How to make dry wood easier for whittling

[Chris the Fish]

What's your domestic situation Hugh? When I first started working with wood i just take the dogs for a walk and pick up all sorts of bits of wood. I even made a bow out of apiece of hazel I found on the deck at the side of the road.

I've tried to persist with rock hard wood but ended up realising you can't polish a turd


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[hughlle1]

What's your domestic situation Hugh? When I first started working with wood i just take the dogs for a walk and pick up all sorts of bits of wood. I even made a bow out of apiece of hazel I found on the deck at the side of the road.

I've tried to persist with rock hard wood but ended up realising you can't polish a turd


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My situation is that I'm in a flat on the middle of London with no close park other than a grade 1 listed church and churchyard, and Greenwich park, neither of which I'd consider acceptable regarding cutting some fresh wood. I am completely and utterly swamped by some assignment issues at university so taking g a couple of hours to go further a field and fi d real wood is out of the question. I take some time to myself in the evenings lying flat on my back, other than that I am at my desk working my butt off. Hence my statement of this being my only wood. if I had the time and energy to go to Abbey woods or such, I would. Thankfully come December 16th I'll be able to step back and take some time to myself, but until then I have to work work work. Alas we can't always life the ideal life, so I'm simply playing the cards I was dealt for now.

 

[quietone]

Hey, what are you carving? What size pieces of wood are you using? I can pop some bits in the post to you, free of charge from the krampus providing you're not carving anything too big.

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[forrestdweller]

This is why I always loved my leatherman. It was a Jack of all trades and far far from a master of any. But that convenience! As I stated earlier, I'd rather an axe, grew up with them. So for me a shorter saw is better (as is a shorter axe). As far as a budget saw goes the bahco is great, but it is pretty big for the size of wood I (plan to) use it on. I always like things to be pocketable

in this case i would suggest saving up for a silky pocketboy- my small-size pocketboy [ there is also a bigger 170mm version] lives permanently in my edc bag, the biggest thing i cut with it so far is a 150mm cedar beam and a 6in. bamboo pole... . not the cheapest saw, but good quality

btw.: you say you plan to use a piece of firewood- do you know what type of timber it is? i mean: if it is suitable to make a spoon [=not treated or otherwise poisonous]...

 

[hughlle1]

Hey, what are you carving? What size pieces of wood are you using? I can pop some bits in the post to you, free of charge from the krampus providing you're not carving anything too big.

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Thankyou for the kind offer, but i will decline for now It'll only be too much of temptation to neglect my studies. Right now i'm simply carving up anything, be it a feather stick, a knife, i'm not fussed. I've started a thread in this section detailing my progress, and right now i'm actually happier to have wood that i know is worthless so far as carving goes, and am just using it to get used to putting a knife to wood (slightly different experience to working with fish..). Already made mistakes and learnt how to avoid, or improve efficiency etc, so it is all beneficial at the end of the day As i said earlier, this is the same way i learnt to be a fish monger. If i can whittle something with this wood, then i'll (theoretically) be able to whittle anything

in this case i would suggest saving up for a silky pocketboy- my small-size pocketboy [ there is also a bigger 170mm version] lives permanently in my edc bag, the biggest thing i cut with it so far is a 150mm cedar beam and a 6in. bamboo pole... . not the cheapest saw, but good quality

btw.: you say you plan to use a piece of firewood- do you know what type of timber it is? i mean: if it is suitable to make a spoon [=not treated or otherwise poisonous]...

I'll have a look into that. Back home for christmas in the countryside so there will be a lot more opportunity for mischief. Thanks for the pointer.

The wood is completely unknown. I need to spend a bit of time when i can learning tree identification. I'm not carving up any spoons yet, so it isn't an issue, but of course something to bare in mind when i do.

 

[quietone]

Thankyou for the kind offer, but i will decline for now It'll only be too much of temptation to neglect my studies. Right now i'm simply carving up anything, be it a feather stick, a knife, i'm not fussed. I've started a thread in this section detailing my progress, and right now i'm actually happier to have wood that i know is worthless so far as carving goes, and am just using it to get used to putting a knife to wood (slightly different experience to working with fish..). Already made mistakes and learnt how to avoid, or improve efficiency etc, so it is all beneficial at the end of the day As i said earlier, this is the same way i learnt to be a fish monger. If i can whittle something with this wood, then i'll (theoretically) be able to whittle anything



I'll have a look into that. Back home for christmas in the countryside so there will be a lot more opportunity for mischief. Thanks for the pointer.

The wood is completely unknown. I need to spend a bit of time when i can learning tree identification. I'm not carving up any spoons yet, so it isn't an issue, but of course something to bare in mind when i do.

Aye, no worries. I think there is worth in all wood, be it a heat source or possible item, tool, means to an end. All the best.

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[woodspirits]

My situation is that I'm in a flat on the middle of London with no close park other than a grade 1 listed church and churchyard, and Greenwich park, neither of which I'd consider acceptable regarding cutting some fresh wood. I am completely and utterly swamped by some assignment issues at university so taking g a couple of hours to go further a field and fi d real wood is out of the question. I take some time to myself in the evenings lying flat on my back, other than that I am at my desk working my butt off. Hence my statement of this being my only wood. if I had the time and energy to go to Abbey woods or such, I would. Thankfully come December 16th I'll be able to step back and take some time to myself, but until then I have to work work work. Alas we can't always life the ideal life, so I'm simply playing the cards I was dealt for now.

Hugh this post explains why your situation excludes you from actually going out to find a replacement, not that you had to explain of course but it does give a much better picture for the forum to help you. Sometimes the assumed often leads to confusion which in turn elicits completely the wrong response, It would seem i have fell foul of this and apologise.

 

[Chris the Fish]

Ok, can you baton/split the wood? If so I'd get it down to a strip about 8-10mm, this is as flat as 90% of spoons actually are (wooden spoons tend to be carved like bowls with handles!) this gives you much easier facets to work with. What shape is your wood now?


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[hughlle1]

Hugh this post explains why your situation excludes you from actually going out to find a replacement, not that you had to explain of course but it does give a much better picture for the forum to help you. Sometimes the assumed often leads to confusion which in turn elicits completely the wrong response, It would seem i have fell foul of this and apologise.

No hard feelings. Miscommunication is par for the course when on the internet.

I've managed to make a wooden version of a bushcraft knife just because why not. Got a new case study yesterday so whittling is off for the next 7 days. A thousand words a day isn't cutting it for this assignment. Need to put in more effort.

I'm not trying to make anything of use, I mostly stuck at this log as it worked well at getting my mind off my work and the associated stress.

 

[General Strike]

I've used both - I find the Bahco Laplander far easier to use than a Silky.

 

[General Strike]

But then again, it's also a bit off-putting to ask one question and have a different question answered!

 

[hughlle1]

Indeed. But there was obviously a miscommunication, which has been clarified, and an apology was given. So it's all good

 

[Robson Valley]

Sorry hughlle1 that your carving time is being diluted by the necessities of living.
I still can't understand the discussion of saw brands for whittling. Whatever.

Still there is great merit in carving crap wood which seems so recalcitrant.
You gain the experience, "learning the wood" as I call it.
Some cuts you can make, some you can't. All woods are like that,
your growing body of knowledge is transferable.

 

[Nice65]

unless you've used a silky, then you really have no idea of the difference between them and a bacho! The bacho will saw green wood well enough, but nothing like a silky does! Also as mentioned, they come with a range of teeth formats and will whistle through pretty much anything. I've used mine to saw through bone amongst other things!

They're also used extensively by Japanese woodworkers for marquetry and joinery, there's a huge range of Silkys and they're certainly not just green wood saws

I found a red deer skull a few years ago with massive antlers. It was still a bit fleshy and smelly so I cut the antlers off for knife handles. That was two cuts through 3" antler, and the saw was still good for branch removal.

When you've engaged a forum with a question and got people trying to help you, this is just rude:

As per my OP, this is the only wood I have access to, so this is what I am using. Cutting more might be fine for you but I have what I have, end of. people do t seem to like read I g my threads properly :/

Thanks for the odd post with useful I put though.

Especially as the point you're trying to make is almost illegible due to lazy typing

 

[hughlle1]

Never mind.

 

[Nice65]

The content of the OP gives no detail whatsoever about what you're trying to achieve, it doesn't even mention the type of wood or what you're trying to create. People are trying to help you. You thank those that do, and chastise those who don't. This is all down to your lack of detail, and shows a very bristly, spoiled brat mentality.

As for trolling, go look in a mirror.

 

[hughlle1]

Sorry hughlle1 that your carving time is being diluted by the necessities of living.
I still can't understand the discussion of saw brands for whittling. Whatever.

Still there is great merit in carving crap wood which seems so recalcitrant.
You gain the experience, "learning the wood" as I call it.
Some cuts you can make, some you can't. All woods are like that,
your growing body of knowledge is transferable.

Yup. I learnt a good bit just from scraping away at this log it made whittling a small knife from a stick my partner brought me a breeze. I called it putting knife to wood. It's a very different experience than filleting fish

I'm just working with whatever I get. Beggars can't be choosers

 

[Robson Valley]

Nobody knows you want wood until you ask. Offcuts at demolition and construction sites. Offcuts at cabinet shops.
Really, really crappy wooden furniture that you can knock apart. Just have to watch for really dirty wood, sand grains and
fine wood carving edges do not get along well at all.

Nice thing to whittle is a serious letter opener.

I spent just a few nights in the core of London, but I can appreciate your puzzle.
20 minutes from my house here in the mountains, I can watch the log being sawn into the wood that I'm about to buy!

5" x 5" x 64" clear & straight-grained split Western Red Cedar is $5 each (approx 2.5 BPS)
24" x 12" x 8" WRC shake blocks as above, $5 each.
4" x 4" x 12' sawmill rough WRC fence post was $15.
Best of all of the above, I get to select the individual pieces with the best carving qualities to buy.

 

[Robson Valley]

I should point out that I am in contact with several groups of people.
One group is young people who live very risky life styles.
Another group is people who have suffered various sorts of brain injuries,
mostly as consequences of motor vehicle accidents.

It is my style to appear, unannounced, with large quantities of top grade western red cedar carving wood.
I have an 800lb handtruck. I deliver a load and disappear. Those above groups have substantial wood carvers as mentors,
some native, some not. They know who I am. They say nothing. Nobody in the schools knows who I am.
I just drive back into my glorious mountain hang-out to do my own thing, as usual.

 

[General Strike]

Like a bushcraft Scarlet Pimpernel?