New to Whittling

[joe44]

Hi! I've been interested in woodworking since I was a kid. I haven't done much with it lately because I don't have a shop (I'm in college). I decided that a good way to keep involved is whittling. I just started about a month ago. So far I've made a few little things. I just have a couple of questions.

How does one cut efficiently around curves / tight spaces? On this I was using mostly a utility knife. I have a small sheepsfoot fixed blade and even with that angles are hard. Any suggestions?

How can I plan out my carvings? As you can see I drew an outline, but after I whittle out the basic "cookie cut" shape, I have a hard time picturing what I want to do in 3-D.

I want to buy a pocketknife for whittling. I have several pocketknives, but I am thinking about getting a stockman. I've only whittled with lock blades or fixed blades much before. I am a little apprehensive whittling without the blade locked. I have several friends who have been whittling and had their knife shut on their fingers. Is that something to be especially worried about? Are their stockman type knives out their that are lock blades? I haven't found any as I've searched.

Sorry for such a scattered post

(The whale is whittled from lilac and the other 2 are pine).

[mrwatch]

I leaned to carve at a seniors center and the wood shop had band saws to cut out the pattern. Being in collage limits that. You will end up with several knives, mostly short fixed blades made for detail caving. I also looked at ceramic bird figurines and bought some at garage sales like 25 cents to$1.00 just for study guides. Some on-line magazines have patterns like wood carving illustrated. How do you carve a duck? cut away what doesn't look like a duck. Their is some wood carving groups but shows are not as often now and may not be in your area.

[eveled]

Before band saws people used coping saws for the rough shape. They are cheap. One trick is to drill a hole take the blade off the handle pass the blade through the hole then reattach the blade.

As far as pocket knives go. I use a couple broken ones that I modified with a file. You want a long handle and a short blade. Don’t be afraid to thin the blades by rubbing them flat on a sharpening stone. I like blades with straight edges for whittling.

[mrwatch]

all wood has grain running in one direction. Need to lay out the pattern so a leg or arm does not break off. As for your piece start with the edges making making little downwards cuts sweeping into the round. kind of like the center rounded into both directions. you will be cutting towards your thumb so wear a safety glove or wrap red veterinarian tape into a thumb guard.

[mrwatch]

pattern

[Doug51]

I started with a pocket knife and still like to use one. A fixed blade knife that is specifically for wood carving can make life easier starting out. Check out Flexcut knives. That's what I found most available and started with for a fixed blade knife. Get yourself a cut resistant glove and you will need a leather strop to keep your knife sharp.
There are proper ways to make controlled cuts so you greatly reduce the risk of cuttinh yourself.
Check out Doug Linker on U tube for some great videos that will explain a lot and he has some excellent projects to carve. Gene Messer has some good beginner carving videos along with some advanced stuff also. If you can find someone to show you hands on is the fastest way. Many states have carving clubs that have meetings you could go to that might be worth looking into. A lot of experience carvers at them. Hope this was helpful along with everyone else's advise.
Good luck

[joe44]

Thanks everyone for the advice!

So it sounds like I shouldn't be too worried about using pocketknives without locking blades, but I should consider using a glove or thumb pad?

[mrwatch]

Thanks everyone for the advice!

So it sounds like I shouldn't be too worried about using pocketknives without locking blades, but I should consider using a glove or thumb pad?

absolutely, by a thin cut resistant safety glove or a food prep type or possibly fish cleaning glove, some are not comfortable so try it on first. The red Vet's tape will last a long time, just wrap several times around your thumb. sold at most farm supply stores, the green we didn't like as much. We had a new beginner come and he cut his thumb, put on a bandage and did it again. However he was not in good health and decided it wasn't for me., that day. Much of carving has your blade going towards the thumb.

[Doug51]

Thanks everyone for the advice!

So it sounds like I shouldn't be too worried about using pocketknives without locking blades, but I should consider using a glove or thumb pad?

Learn the proper technique to making cuts. Stop cut, push cut and paring cuts are the 3 I use the most. And a sharp knife is important. Doug Linker has a good video explaining these cuts on U tube.
Sometimes a pocket knife will need to have the edge thinned down to make it cut wood better.

[thankgod4rkids]

Sometimes a pocket knife will need to have the edge thinned down to make it cut wood better.
[/quote]

I would agree with Doug. My older flat ground Schrade is so much nicer in wood than say a thick spine hollow grind like Buck uses. If you're going to use a stockman instead of a whittler pay attention to that.
Bill