New Carving Knife Update

Well here is the first knife finished up and already in New York. Now I need to find time to carve mine.

New Carving Knives

A fellow woodcarver and knife maker in New York recently proposed a swap on the Woodcarving Illustrated Message Board. He would send two of his carving knives with basswood handles. I carve the handles into anything I want, and send him one back. I get  a great carving knife and he gets a carving for his collection. Well they arrived and now the wheels are turning. Check back and see what I find hidden in these wooden handles.

Santa #2 for 2012

Here is my second Santa for this year. He started out as half of a basswood log. Roughed out with mallet tools, finished with hand tools. He measures 13" long by 7 1/2" wide and 5" thick. He was painted using acrylic wash and sealed with a light coat of Deft lacquer.

Happy Halloween

I carved these little trick or treaters for my nieces and nephews for Halloween. A pretty simple carving, from a 1 3/8" x 1 3/8"  basswood  block. They are 3 3/4" tall, except the witch she is 4 3/4". Still have five more to carve.

Kid Carson Builds A Pirate Ship

This is my three year old great nephew Carson showing off his woodworking skills. Never too early to get 'em started.

Pair O' Dice Saloon

Kansas City Woodcarvers Club has started a club project. A large display that will depict a wagon train leaving from Kansas City, circa 1850. We are hoping to have the project ready for display at our woodcarving show in March. A scale of 3/4" = 1' is being used. Some carvers are constructing covered wagons, carving mules, horses, pioneers and townspeople. Of course we also need a backdrop for the carvings, and this is the first building constructed. The buildings will consist of only the front, since the carvings will be the main focus of the project. Here is my latest addition to the project, it measures 15" wide and 12" tall.

NASCAR Fan

Here is my latest caricature carving. I carved it for my Uncle's 82nd birthday. He is a big Jimmie Johnson fan.

Keeping Your Carving Symmetrical

Keeping a carving symmetrical can be a challenge, but the right tool can help. Dividers can insure the eyes are the same width, ears are the same length, distances between features are accurate, you get the idea. The average face is five eyes wide. So if you have the width of your eye, you can figure the width of the face. Also the eyes are one eye width apart. The distance from the bottom of the chin to the bottom of the nose is the same distance from the bottom of the nose to the brow, and from the brow to the top of the face. Face, not the top of the head. Now you have the length of the face. Again these rules are an average, and can vary from person to person.

So a set of dividers are a good tool to have in your carving box. If you don't have or don't want to purchase a set, here is a tip I picked up a few years back at a seminar with Gerald Copeland. These are pretty simple, two modified paint sticks from your local home improvement store attached with a screw and wing nut.

And a couple good sets..............................

Santa

 As I am posting this, it is 93 degrees outside, too hot for this early in the summer.
Maybe this carving will help us feel a little cooler, only six months 'til Christmas. :)
Finally got a chance to finish Santa. He is painted with acrylics thinned with water, then sealed with Deft lacquer. I applied a coat of Howard Feed 'N Wax as the final finish. He measures 12" long, 7 1/2" wide and 4 1/2" thick. I think he turned out pretty good. What do you think?

Christmas In June Update

Found some time to work on Ol' Santa. Here are the latest pics.

Christmas In June?

Well it's never too early to start carving for Christmas, this is the first project for 2012. I bought two basswood split logs at the Kansas City Woodcarvers Show in March. John Krantz, from Minnesota, always brings a large selection of carving wood to the show. Great wood at a very good price. Here are the results of day one.

Small Carving

Our carving club has started a group project. A wagon train leaving a local town. The plan is to have it completed for our annual woodcarving show in March. I carved this little guy for a start. Plan on adding more to the project.