Beginner Whittler

[Quark]

Hi everyone the past year ive started getting into whittling.Im trying to find the right knife to use since i was told the box cutter I was using was too dangerous and to use a pocketknife instead. I was just wondering what kind of pocketknife i should look for?Is there anything else I could use?Any suggestions would be appreciated. Oh and the wood ive been carving is white oak since thats all that is around here in Texas.

[STAR]

Quark.

I see you are from Texas USA. I am probably not the o0ne to tell you what knife to use because i am battling my way through the woodcarving maze also.

But, I will say this i have had some experience outside of woodcarving and that has served me well. I made my own two carving knifes from a HSS metal saw and I ground and honed them really sharp.

But my problem was, How sharp is sharp for carving. I know how sharp , sharp is for wood chisels because i have been taught by a master and I now know what sharp really is. But with carving my learning curve suggests to me that carving knives have to go to another level. Because I do not know any carvers I bit the bullet and ordered one from , the good ol US of A.

After a bit of research I ordered it from Allen Goodman a Caricature carver and knife maker. If you send him a knife he will sharpen and alter the blade at $4 per blade and the guys who have one of his can attest that he is a master.

I was going to get a pen knife as well but went with the Detail knife first. I am looking around for a good whittling knife in the States and it will be sent to him to rejig if he feels it to be necessary. There are other guys who do the same and I had to pick one and that was him.

My knife left the States a week ago so i suspect it is now at our post office waiting for me to pick up tomorrow. Then I will know the answer to the question : How sharp is sharp"

I do not want to use this new knife I just needed it as a learning curve to see if I have to improve my sharpening skills .

By the way. One of the most talented caricature carvers uses a box knife for most of his work. I doubt it is any more dangerous than any other knife providing you have a fixed blade and you take the safety precautions like a kevlar glove and a thumb cover like you should with all carving knives.

Pete

[Whittling]

Hi Quark,

I've been whittling for a while now and use pocket knives almost exclusively. This is mainly because of the various blade shapes required to carve effectively. In my experience you need at least two... 3 or 4 are better. Each blade is shaped differently to expediate particular aspects of this form of carving. I don't know of any knife manufacturer who currently makes their knives with these blade shapes so I buy knives with good steel (440c, AUS6A in stainless or 1095 carbon steel), and re-shape the blades on a grinder, then sharpen them to 'carving sharp'. This way all of your knife blades fold up into the handle and the whole thing goes in your pocket. So much more portable than a box full of separate, wooden handled knives.

If you feel comfortable with chaging the blade shapes yourself, my favourite knife is made by Colt... model CT 203, 4-bladed 'Railsplitter'. (You can actually get a glimpse of this knife in some of the 'progress' photos I posted last week in a thread called 'Mearly a Meerkat'). I sell more of these to my students than any other style.

As you are in the US it would probably be esier for you to purchase one at Smokey Mountain Knife works on line. As a US resident you should have no trouble ordering from them. (They don't like to deal with us overseas guys...)

Otherwise you can try Star's suggestion of Allen Goodman (don't know him but I'm sure he's good)... or you can try a Canadian guy called Rick Wiebe at www.woodcarvingbiz.com a very experienced carver who I have dealt with for many years. I know he too would be happy to recommend a knife to you.

[Quark]

Thanks for the replys,have you heard anything good about Opinels?I was looking through Amazon and theirs is a carbon steel course ill probally have to get a whetstone just so i learn how to resharpen it after awhile.

[Whittling]

Thanks for the replys,have you heard anything good about Opinels?I was looking through Amazon and theirs is a carbon steel course ill probally have to get a whetstone just so i learn how to resharpen it after awhile.

I have seen Opinel steel (its French) and it is quite good but I've never seen an Opinel knife in anything other than a single blade... usually a clip point blade and not suited to any kind of detail in a whittling context. The blade is too big to be used for much other than blocking out.

As for needing a stone... yes you will ... and a strop and some honing compound ... and someone to show you how to use them. I've never seen a mass produced knife blade that was sharp enough for carving right out of the box. They always need work before they are ready to carve with.

Honestly mate, while it is possible to get a lot of knowledge out of forums and books, the very basics that you need are better taught in a class or even better, one on one. Wittling is very big in the US. I'm surprised you cannot find a club near you that can at least get you started. You need not stay with them if you don't want to, but I think it would be invaluable to you to get you started.

By the way, the box cutter is not unsafe as such... at least no more so than any other sharp knife. But it is limiting in that it has only one shape and that shape is not ideally suited to all carving. You need a variety of blade shapes to do a variety of work. That's why I like the multiple blade knives... they give you options. Alternatively, you can get a variety of fixed-blade, wooden-handled knives but its not as convienient carting around a box of knives as it is one folding knife. If portability is not a concern for you, this may be the way to go. Rick's web site has a variety of Pheil carving knives for sale and I'm sure there are other sorces for these sorts of tools.

[Quark]

I have seen Opinel steel (its French) and it is quite good but I've never seen an Opinel knife in anything other than a single blade... usually a clip point blade and not suited to any kind of detail in a whittling context. The blade is too big to be used for much other than blocking out.

As for needing a stone... yes you will ... and a strop and some honing compound ... and someone to show you how to use them. I've never seen a mass produced knife blade that was sharp enough for carving right out of the box. They always need work before they are ready to carve with.

Honestly mate, while it is possible to get a lot of knowledge out of forums and books, the very basics that you need are better taught in a class or even better, one on one. Wittling is very big in the US. I'm surprised you cannot find a club near you that can at least get you started. You need not stay with them if you don't want to, but I think it would be invaluable to you to get you started.

By the way, the box cutter is not unsafe as such... at least no more so than any other sharp knife. But it is limiting in that it has only one shape and that shape is not ideally suited to all carving. You need a variety of blade shapes to do a variety of work. That's why I like the multiple blade knives... they give you options. Alternatively, you can get a variety of fixed-blade, wooden-handled knives but its not as convienient carting around a box of knives as it is one folding knife. If portability is not a concern for you, this may be the way to go. Rick's web site has a variety of Pheil carving knives for sale and I'm sure there are other sorces for these sorts of tools.

Thanks for the info Ill look into the multiple blade knives and by the way im what you blokes in Australia call a "Sheilah"

[Robson Valley]

I've bought tools from a 75mm+ sculptor's adze to a 1"/25mm Pfeil skew from Rick Wiebe.
Another place to look is Magard Log Home Building Tools. Maurice has been in the business for 30+ years. He has dozens of every Pfeil wood carving tool ever made. Last thing that I bought from him was a 5/35 Pfeil gouge and I has a choice after trying 3 of them. ( I reset and sharpened the factory screw-ups but that's another story!)

You ever been in a tool store to see 6 x 12" drill presses set up side-by-side for the production of draw-knives? He's a night-owl. Never phone before 1PM PST.

[Quark]

I've bought tools from a 75mm+ sculptor's adze to a 1"/25mm Pfeil skew from Rick Wiebe.
Another place to look is Magard Log Home Building Tools. Maurice has been in the business for 30+ years. He has dozens of every Pfeil wood carving tool ever made. Last thing that I bought from him was a 5/35 Pfeil gouge and I has a choice after trying 3 of them. ( I reset and sharpened the factory screw-ups but that's another story!)

You ever been in a tool store to see 6 x 12" drill presses set up side-by-side for the production of draw-knives? He's a night-owl. Never phone before 1PM PST.

I dont even know what a drill press is sorry but yea i did some deep searching and I found a store thats the closests that deals with woodcraft and they even have classes on weekdays.

[Whittling]

Sounds like you are on your way! Keep us posted as to how you get on.