Название: The Whittling Handbook: 20 Charming Projects for Carving Wood by Hand
Автор: Peter Benson
Издательство: ‎Lark Crafts
Год: 2020
Страниц: 128
Язык: английский
Формат: True EPUB
Размер: 29.6 MB

A refreshed edition of a practical and charming introduction to the time-honored craft of whittling—now with brand-new step-by-step illustrations.

Whittling can help you relax even as you create useful and beautiful art with just a knife and some timber. The Whittling Handbook helps beginners explore this time-honored craft and learn foundational skills, from gathering the basic tools to choosing the right wood to keeping your knife sharp. Begin with straightforward projects like a kitchen spatula, and then progress to more complex and intricate items such as a linked chain and a whistle. Easy-to-follow and full of friendly guidance from seasoned woodcarver Pete Benson, this guide is perfect for first-timers.

The big advantage of this hobby is that there is no great initial expense. You can get underway with just a sharp knife, a safety glove, perhaps an apron, and a piece of wood. Even the wood can be found in the backyard or countryside for no cost at all. If you want to go further, it might be useful to add a couple of small gouges, but, really, tools that cannot be found in the average home workshop or shed aren’t very necessary. Many experienced carvers with a toolbox full of carving tools still love the versatility of carving with a knife. It can be done anywhere, and there is no bulky equipment to carry.

Although carving with a knife is widespread in the US, with classes available in nearly every state, it has yet to become widely popular in the UK, where knife carving has always been associated with small boys working with a penknife and a stick. With today’s overprotective attitudes, of course, it is very rare for a child to have any sort of experience with sharp tools. I think, also, that many purists in the art world see anything different from the traditional methods of architectural carving or sculpture as being without any real merit.

In general, anything that can be held in the hand can be carved with a knife—any difficulties experienced will be a result of using wood that is too hard for your hand strength or a knife that is not sharp enough, or of trying to cut off too much wood in one go.