Spike Trolls whittled from fresh green Willow

I lucked out and found some willow clippings in my neighborhood. The DPW never cleans up after themselves, and I'm more than happy to haul off some free carving material! These little guys were a great way to experiment with the wood. I found this willow to be easy to carve, with no splintering at all.

Mutant Spike Troll

Sometimes the wood just wants to be this. Who am I to argue?

How to: Whittle some Spike Trolls

Spike Trolls (a rough translation of spiketrollet, aka "carved trolls"), are a quick and easy project for whittlers of any experience level. You get to try a variety of grips, practice your cuts, and make something cute out of material you can find anywhere. Here's how I do it, step-by-step: 1. Start with a stick of green wood, as big around as your thumb. The base end should be cut flat enough to support the spike troll on an even surface.

2. Define the "hat" area by shaving up from the hatband to the top of the stick.

3. Shape the "hat" into a general cone shape, allowing for curves if you'd like.

4. Make a stop cut for the top of the "face." Shave bark towards this line to define the forehead area.

5. Complete the face area by carving a shallow notch up to the forehead stop cut.

6. Shape the "hat"as desired. I like to carve smooth notches representing folds in the hat.

7. Draw the face with a Sharpie.

8. Color the hat if desired. I use acrylic paints.

9. The final step, of course, is to make your new spike troll a buddy!

A whole mess o' spike trolls

Spike Trolls ahoy!

The Spike Trolls, from "spikketrollet" ("carved trolls" in Norwegian), are fun and easy to carve. Perfect for your first whittlin', and good for keeping the calluses strong, all you need is a stick and a knife (a Sharpie is handy for drawing the face.)

I like to paint the hats, but they're just fine in their natural wood color.

Larger Spike Trolls

Having scavenged some free branches from the side of the road (thanks Highway Dept!), I went ahead and whittled up a few spike trolls from the nearly wrist-sized wood. Give it a try yourself! Just shave a flat-ended stick to a point, carve a shallow notch for the face area, then draw on the face. Sharpie is my marker of choice. A spike troll is an easy whittlin' for beginners and grizzled old timers alike.

These things are cuter than a pail full of kittens.

Finally, a chance to talk about mummies.

While I'm without photo uploading abilities, let me share a couple of links. First is an excellent post on Ötzi the Iceman's kit. If you've never heard of Ötzi, he's the world's oldest natural mummy, and a wealth of information on the early European bronze age. The things he carried reflect a time of overlap between stone and bronze technology. It's interesting how little our bushcraft kits have actually changed. (thanks to Gorges Grouse for the heads-up on this.)

The second thing I'd like to mention is the discussion over on BladeForums to add a Whittling and Crafts subforum. I'm all for it of course. If you are too, then please add your voice to the discussion.

On the Wonderful Whittlin' front, I'm currently whittling up some toy horses with saddles and harness, as well as the usual armload of spike trolls. I hope to get around to making some ball-in-cage carvings too. Time will tell.

Ashley learns to whittle

Well I've gone and done it. I've taught someone else to whittle.

My girlfriend's sister Ashley asked if I would show her how to carve. I was more than happy to do so.

I have to say Ashley's work, a trio of spike trolls, are much, much better than my early carvings ever were. She took right to it and best of all her technique was SAFE. We focused on basic cuts, edge control, and some common grips. At no time did we have need for first aid, though I always keep a little kit close by.

Ashley's spike trolls are playful, colorful, and fun. She incorporated nice thin curls and bark shaving for beard and hair effects. I think they look great!

A slideshow of past whittlins

Here's a slideshow of some of my carvings. There's all sorts of stuff in here, from the rustic little spike trolls to the painted and finished toy soldiers. I'm proud of the variety and feel like I've made progress toward a higher level of detail and control. Let me know what you think!

Hearts & Crafts Winter show

Today's craft show was a success! From 11am to 5pm at Java's, Rochester NY, myself and about 15 other vendors (correction: 24 vendors!) showed our wares. I'd like to thank everyone involved in the show, especially Lisa and Marisa, the ladies responsible for organizing the event. It was a good time, and many of my carvings are on their way to new homes.



Table space was limited due to this being an indoor show in the cozy confines of a coffeehouse. To capitalize on this, I threw together a vertical display rack from a telescoping wreath hanger and some 8-gauge wire. Tan duct tape did the holding. The contraption worked like a charm.

New Items on Etsy

I've posted some new carvings on Etsy, including a small horse and some spike trolls. Have a look!

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!

Spike Trolls

Scandinavian culture has long embraced woodworking. This makes sense, seeing as it's an area rich with lumber and the high-quality steel with which to shape it. From the Swedish Dala Horse and the beautiful medival stave churches of Norway, to the legendary Viking dragon-ships, the Swedish, Norse, and Finnish people, as well as the native Sami and Laplanders, really know wood.

The spiktrollet (literally: carved troll), or spike troll, as I've roughly anglicised it, is Norwegian. Norway's departments of Culture and Forestry came together with this design in order to promote the tradition of whittling. The spiktrollet is offered as an entry-level carving, simple enough for a beginner to make from any small branch.




As always, green wood carves more quickly, but dry wood can also make a great troll. I like to finish them with a Sharpie face and a painted hat. For clothing they wear their natural bark.

Craft Fair Victory!

The craft fair was a success. And fun, too. Jen and I set up our little table around 10am, and covered it with horses, spoons, pendants, pins, and trolls.



People's eyes really lit up when they spotted my table full goodies, but mostly they seemed drawn to the little army of spike trolls. I sold a few heart pendants too, but the spike trolls were the overwhelming favorites. We spent the day at our table, talking with curious people, visiting with the other vendors, and I personally made a mess of woodchips while carving some new trolls and hearts.


Though the horses and spoons didn't sell, they got some nice compliments, and I can put them up for sale on my etsy shop. I guess I'm now known to some as the spike troll guy. It's funny how the easiest, quickest, and cheapest to make carving, is also the most popular seller. Cool. Time to make some more!