Carving without a plan

Sometimes it's good to grab some scrap wood and just whittle away. Here I took an irregular chunk of scrap, and wound up with five faces (two on one side, three on the other.)

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. 

Dungeon Delving Dudes

This little wizard has me thinking about a little carving project: The Adventuring Party. In classic tabletop Dungeons & Dragons form, I think I'll start with a group of four. Wizard, Fighter, Cleric, and Thief (aka rogue, for the "newer editions)

Candlestick Wizards, carved into old textile spools

Here's some of my latest whittlins, a pair of wizards carved into old industrial textile spools.

The spools are hollow, so I carved the wizards in very low relief to prevent breaking through. The candlesticks are finished with a coat of clear shellac.

Work in progress: Wizard walking sticks in birch

Another quick update here, as I'm in the process of completing several projects. These walking stick wizards are being carved from birch (donated from my mom & dad's birch tree.) You can see some pencil lines where I'm plannign to cut, most notably the eyes but also some lines for the definition of the wizard's beard hair.

Whittling wizard candlesticks from old textile spools

These old textile spools are great for carving. They have some real character, and the beehive shape at one end makes for a great standing base. I carved these as pair, with one wizard's beard arranged normally, and his buddy's beard and mustache are twisted around the spool, like it's blowing in the wind. After carving and sanding, I gave the candlesticks three coats of linseed oil, some acrylic paint for the eyes and eyebrows, and some clear shellac. I like how they look, especially with the brass rings on top.

Wizards and Warriors: Adventurers in Wood

Inspired by the Lewis Chessmen, these toy wizards and knights are lots of fun to carve. They stand best when given a generally conical shape, and I try to keep everything smooth and blunt in order to protect them from rough hands. Kids like to throw these little guys, and they've proved to be tough and resilient.




I've been thinking of going a little more adult with these figures. A little red on a sword blade, maybe some battle scars to show age and grit.

Little Whittled Wizards

Little whittled wizards. Now say that five times fast.

These guys are around the smallest wizards I've carved, and the smallest figures not counting spike trolls. They are hand carved, sanded, and painted. I finished the with a few thin coats of shellac.

Are they gnomes or possibly dwarves? I'm not sure. But they look eager to start adventuring, as long as I carve a fighter to accompany them on their journey. I'm sure they'll appreciate the extra muscle when it's time to haul back some treasure.

WIP: Wizard Face Walking Stick in birch

As woodspirits go, mine are carved a little deeper with an emphasis on long mustaches and beards. I see these guys as more wizards than spirits. This lighter colored one is birch, a wood I've found quite easy to carve.










I'll give it stain of some sort, though I do like how it looks right now. Maybe just a clear finish then? Either way I'll also cap the tip with either a flat or pointed metal piece. This one might have room for a lanyard too. I love the way the stick curves from the back of the head up to the top. It seems to provide a natural handrest.

Wizard Walking Stick continued

Here's the wizard's beard, wrapping twice around the stick. You can see the hairs starting to develop. It can be fun carving these wispy beards, deciding which hairs curl up and which tuck underneath each other. I start at the top and work my way down as the beard "grows." This way I don't lose track of what strand goes where.



My woodspirits tend to be carved deeper than others I've seen. I'm not sure why that's the case, but I do take care not to carve away too much. I wouldn't want to create a breaking point in the stick.

Work in progress: Walking Stick Wizard

This piece of wood was discovered on my most recent woods-walk. It's not rotted at all, despite having been found lying on the ground, so I think it was knocked down by a recent storm. While I'm not sure exactly what type of wood it is, it has a distict fruity smell when worked, similar to apple.

The idea here is a deeply-carved wizard face. I plan to have the wizard's long beard wrap around the staff at least twice, and his eyes will look over to one side. I'll update again when he's more developed.

(The beer is Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA)

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!

Carving the Dark Wizard (part 3) COMPLETED!

Here he is, in all his malevolent glory. I shortened the wizard's staff in order to see his face, and added a tiny little monster face to it. Acrylic paint and spray shellac helped finish this little guy.

As you can see in these in-progress pics, the staff as designed was too long. My buddy's 2-year old son should get a kick out of this. Now his soldiers have a villian to battle!

Carving the Dark Wizard (part 2)

Here's a little update on the Dark Wizard toy. After roughing out the general shape with a coping saw, I'm now in the main carving phase. I'm using my Mora 1241 for this project. It's a terrific scandi-ground knife with a good sized handle.

I can already tell the wizard's face might come out different from what I originally planned, but that's fine. I'll keep the staff, as well as the wavy-bladed knife. There's just something that says "bad guy" about that shape!

As a bonus, here's a couple of pics of a dragon I made as a Christmas present for the same boy. I based the design on the prows of old Viking dragon ships(but with all sharp points removed.) Soon the Dark Wizard will lead this monster into battle.

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!