Hand carved Dala horses in basswood

Though I'm American and not Swedish, I have a great respect for Swedish craft, especially the Dalahast. Known to English-speakers as the Dala horse, with its classic, sturdy, yet beautiful design, it's always a pleasure to carve.

These horses are my version of the traditional Dalahast, left unpainted. I carved lines to highlight the horses' manes and tails, but the rest is up to the imagination. 

Mini-Mage with knife, all carved and painted!

This little carving is all done! A tiny wizard, his ritual knife in hand, ready to cast out evil or carve a baked ham. 

Cthulu mini-idol, hand carved in basswood

H.P. Lovecraft is second only to Poe as America's greatest writer of horror. In his story The Call of Cthulu, mankind faces a maddening truth of ultimate destruction in the form of nightmare beings from beyond time and space. The herald of these beings is the dread Cthulu.

In this and other stories, HPL describes the appearance of idols to Cthulu, found among doomsday cultists or clutched in the hands of the dead. I carved this with these stories in mind.

A carved toy horse for Nora

I really like carving these toy horses, especially so when they're going to a friend's newborn baby. Like many others, this horse is carved from basswood using one of my Swedish Mora knives. There's more attention paid to the detail of the mane and tail than in previous horses, and I'm happy with how it came out. I took great care to soften all the edges, and gave it a good sanding. Salad bowl finish, acrylic paint, and spray shellac give the horse it's color, while also sealing it and protecting it. The small letter "n" woodburned onto the right hip stands for Nora.

Wooden Pirate Serving Spoon

It's always great to see one of my spoons in use. There's something about a carved wooden face, submerged in ice tea or scooping up a side dish that just makes me smile. What would a pirate spoon stir up or serve, I wonder?

Round-nosed Toy Horse

I'll do my best to catch up on blog posts here, since I haven't updated in quite a while. Here's a new style of toy horse that i made. The nose is rounded, and oriented out away from the neck. This style is still "play tough," with usual attention paid to durability and safety.

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.

My latest hand carved toy horse

I'm really enjoying the current pace of my progress in whittlin'. I've made plaques, toys, and a whole bunch of Christmas ornaments. With a couple of shows on the way for motivation, things are moving right along.





This latest toy horse shows a slightly different style of mane. I'm trying a sort of "S" shaped mane with a forward slant. I feel this gives the design a look of forward movement, and a crisp but smooth line.

As you can see I've left the mane and tail unpainted on this one in order to show off the wood. As always with the toys I carve, everything is play-safe and built to last.

Two birch teaspoons

Aah, the difference a stain makes! These spoons are both whittled from the same piece of birch wood. I stained the darker spoon with salad bowl finish, while the lighter one has a coat of clear finish.

A teaspoon for Sarah

Our friend Sarah should be surprised by this teaspoon. It's not her birthday or any "special" occasion, but that's always been my favorite time to bring a gift to a friend.



I carved this spoon from birch using only my crooked knife "Svanhild," and finished it with a soak in salad bowl finish and a topcoat of butcher block oil. The dedication was applied with a woodburner.

A Brand New Horse

I carved this horse for my friend's niece, Audrey. While similar to previous efforts, this horse has a slightly curved face and a flatter tail than others I've made. The wood is basswood finished with salad bowl finish and acrylic paint. The monogram is applied with a woodburner. The dark spot on the horse's left flank is a naturally occurring flaw in the wood.

Raised Leg Horse

Here's one I'm really happy with. I've been sketching variations on my wooden horse design, looking for a way to give them the appearance of movement. One raised leg seems to accomplish this well.



I made the other three legs wider to make up for the raised one, and shaved off a little more material from the left side than the right in order to balance it away from the weak side. It sits very well and is actual self-righting when tipped.




The funny thing is, under all the shellac and blue paint is three coats of salad bowl finish! It looked fine as a brown horse, but I changed my mind and felt like giving this one a little more pizazz. I think it looks great.

And We're Back!

I really like carving these little soldiers and horses. As you can see in the in-hand shots, these ones are small with a wide, conical, base. This shape helps them sit very well. All edges are rounded, and everything is close in to the body to avoid breakage. Experience shows that kids love to beat up these toys, so they had better be durable!



As usual these were carved with no power tools, only a hand saw to get started and a knife for the bulk of the work. After sanding and painting each soldier is given a few coats of shellac, while the horses are finished with salad bowl finish and acrylic accents.









Thanks to everyone who patiently waited for an update. It has been far too long. I've made a bunch of whittlins, so more updates are on the way!

Canada meets New Mexico

Here's an order I did in time for Christmas.






The customer asked for a wooden hockey puck w/maple leaf design, and one of my dala horses in a New Mexico theme. The little girl who received these carvings has one parent from New Mexico, one who's Canadian. As always, all materials are non-toxic.

Once again I used my custom whittling knife from ML Knives. It's a pleasure to carve with.

Horses for Christmas

Here's a couple of toy horses I'm carving for a Christmas order. I've stained them with a few coats of salad bowl finish, and painted the details with acrylic paint.






I like this design for it's durability. The horses I've previously made have been chewed, thrown, kicked, and dropped. All the trials a little boy or girl can put a toy through. These things are tough!