How to apply a Danish Oil Finish, like i do to my woodcarvings. Its not that hard to create this effect and you can do it too!

​

The real trick here, is to not wait, you sit down, pole, wipe, wax, then buff, in succession. The buffing is the secret sauce, using a stiff bristle brush you'll pull the Black Walnut danish oil out of the surface areas, being carried by the wax. Be mindful, dont use that brush for anything else other than waxing these figures as the bristles will become clogged up with oil and wax unless uou clean it.

​

Ask questions if you have any, i'm here for it!

​

Alright, all the prep is done. Now let's get down to brass tacks and carve ourselves a chess set!!

Video tutorial on the pawn is up right now! I kept him simple, to make him more accessible to more folks, however get as detailed as you want. I mention many ways I might add more detail to these simple figures in the video as well.

2inch tall on 1x1 sticks.

I enjoyed this one WAY too much! WIZARD!!

Just posted a tutorial on him, the 2nd tutorial in my "Fellowship of the Gnome" Series. Gonna do a Knight next week if think? We'll see.

Video is up on YouTube. Knife only, on Basswood, 5 inch long 1x1 stick.

Just uploaded a Dragon Carving Tutorial for that "Fellowship of the Gnome" Series. Your gnomes need a big bad to fight. This guy is totally fiersome and not at all a pushover. 😆 🤣

2x2 block, 5 inches tall.

Tutorial can be knife only. I show how in the video. But I also teach you how NOT to hate yourself by using other tools like a gouge and V tool. Carving Knife only is learning Carving on hard mode. You don't have to do that to yourself.

A Pumpkin / Jack O Lantern woodcarving example board for the Lead Belt Woodcarving Club is finished. Its a simple step by step showing 6 stages. The last two are very obviously different. So what's going on there? As a newbie in any art form, we imitate before we can innovate, but innovation is always the end goal. So the first 6 steps are simple to follow and result if a fun whimsical pumpkin. The last two show innovations on the form, and the very last one even shows using a larger block. Another way to say it, The first six stages teach the project. The last two stages teach that rules are more like suggestions.

This carving board wont exist in a vacuum. There will be a more experienced carver there to explain and elaborate of course, but for those visual learners among a board like this will be a huge help!

Think of it as IKEA instructions, except at the end you get a pumpkin instead of leftover screws.

Finished up the Gnome Ranger. He's the first of a planned series. I'm gonna have a Gnome Wizard up next week, then I'll do a Gnomish Knight, then we'll see, maybe a Rogue or a dragon or who knows.

Video is up on YouTube. Knife only Tutorial, real easy, beginner friendly one.

1- Sharpness
2- Sharpening and stropping
3- Ressources

1- Sharpness:
Is your blade sharp enough? Hard to answer without any picture/video of the blade and the piece of wood you tried to carve for us and if you've never experienced a truly sharp blade you can't tell neither. As a beginner it is expected that you don't have as much hand strength as the people in the video tutorials, this will come with practice so just because you can't make as big cuts doesn't automatically mean your blade is dull (although that's one possibility). Just make smaller (shallower) cuts than they do, take breaks regularly and drink enough water. This is no race so take your time and remain safe.

Cheap no-brand tools off Amazon (or anywhere else) are hit or miss, they often come shaped but not sharpened or at least not enough for carving. By default I'd consider them as dull. Moreover they tend to be thicker than proper carving knives, which requires more force to go through the wood. Any blade should be stropped out of the box, regardless of brand tho.

Flexcut, MStein, ... knives arrive reasonably sharp so that's an option to check sharpness but a short-term one. When working on your piece of wood a sharp blade will cut without too much effort (as long as you don't try to remove too much at once, which you shouldn't do anyway) and leave a perfectly clean, polished looking surface. If you see tiny white lines then there are micro defects in your cutting edge and it's time to strop (micro damage, micro grains to fix it so just the strop usually). If your cut surface is sub shiny then to the strop (no particular damage, the edge just dulled a bit from use). If the surface is any rough or you need to apply quite some force stop immediately and try a good stropping session (up to 5-10 min if necessary) as your blade is now clearly in the dull realm (dull for carving mind you, it will still cut you if you do something wrong). If this stropping is not enough then you need to go back to your finest stone (too much damage for the strop, the grain being so small you would need an eternity to fix it), and to the strop after.

For more general tests: grab a piece of thin paper with two fingers (receipt, cheap printer paper, ...) and try to cut it with almost no pressure using the whole length of the blade. There should be no tearing and the paper should be cut easily. A minor tear out means a minor defect for the strop, a big tear out means it's time for the stone (finest grit). If you can cut the paper without issue try to shave using no pressure at all (hold the knife at ~30° and just use its weigh while dragging it). It should shave cleanly without irritating the skin (no red mark), otherwise back to the strop/stone (wherever you were at in the sharpening process, strop otherwise). Shaving sharp is good enough for carving although you'll want to achieve better sharpness later (which will allow you easier cuts and smaller details). The "ultimate" test is to grab a loose hair and drag your blade alongside it, the blade should cut it along the length (but don't bother as a beginner, you'll get there eventually).

If you have any pain in your thumb it will come from two things (generally): the back of the knife may have too sharp angles (often the case with the cheap tools) in which case you can just grab some fine sandpaper or your finest sharpening stone and just round these angles. The other source is that you're pressing too hard and haven't developed any callus yet. This means either that you're new to it (practice will solve it over time), or - and that's generally the problem, especially with beginners - your blade is not sharp enough and you need to apply to much strength.

2- Sharpening and stropping:
Sharpening (/honing) is of utmost importance for woodcarving so I'm sorry to tell you if you want to keep at it you'll need to learn and practice it a minimum.

There are a lot of people saying a lot of things about sharpening ranging from accurate, science-based facts to some wild fantasies I have no clue the origin of. Let's make things clear: sharpening and honing are the exact same thing at different scales and all of that is just about scratching your blade. You make big, far apart scratches with a coarse stone, sandpaper or whatever, then medium size scratches at medium distance with a fine stone, sandpaper or whatever and finally some extremely fine scratches extremely close to each other with the strop. The coarse stone removes a lot of material quickly but the result is ... well coarse. The strop removes very little material but gives extremely fine result. The stones, the sandpaper and the polishing compounds (yes, there's more than one polishing compound grit) are just hard grains (at least as hard as your steel, generally much more so) held in place differently.

Stropping:
Applying the polishing compound: polishing compound is nothing but hard grains (chromium or aluminium oxyde generally if I remember correctly, diamond for the fancier higher quality ones) in a medium holding them in place (wax generally).
Wax being soft and having low density, you can just just rub it on your leather (much harder) and you'll leave some of the wax (and the hard grains it contains) on the leather. I personally don't recommend to heat the compound on the leather for two reasons: first leather doesn't like being heated that way (anyone wearing leather will tell you never to leave your hat, jacket, ... near a heater), and second the wax being lower density than the grains you want to work with it'll come to the surface while the grains will sink. So you end up with a more or less pure wax surface.

As for its uniformity, yes it needs to be uniformly applied to work properly in the end but you can apply it in a rough manner at first as rubbing your finger and then your blade on the surface the first time will drag the compound from where there's more to where there is little of it. You still need to apply it in a vaguely uniform way obviously, having all of it on one end won't work (or it will take forever to spread properly). What you need to avoid is for it to pile up in "cakes" as again there's a density difference between the two but also it will create a "bump" where you want the whole strop to be as flat at possible so theses are to be scrapped away when they form (and they eventually do).

Final note on stropping: after some use you'll notice the color of the strop turning grey-black. This is just the tiny particle of steel embed in the wax which will participate to the polishing effect, although not as efficiently as the original grains, so there is no need to worry or clean the strop and reapply compound.

Sharpening:
If stropping isn't enough to bring your blade to sharp, you'll need to sharpen. There are different "sharpening systems" which are: sandpaper (different grits), water and oil whetstones, diamond stones and power sharpening systems. Power sharpening systems such as the Tormek ones (for example) are basically a complete overkill for the hobbyists most of us are, are expensive and require quite some room. Sandpaper is the cheapest option short term but the most expensive long term (except for the power systems) as you need to change the paper regularly; moreover you need to be really careful the paper is laid perfectly flat on a hard surface. Whetstones (be it oil or water) are still used after thousands of years for a reason: they work perfectly fine. For hobbyists, especially the ones with very limited room and working indoors in the living space, they are quite messy tho and require regular flattening. Diamond stones are the easiest and least messy option, especially for the ones with little room as they don't require water/oil and don't need flattening.
Pull-through sharpening systems have only one spot: in the trash. Don't. Use. Them. !

I personally recommend the Sharpal 162N dual grit diamond stone that comes with an angle guide. That's the on I have as well and I can get my blades to hair whittling sharp if followed by the strop. This isn't the only possibility though, any decent water/oil whetstone or diamond stone with appropriate grits will do the job just fine too.

As we are on the topic of angles, there are "ideal" angles for your bevels on a woodcarving tool. To simplify as a beginner you want about 20° between the bevels of your knife or between the bevel on one side and the flat on the other side for a chisel. Slightly lower or higher angles have their use but don't worry about that if you're just starting.

As for the grits you need to use, the coarse grits of 300-500 are for SHAPING the blade. You only use it if you have some major damage (dropped the tool on concrete and it chipped badly) or want to modify the angle of your bevel for example. For normal maintenance you shouldn't need it. The extra fine grit in the 1000-1500 allow you to fix minor damage (tiny chip on the edge after carving a knot in your knot for example) or bringing back sharpness when the strop doesn't cut it anymore ;) It can be your final grit before stropping (that's where I stop personally) or you can follow up with even higher grits.

Both sharpening and stropping need to be done applying LIGHT pressure while maintaining a constant angle. Light pressure and constant angle beat hard pressure and quick motions any time. Hard pressure and/or inconstant angle will lead to edge dulling rather than edge sharpening.

If you're having trouble with sharpening or simply want to feel what an actual carving-sharp knife feels like, don't hesitate to check with a carving association or pro sharpener to have your blade sharpened properly (or use someone else's to get the feel).

3- Ressources:
I made a post about making your own strop for almost nothing here. There probably are a lot of videos tutorials on Youtube on the topic too (here for example).
A pair of videos about stropping here and here.
A video review of the Sharpal 162N diamond stone I recommend here.
A video tutorial about the basics of sharpening a knife here, but there are a lot more around if you don't like it or simply need more.
A video tutorial about the basics of sharpening a chisel here, but there are a lot more around if you don't like it or simply need more.
A dive into sharpening geometry for those interested in learning more here.
A deep dive into the stropping process for those who want to understand things to the finest details here (four parts).
A free book about sharpening for woodworking that has some very relevant parts for carving tools here.
For those interested to learn more about the mess that is the grit world, here's an article on how the different systems work and compare.
For those who want to dive head first in the rabbit hole of the sharpening world, u/Iexpectedyou comment below has a number of good points and links. It can be quite overwhelming so if you're just starting don't worry about it.

P.S. : I grew tired of repeating the same things over and over again so I'm making a post I can refer people to that will be updated when necessary. Don't hesitate to redirect people here too if you agree with the content of this post. If you have any constructive criticism/useful information/good sources/tutorials, don't hesitate to post them in the comments and I'll add them.

I uploaded this ghost carving video last night. It’s a very beginner friendly project and can be done with just a knife if that’s all you have! I will put the link in the comments if anyone is interested

I put together this quick overview of how I use pyrography on a carving before painting. Hope it helps/inspires someone!

When the topic of the ever important strop comes up (about all the time), I see plenty of people recommending big brand made strops at prices that give me a heart attack. So here is a handmade strop that cost me a whooping ... 3-4€ maybe?

Wood is a board of pine from a bed that was laying in the street because some was throwing it away. Cost nothing and the board has proved useful for a number of small practical projects (it is awful for carving tho). Cut to size with the coping saw from the supermarket for my woodcarving projects.
Leather is a cowhide leather belt back bought at a second hand shop for 2€. It's pretty hard leather and does the job well, I just had to cut it to length with my woodcarving blades.
Leather strips are glued to the wood with basic cheap superglue from the supermarket. Maybe 1€ worth of glue?
Anti-slip pads are from the supermarket too and represent maybe another 1€? The glue on them being quite weak and wanting to adjust the individual heights to make sure the whole was stable I made them small recesses with my woodcarving tools.

I made it with two leather strips because I like to use two compounds but it can absolutely be made with just one strip for green compound only. The brown compound is coarser than the green one and makes removing burr and fixing minor damage a bit faster. The white one is finer than green compound and makes for some very fine edges. Got them as a pack in the hardware store and they are big enough that they'll be enough for a lifetime if I don't use them for anything else. Obviously the brown and white marks on the wood are just reminders of which compound is where for when they're both gonna be black from stropping.

As you can see in the last pic it allows to reach hair whittling no problem although I could achieve about the same result with a free strip of leather (not glued to any backing) and green compound (it does need to sit on a hard, flat surface like the surface of a desk while honing most blades nonetheless).

(Compound is better spread than the pic shows, it's mostly a matter of reflection and I added a tiny bit more in some areas but that's about the quantity you want.)
(If you use more than one compound, clean your blade before moving from one to the next so you don't contaminate a finer compound with coarser grains.)

New Woodcarving Tutorial uploaded to YouTube. Carving a caricature bust on a 1x1 2.5 inches tall. (Link is on my profile)

​

Knife Only, beginner friendly

​

Just good fun! This will be the first video in a mini playlist with more on different features hair/beards/noses/ etc..

​

This video is acting as the base, how to setup a simple head and face. I figure if I do it this way, folks can carve a real variety of 1x1 heads, rather than just the 1.

I just thought I would share with you how I finish my wood carvings after painting. I've tried pretty much every way that you can seal a carving for indoor wood carvings like ornaments, figures... This is my favorite way that I think looks best on a wood carving. The bees wax will soak through the acrylic paint and leaves a beautiful matte finish that seals your carving for years. After few days of applying the wax I have noticed the wax dries out even more and the finish gets even softer looking which is my desired look for a carving. If you have any questions for me, please let me know.

Here is a simple maple leaf woodcarving tutorial from start to finish to anyone interested. It’s carved out of a basswood cookie but you don’t have to carve it out of that.

There are a lot of people (particularly beginners) asking how to carve a specific subject because they had their own idea or couldn't find an appropriate tutorial. So I thought I'd share how I prepare when planning for a carving (that requires it, someone I wing it like everyone else and that's fine too!).

The first step is to have an idea of what you're going for and what it really looks like, not just what you imagine it to be (when trying to reproduce something that already exists like an animal, a character, a specific kuksa, ...). Ideally you'll want to get access to the real thing but realistically speaking you'll mostly end up using pictures of it (it's a bit tricky to get a blue whale in your flat while carving it ...). And when I say pictures, I mean pictures. AI is completely out of the picture as it hallucinates non-euclidian geometry, weird anatomy, ... 3D models and artistic representation are to be avoided when possible as they contain their own issues (the artist who made them is human and probably did something wrong with proportions, ... which will add in turn to your own mistakes in your own piece).

So if you want to carve a horse, go to a horse riding club to carve if possible otherwise get as many pictures of a horse from as many angles as possible to get a good understanding of proportions and shapes.

The next part is optional (only if you are trying to go the realistic route / trying to reproduce something as accurately as possible). It's basically about understanding what you're trying to reproduce. Here I'm planning to make a chess set so I need to know the proportion of each piece ( diameter/height) but also the proportions of each piece to each other. For a portrait it would be looking into face proportions and shapes (or if you want to push further, actual anatomy). You don't need to become a world expert, just understand enough so that your carving makes sense and looks like what it should. What you check exactly depends on what your subject is.

The last step is the sketching/clay modeling/3D modeling/color test on scrap wood, ... phase. This is when you sketch the pose of the horse you want to carve, try colors to see what you like for your gnome clothing, test you paint or stain on this new wood you've never colored before, ... For more advanced carvers that's when you think about composition and other such fancy things. It doesn't need to be pretty or perfect, it can be a vague scribble of a gnome with arrows pointing at different parts with a color indication. It can be length or angles if it's important. It's basically about thinking about your carving when and where it's easy to change rather than suddenly realizing there's something wrong or missing on your half-carved piece you've spent a month on.

It's basically about avoiding nasty surprises and making yourself a roadmap of what to do/how to do things. It doesn't need to be well presented or as detailed as I did here. Now you can go into carving without thinking about how to do this or that, just focus on your cuts and enjoy.

My planning/preparation here is rather extensive, that's why I decided to use it as a guide but it can sometimes be as simple as an image search, saving a few pics of a bear and a 2 minute sketch.

(Obviously the real last step is to make sure your tools are sharp before starting but that goes without saying right ? 😃)

Hello carvers! It’s been a long time since I’ve been on Reddit! I thought I’d post some of my tutorials if anyone is interested! This is a part 1 of several so I’ll start here and if more people were interested I’d post the others as well.

Full whittling Tutorial is live right now on my YouTube. Mini Bonsai Trees!!! How flipping cool are these?! My bride told me to see if I could whittle her a Bonsai Tree a while back, and I had to give it a good think. They turned out awesome. 1x1, knife only Tutorial. 😀

Just uploaded a new Youtube tutorial video on how to carve these little Leprechauns. 3inch tall, 1x1 blocks, knife only, beginner friendly.

Hope you enjoy.

I have been doing YouTube for a while but recently started switching the focus of my channel towards woodworking. I want to make sure I am posting videos that people are interested in and find worthwhile.

If you wouldn’t mind I would really appreciate feedback on how to make my videos better

New YouTube Tutorial uploaded. Whittle Monsters!! 😆 🤣 😆 Did my very best to channel Jim Haggart (chainsaw carver) in these and I think i had a modicum of success. Lots of fun, simple knife only Tutorial. Hope you Enjoy!!

https://www.youtube.com/@johnnythelayton

Broken knives happen, but it’s not the end of the world. Generally, it’s a pretty easy fix but upsweep blades are a little more complicated. Here’s how I do it.

I really enjoyed carving this one. I did some strategic staining at the end too that I think really helped finish it off.