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wood-for-whittling-and-carving-zoom Skip to main content. Wood are more difficult to work with by hand, but wood for whittling and carving zoom have some unique characteristics that can make them incredible carving projects. This is why I made a blog to help people to discover this exciting hobby. Make sure to follow some safety tips. Each mistake that you make will be a mistake you will not make the next time around. If you live near enough to some basswood trees, carfing that is a great opportunity to practice whittling green wood.

Balsa wood is the softest wood ever recorded on the Janka Hardness scale. As a result, it is VERY easy to work with as a hand carver. There are a couple of downsides to Balsa wood, however. For one, depending on where you live, it will be harder to find and more difficult to know whether it was responsibly sourced. As mentioned in the snapshot, Balsa grows primarily in South and Central America. Another thing to keep in mind with Balsa, is that it is so lightweight, you may not want to make heartier utensils with it.

Aspen is another VERY soft wood for hand carving. In fact, you may have noticed that it has a Janka rating slightly lower than Basswood. The wood is generally straight and fine-grained. Like basswood and Balsa, Aspen has a very light color.

One more unique thing about Aspen, is that it has the distinction of being the most widely distributed North American tree according to the US Forest Service.

To summarize, if you have access to Aspen, then you have access to a plentiful and very renewable carving wood. It shares many of the good qualities of Basswood, and could be an excellent alternative if Aspen is either cheaper or easier for you to get. However, for whittlers and hand carvers, Butternut has some key advantages. For one, Butternut is much softer and easier to carve by hand compared to Black Walnut, which is much denser.

In fact, this approach has been used in the past by woodworkers who were trying to mimic Black Walnut, with less expensive Butternut wood. Given the time, tools, and a bit of experience, you could create a spectacular heirloom piece with this wood. Cedar also happens to be the most colorful wood in our list so far, and tends to be light redish pink, and can sometimes even have slightly purple shades in dark spots.

It has a wonderful scent that I can only describe as rich, slightly sweet, and crisp. Like Basswood, Cedar is a wood that you can find at hobby and craft stores in dried form. Why not? White Pine is another very soft wood, and it has the same Janka hardness rating as Aspen listed above. The color of White Pine wood is a very light, almost white color hence the name.

White Pine can be a great wood for hand carving, but there are a couple of challenges that make it more difficult to work with:. A second challenge of working with pine wood, is that it tends to have more knots than the types of wood at the top of this list e.

Basswood and Aspen. In the hands of a skilled carver, knots can be incorporated into a carving, which can really add a lot of character and beauty to a piece. With all that said, White Pine is not always challenging to work with. And you can often find pre-dried blocks of Pine in craft and hobby stores. White Pine is a plentiful wood, that is soft and easy to work with, as long as it is dried and you keep an eye out for knots. The gloves should be worn at all times, both when you are carving and when you are sharpening your tools.

The better the quality of your materials, the easier it will be for you to be successful. In the case of wood, you would do well to start with soft wood. A few classic examples of soft wood which are often used for whittling projects include pine, basswood, and balsa.

These types of wood will not only be Wood For Whittling And Carving Equation easier to cut and hone your skills on, but they will also be gentler on your knife, requiring less breaks to re-sharpen or re-strop your cutting edge. Also, the easier the wood is to cut, the more control you will have, meaning you will be more precise and less likely to cut yourself as you try to force the blade through. What knife should you choose when getting started with whittling? Depending upon your preference, you could pick up a specialized whittling knife or a general all-purpose pocket knife.

Other than that, most anything will do. High carbon steel is used more often. Stainless-steel is a great material as well, just keep in mind that it takes longer to sharpen. Something I always recommend for people new to whittling or carving is to get a fixed blade knife when starting out.

This is just an additional safety precaution to avoid having the knife blade closing on your finger unexpectedly. Whittlers will be interested in seeing the page too for the safety and sharpening tools that I recommend. As for sharpening equipment, there are many options out there, but be sure to use quality tools since you will be using them often. There are many videos available that can teach you how to properly use a sharpening stone and a strop.

Many first-time whittlers ignore this part of the process and end up giving up the hobby because of it. When working with a dull knife it is much more difficult to control your cuts, which leads to frustration, blisters, tired hands, and sometimes a bit of blood. Working with a sharp knife is smooth, easy, meditative, and most of all, safe! If you want the true whittling experience, sitting deep in thought, stepping outside of time, breathing in rhythm with the universe which surrounds you… then keep that knife sharp!

How do you know your knife is sharp enough? If they come off fast, smooth, and easy, then your knife is as sharp as a razor and ready to go! Once you have picked out a piece of wood and found a blade, you need a project! The most important thing to consider when choosing a project is that it is meaningful to you in some way. I began my journey into the world of whittling by carving simple wood-spirits.

These are mythical, bearded figures who are said to reside in the forest. It is surprisingly easy and extremely rewarding once you get the hang of it.

Plus, there are several tutorials easily found online which walk you through the cuts step-by-step. Other easy beginner projects include animal shapes, objects boots , symbols hearts , or even basic chess pieces! Once you gain a bit of confidence, encourage yourself to make each project your own. Carving wet wood is easier than carving it dry as the moisture in the wood allows the knife to glide through the wood easier.

If the wood is too dry, the wood can be hard and brittle. By wetting the wood down before carving will make for a more enjoyable carving experience. There are a few different ways to wet the wood down, each has their own benefits and should be considered if you are having a difficult time carving. Just keep in mind that hydrating the wood may make ti susceptible to bowing, checking, or splitting when it dries.

The simplest way to wet down your wood is by soaking it in water. Soaking wood in water absorbs water from the outside in, which may leave the core dry even after soaking for a long period of time. I recommend only soaking the wood for maybe minutes at a time max if you are doing a smaller sculpture that fits in the palm of your hand.

Allowing too much moisture into the wood may increase the chances of the wood checking or splitting along the grain. You can just dip the wood back in the water for a minute while carving to keep the outer layer hydrated and easier to carve. Another popular method to make the wood easier to carve is to use a small spray bottle to hydrate the area you will be carving.

By spraying with the water and rubbing alcohol mixture, you get a little better water absorption as the rubbing alcohol helps remove some surface tension and allows the water to seep deeper into the wood.

This is a very easy process to do and I usually keep a small spray bottle on my work bench in case I run across some tough wood. The most popular way to whittle wet wood is to do so when it is freshly cut from the tree, also called green wood. Green wood has the natural moisture from the tree still inside the wood and it is evenly dispersed from the core to the outer rings. This makes for a more consistent wet carving experience with little to no need for moisture application.

You may have to keep in mind that as the wood dries, it may want to split.

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