Thread: Whittling

Tyton, I just finished a long, probably too long, reply to your post on Woodcarving Illustrated Forum. I don't know much about the available timber sellers in Newcastle but I mentioned Trend Timbers near Windsor. And I think there might be something Dungog way, not sure though.

G'day Tyton,

I'm going to go out on a limb here and try to define 'whittling' first. To me whittling is carving in which the work is held in the hand rather than bolted down or clamped. The traditional tool of choice is a blade of some discription, (usually several with different shapes for different jobs), however I personally am not adverse to using a variety of tools including files, rasps, carving chisels and even power carvers of various sorts.

Assuming you are not using power and you are holding your work.... you are going to need a relatively soft wood. A lot of Aussie timbers look great but carving them in a whittling format is not an easy thing to do... especially for a beginner.

If you want to use wood you can find in Oz for whittling, Poplar, Willow and Birch all work well, especially for simple projects. None are native. Jelutong, English Lime and Huon Pine are also very good but harder to find unless you are near a timber merchant who goes in for 'exotic' wood. (Don't know your area ... sorry, but a flip through the yellow pages or on Google should turn up something.)

I'd be interested in seeing what sort of project you are trying and what tools you are going to use. It might be possible to be more specific with advice if we had a clearer idea of where you want to go.

Thanks for the replies.
Being in the Newcastle area i will have to have a look around for Timber suppliers. Now that i have a small list of some timber that would be suitable i may know what to ask for and not look too much like i have idea.
Im mostly interested in simple whittling. As you described - holding it in your hand and whittling away at the wood with a sharp pocket knife. Simple, and something i can pick up and do without having to break out all the tools and power saws. Mostly for relaxation, and i will be just doing simple projects - nothing too complicated.

Ah Tyton, you have arrived. Your Aussie mates in the many forums here are most accomplished in the woodworking arts. May you learn what you need.

Originally Posted by tyton

As you described - holding it in your hand and whittling away at the wood with a sharp pocket knife. Simple, and something i can pick up and do without having to break out all the tools and power saws. Mostly for relaxation, and i will be just doing simple projects - nothing too complicated.

Had another thought... you could try stick and twig carving. Material is literally everywhere. I've posted a photo of a simple twig project I call the 'Roosta'. I'll post a WIP on it if you think a 'how to' will help.

The stick and twig carvings look interesting. What sort of wood was used, and were they carved? or whittled?
Being able to do small projects with small materials found locally is very appealing.

All the 'roostas' were carved from simple forked sticks of various species and sizes. Almost any wood will work as the body of the chook is carved while the wood is green. One needs to wait a few days until the wood has partly dried out to carve the tail. This is neccessary in order to get the curl in the tail.

The roostas in the photo are mounted on a separate piece of wood each... usually a short cross section of bough of the appropriate size relative to the roosta being mounted on it. Some also have little axes mounted on the same block. Those were carved from a separtate piece of wood too.

If this interests you I can post a series of photos showing the process. Otherwise, you can order a book on the subject. Can't remember the exact title but its something like 'Carving sticks and twigs' by Chris Lubkemann. He's also written one called 'The Little Book of Whittling'. Most of his projects call for only a simple two-bladed knife. Very simple... straightforward stuff.

It definately interests me, and mostly as i can use locally found materials that are readily at hand. Would be a great way for me to get started whittling. Any instructional material you are able to post will help immensley!

Ok... I'll try to get something together over the weekend.

Originally Posted by Whittling

Ok... I'll try to get something together over the weekend.

I also am looking forward to it Whittling. I can see it being very helpful to me and they may even be able to be used as a bottle stopper top.

I am attempting to carve bottle toppers with the emblems of all the NRL Rugby league teams. So far I have done the North Queensland Cowboys and Parramatta Eels. The Sydney Roosters were way down the list but may have been elevated in the pecking order.

Even my Avatar " Wally the Toad " is a Queensland Rugby League Carving . He is about 200 mm high and was a present for one of my daughters. I am always looking for inspirations on what to do. If I have no interest in the subject matter I find that I will have little interest in pushing through when the going gets difficult, which I know is going to happen somewhere in the carving process.

I like the idea of the little axe, I am not a Roosters suporter and the person I have in mind to give it as a gift is a big fan. The axe just tops it off.

Thanks.

Pete