The tiny little birch kuksa

I'm having a blast carving this birch wood! This micro kuksa might end up a necklace pendant or maybe some sort of decorative ornament. It's smaller than a teaspoon, and the long handle lends itself to some sort of necklace attachment. It was whittled from birch and soaked in linseed oil. Displayed next to some untreated birch, you can really see the difference the oil makes.

Birch spoons and letter openers

My friend Phil visited me recently, with a gift from my mom and dad: a pile of birch wood! My parent's front yard birch tree was starting to threaten the power lines, so dad did some pruning. I'm happy to report that everything I've read about this legendary wood is true.




I've managed to carve some spoons, a spatula, and even a few letter openers. The grain is straight to slightly curved, with a few small knots. Those knots and flaws I've found have been easy to work with.

These still need some drying, sanding, and staining.I'll use salad bowl finish or maybe butcher block oil. I plan to use the spatula and one of the spoons when camping with my dutch oven!

"Svanhild," my crooked knife

A crooked knife is just the thing for carving spoons, bowls, kuksas, and anything which requires a depression or concave shape. Mine is a Mora #164 full curve carving knife which I ordered from Ragweed Forge. The handle is plain wood, stained only by the dirt and perspiration that comes with use.



I made the little blade protector seen here. Tired and slightly embarrassed by my improvised sheath of cardboard and duct tape, the crooked knife demanded a proper home. I whipped this guard up from some scrap basswood and two small lengths of dowel, drilling the holes with a cordless Dremel tool. The hinge dowel, located upper left, is lubricated with a few drops of melted beeswax. The name and swan design were applied with a woodburner.

The Moonshiners (part 2) -The Excise Man

"Now keep your eyes well peeled today,
The big, tall men are on the way,
Searching for the mountain tay
In the hills of Connemara"

Here's the Excise Man, all carved and ready for sanding. I suppose he's the bad guy, at least until the fellas share their booze with him. At that point, he forgets all about arrests or fines, and focuses soley on sampling that sweet potcheen from Ireland green.

Carving The Dark Wizard (part 1)

This first photo is my basic idea for The Dark Wizard, a companion piece to an ongoing project. Step one is putting pencil to a piece of wood. I'll post updates as the figure progresses.





Last year I carved some toys for my best friend's son, a group of soldiers and knights I dubbed "Ezra's Army." I based the design for these little guys on the Lewis Chessmen, a design I admire both for it's history and it's robust form. I wonder if those medieval chesspiece carvers had "childproof" in mind?



Last Christmas saw six soldiers form the core of this tiny army, and The Blue Wizard enlisted on Ezra's first birthday. I'm considering adding a dragon to the mix...


Also, I'd like to thank Albert Rasch for mentioning me in a recent blog post! I really enjoy his writing, and strongly recommend The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles. Do yourself a favor and give it a look!

Update: Christmas ornaments

My first Santa ornament is done, as is the first Cabin-in-the-woods ornament for this year. I finished the Santa with linseed oil, acrylic paint, and some clear spray finish. The Cabin ornament is left more natural, with only a little paint and some clear coat on the trees and snow.

A brass eyelet is screwed into the ornaments' tops, where I'll eventually tie some ribbon to hang them by. Both are carved from wooden hobby eggs.







I have a few more of these on deck for Christmastime, as well as some other ornaments and hand-carved gifts. I'll make sure to post more pics when I can. Thanks for stopping by!

Work in Progress: Christmas Tree Cookie

I'm working on a series of Christmas cookie carvings in time for the holidays. The first one up is a tree:

Hearts & Crafts 3

This Sunday was the third Hearts & Crafts show at Java's Coffee. This was my most successful show to date.








Thanks to Lisa Barker for organizing another terrific show, and thanks to all my friends who stopped by to say hi(and to buy stuff!) See you all next time.

Time to carve up some fresh inventory!

ML Knives custom whittler

My first custom whittling knife is nearly complete! Matt from ML Knives sent me some in-progress photos. First is a pic of the hand-forged blade.






And now the finished knife with handle and pin. I absolutly love the piece of maple he chose for this project.



Matt is making up a desk sheath for the knife as well. I can't wait to take this beauty carving!