Hope you enjoyed!

Woodcarvers are on a constant search for the perfect carving knife. In that search, they sometimes ask me which is better, a forged knife or a ground stock removal knife?

First, some definitions:
Forged: heated and shaped from one shape to another with a hammer and anvil or power hammer close to final shape and then heat treated.
Stock removal: ground to shape from a flat piece of steel and then heat treated.

My answer may sound diplomatic and even evading a clear answer but here goes.

Metalurgically, neither is better than the other.

There are bad handforged knives and terrible stock removal knives that would not even make a good butter knife.

For the rest of this article, visit http://deepwoodsventures.com/shoptalk7.html

Chip carving is a simple process but gives a complex yet elegant look to your project. I have always been intrigued how chip carvers maintain that constant uniformity in their designs. In searching the internet I ran across the website my chip carving where I discovered a down to earth teaching video on how to hold the chip carving knifes and more.
So if you are intrested in learning how to chip carving I recommend going to www.mychipcarving.com

Deepwoods Venture hand forges the best carving knifes I have used.

The best and most affordable carving tool is one that will be around for years to come. That is what you get when you order a carving knife from Deepwoods Ventures. These hand forged tools and unique maple burl handles are build to last a lifetime and then possibly the lifetime of your grandchildren as well.
The Deepwoods carving tools are individually forged from 1095 high carbon steel round stock, the benefit of this kind of steel is that it produces a nice hardness that can be easily sharpened and stay sharp for a long time. The steel is first pounded flat with a hammer and anvil. Next the blades go to the grinder/sander, where they are smoothed down and given their rough shape. Then they are quenched and triple tempered. Finally, the knife will go through a series of finish grinds, to give it the exact shape. Then onto buffing, to make it shiny, and last it is sharpened and tested before going to the customer.
Visit their wesbsite at www.deepwoodsventures.com

So what brand of carving knife or knives do you use? Use the simple comment section below to let us know.

Happy Carving,
Jerry

Christmas Tree Topper Carving

Christmas Tree Topper

Carved for Indiana grown basswood, this tree topper took two weeks to carve and two days to paint.
This project was carved from 2″ stock and measures 12″ in height. The stand is fashioned from #10 copper ground wire.
This project came from WoodCarving Illustrated.

Basswood Bellamy Styled Eagle

Wood Species: Basswood (Native Indiana)
Finish Used: Acrylic paints, Gloss Lacquer, Bees Wax
Tools Used: Bench Knife, Assorted Gouges, Power Carving Burs.

This project was found in the pages of Carving Magazine Issue#23. This pattern was modeled after the famous eagle carvings from John Haley Bellamy. John Bellamy’s lived in in the early 19th century and during his life in Maine, he created some amazing eagle carvings. You can see a sample of his carvings on Wikipedia.

The Bellamy styled eagle that I carved and pictured here was carved from two pieces of native Indiana basswood. The head and the wings are glued and screwed together. From wing tip to wing tip the carving measures 37 inches.

I finished the carving by painting with acrylic paints and them coated with Deft Lacquer. Once the Lacquer was fully dried I finished with bees wax and buffed with soft cotton rags.

Overall this carving was fun and very meaningful. It currently is displayed in our home along with military pictures of our fathers, brothers, son, and close friends.

Basswood Angel

Wood Species: Basswood, Butternut, Cherry, Walnut, Aspen Pine, Mahogany.
Finish Used: Gloss Lacquer
Tools Used: Bench Knife, Assorted Gouges, Power Carving Burs, Carving Vise.

This project like most of my wood carving projects was found in a Woodcarving Illustrated Holiday 2006 Issue #37 publication (Herby’s Angel). I found a roughout of this angel project can be purchased online from White River Crafts. I prefer to cut patterns using a bandsaw, but if you do not have these tools available, a rough out can be a good place to start.

This pattern can be found online at www.whiterivercrafts.com/Herby’s%20Angel.pdf

I enjoyed carving this angel, and even though this looks like a simple wood carving project I found working the thin wings a challenge. The curvature of the wings caused a caving problem with the wood grain traveling in two directions and this causing hand tools to dig in instead of making a clean cut. To resolve this I used hand tools to cut accross the grain and also a small power carver.

Cherry Angel Block

After carving the second angel from a Butternut block, I have decided to carve six of these angels to display under the title of “Equality in Heaven”. The idea of carving this project from different species began with only two, Basswood and Butternut. But after seeing the two angels side by side the idea of creating a heavenly Choir formed and the project expanded to six species of, Aspin Pine, Basswood, Butternut, Cherry, Mahogany, Walnut. At the time of this writing I am working on the Cherry angel as shown.