freedom in the world.

This is not the only reason… Another reason is to prevent cuts (not end with your fingers all filled with cuts). When the knife is not sharp, it does not slip so well in wood and tends to escape, which always want to avoid because the knife cannot be sharp enough to cut wood but can get to cut your fingers.

The own act of sharpening the knife is like an art that is learned with time and so let the perfect blade for whittling.

Do you not know how to sharpen your knife? No problem, check out our article Sharpen Whittling Knife – How to do.

Types of Whittling Cuts

Exists many types of cuts that you could to do, but we will show the most common. Well, will assume that you are right-handed, according to the images.

Straightaway Rough Cutting

Use this cut at the very beginning of your project to carve your project's general shape. Hold the wood in your left hand and your knife firmly on your right. Make a long, sweeping cut with the grain and away from your body. Don't cut too deep or you might split the wood. Make several, thin slices to reduce the wood to the desired size and shape.

Pull Stroke

If you've ever seen an old-timer whittle, chances are you saw him using the pull stroke. It's the most used cut in whittling. To perform this cut, imagine you're paring an apple. Hold the wood in your left hand, the knife in your right with the blade facing towards you. Brace your right thumb against the wood, and squeeze your right fingers in order to draw the blade to your right thumb. Make your stroke short and controlled. Keep your right thumb out of the path of the blade. For added safety, wear a thumb pad. The pull stroke gives you lots of control over your blade and is best for detailed cuts.

Push Stroke (Thumb Pushing)

Sometimes where you want to cut won't allow you to do the pull stroke. That's when it's time to bust out the push stroke. Hold the wood in your left hand and the knife firmly in your right hand with the blade facing away from you. Place both your right and left thumbs on the back of the knife blade. Push the blade forward with your left thumb while your right thumb and fingers guide the blade through the wood.

The push stroke, like the pull stroke, gives you greater control over your knife for detailed cuts.

Whittling Gloves – Don't Forget Protection

Especially when you are starting in whittling is normal to sometimes the knife escape to the fingers or not go where we want, even after a lot of practice can happen.

So I recommend buying a leather finger to avoid the cuts. They are cheap and easy to use. The only downside is that if you give too much use end up having to buy a new one.

Below is a picture so they can get an idea of what it is.

Things to Whittle

After already knowing these things comes the question: "But what can I do?"

At first, try to make a spherical object to training following veins and the carving of wood, then you can start trying things with a little more detail how a small figure, and go always trying new things.

Some examples of projects that are whittling the Internet:

What book can I buy?

Exist some books about whittling and I recommend the book mentioned below. I think that book has almost all the important things to you start this hobby and become a real good whittler.

Complete Starter Guide to Whittling

 

Source : articlesbase.com