An Ettin for Ezra

Ettins are two-headed giants from fantasy fiction, most famously from CS Lewis' Narnia stories, and the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game.

I carved this ettin for Ezra, my friend's three-year-old son. Details on this monster include tattoos, scars, treasure, and a yellow wristwatch. Ezra now has a whole army of whittlied soldiers and wizards. The "bad guys" include a dark wizard, a dragon, and now this ettin.

As always, I used non-toxic materials such as salad bowl finish, acrylic paints, and shellac.

One for The Sharpened Axe

Attention: Mike Oscar Hotel @TheSharpenedAxe: I found a large antiques mall today. One section was devoted entirely to old hand tools. It was terrific! I picked up my first hand auger, but I'm sure I'll return to buy an axe, a plane, a saw, an adze, maybe a drawknife or two...

Anyway, here are some (cellphone) pics of axes. First the Plumb axe "Autograf" model.







Next is a Tommy claw axe, the one with the claw.



And finally an odd one, listed as a "bearded bench axe." It has a chisel grind and shows a ton of wear. I would love to know more about it and it's intended use. It was buried in a pile of large broadaxes with their beautifully bent handles (see the first pic at the top of this post.)






For those who don't know, The Sharpened Axe is one of my favorite blogs. Topics include but are not limited to axemanship,axe restoration, and general handy/outdoorsy topics. Give it a read!

Lumberjack Spoon (BCUSA contest entry)

Well I didn't win, but the recent Bushcraft USA spoon contest was a ton of fun. No other spoon looked like mine, and I got some votes, which is always encouraging.

The basic idea here is a lumberjack gripping a double-bit axe with "BC" and "USA" engraved on it's head and handle. Other details include a sheathed knife on his left side and a patch sewn on his right pant leg.

The Sharpened Axe

The Sharpened Axe just hit 50 followers! Congratulations Mike! One of my favorite bushcraft blogs, The Sharpened Axe focuses on the essential skills of axemanship and basic bushcraft. Mike invites frequent guest writers, so there's a nice variation in subjects, voices, and opinions.

If you're not already following his blog, Mike is holding a celebratory contest with some nice prizes. Visit The Sharpened Axe for details.

Splitting wood w/an old tire

This is one of those "why didn't I think of that" ideas. A tire is attached to the chopping block, holding in place all the wood to be chopped, even after it is first split. Practical and efficient.