Of all the art forms available to craftsmen, wood carving may well be one of the oldest developed skill in man's history. Carved designs and accents have appeared in furniture design, the building components of our homes and places of worship, the household items that we use everyday, and of course as simply beautiful decorative sculptures.
Of all the art forms available to craftsmen, wood carving may well be one of the oldest developed skill in man's history. Carved designs and accents have appeared in furniture design, the building components of our homes and places of worship, the household items that we use everyday, and of course as simply beautiful decorative sculptures.
Whether you are carving monumental statues or simply hand whittling, there are tools made to suit your every need. Basically, there are gouges, knives, and power tools. However, within each of those categories there are myriads of shapes, sizes, and applications. I am calling these initial discussions a “primer” as they are simply an introduction.
Years ago, there was a television series titled Grizzly Adams. Adams lived high in the mountains, hiding from the law for a wrongly accused crime. In order to make a little money he carved animals and a mountain man friend of Adams took them to town to sell. The tool that Adams used to carve out these nice looking animals was a large hunting knife.
A beginning carver will often pick up the most convenient piece of wood, maybe a scrap of lumber, or a piece of driftwood and pull out the trusty pocketknife and begin carving. Often the beginning carver becomes frustrated with the lack of progress.
Wood carving takes on all types of forms. When looked at from a wide perspective, it can be quite daunting to some one who wants to try the art of wood carving. From the very artistic wood sculptures, fancy and intricate scroll and leaf patterns found on furniture, all the way to the simplest and most practical such as a whittled spoon.
