Whittling - Where to Start as a Beginner?
For those of you who are new to whittling and wood carving, you may not know exactly what to start carving or where to look for inspiration. You could have all the tools you need, but knowing what the next steps are and even taking the next steps can feel intimidating.
This video is meant for beginners feeling a little lost as to what to do next and help them enjoy this wonderful hobby!
If you are ready to start your first project, check out this easy fox whittling guide:
• How to Whittle a Simpl...
Amazon Links to books recommended in the video:
Complete Starter Guide to Whittling - amzn.to/305JDeg
Swiss Army Knife Whittling Guide - amzn.to/3ETiMkr
Links to Amazon above are affiliate links, for more information click here: carvingisfun.com/affiliate-li...
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If you want to send me an individual card I'm missing, check out this page to see what I'm missing:
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If you are ready to start your first project, check out this easy fox whittling guide: kzhead.info/sun/hK1mgdlpfYCLnKc/bejne.html Amazon Links to books recommended in the video: Complete Starter Guide to Whittling - amzn.to/305JDeg Swiss Army Knife Whittling Guide - amzn.to/3ETiMkr Links to Amazon above are affiliate links, for more information click here: carvingisfun.com/affiliate-link-disclosure/ If you want to give me a gift as a thank you, you can send me some Pokemon cards! I've been collecting them since they came out and always enjoy getting new cards! You can use my Amazon Wish List to send me a booster pack or two :) www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1ZTOOLYLZ7C48
Just found this channel and I’ve only done one project it’s was a top hat nothing special but I want to try your fox tutorial here soon
How'd it go?
@@soggyrakoon4680 i finished the fox today and im super happy with it! It was my first whittling project ever and i watched videos of this channel to learn what knife to get and stuff and then i did tried to fox video and in just this one project i learned a lot and in the end im happy about how it came out, but i want to paint it soon so i will head in the local shop in a few days and get some stuff like wood oil to seal up the fox and future carvings when im done and some grid paper and some paint. But i will need to research what kind of paint i can and should use on the carvings. Well anyway, happy whittling to everyone out there :)
I did your fox tutorial and it was really fun. I messed up a little on the legs but I did better than I expected! Now I've whittled 2 of your gnomes and people keep asking me for one. They really like gnomes and i really enjoy giving things I've whittled to my friends and family. This is my new favorite hobby. I wanted to start years ago but like you said I was intimidated. To anyone who is watching this video, stop putting it off and jump right in. You won't regret it! And thank you sir for helping me start something so fun, rewarding, and therapeutic!
I started whittling probably August, last year. It was a few months in after my country's lockdown and I needed a relatively inexpensive hobby to keep myself sane from my medical studies AND the pandemic. I didn't find anyone to share or learn woodcarving with, but I did come across your channel. It's been so helpful and encouraging that it makes me want to stay with the hobby. I doubt I would find time to start and finish a project anytime soon, but I'm really excited to try a guide in your playlist.
I think you are in the same boat as many people who wanted to start a fun little hobby that keeps them occupied! Sometimes it is hard to find the time to complete a project, some of mine will often take several days as I can only fit in 10 or so minutes at a time. I'm glad you are enjoying the channel, its comments like these that keep me motivated to keep making the videos :)
You can use a leather belt
Just started on the fox! Already have the tail and part of the body finished. I was really surprised by how sore my hands and wrists were afterwards. I don't have much hand strength so I knew it wasn't going to be super easy, but really wasn't expecting the muscle soreness. Thank you for emphasizing gloves/hand protecting for beginners! There were a couple of times where if I wasn't wearing gloves, I would for sure be needing stitches.
Take it slow and at your own pace, you'll get some new strength in your hands in no time :)
Thanks for your videos, bro! I'm brazilian and i did not find good videos for here. Thank you very much!
My son has recently taken up whittling, I think this channel will.be just what he needs to help him along, thank you!
I appreciate the words of encouragement and comforting tone throughout the video
You’re a big reason I just gained the confidence to actually buy a whittling set. I want my New Year’s resolution to be gaining a new hobby, and I’m excited for my new set to come in to practice your tutorials :)
The bears are so dang cute!
thankyou
Brian aye agreed totaly sound info them two books i have absolute must have for beguiners 👍🦊🐾🍀
This channel is great. Very easy to follow
Wise words. I can hear you and I'm with you. Could be longer, that vid.
I considered making it longer, but in the end I felt like I said everything that I needed to without rambling on. Sometimes when you are making these videos, they determine their own length and tell ya when they are done :)
SO TRUE!!!! Great pointers!!!
😃
Hey Brian, Great video. I have a request that maybe you can do in an upcoming video. I bought Complete Starter Guide to Whittling and am enjoying it. While it’s a great read and has good still photos, one great video tool for me would be a proper demonstration of the basic knife cuts. This would probably be day 1 of a carving class, just refining cuts on a practice stick. Love the channel. Thanks
Howdy Ken! I am in the process of creating a complete intro to whittling video that will coverall the basics, like the different cuts needed, and practical demonstrations. Currently fine tuning the outline before filming. This is one of those videos that I want to get right and make to the best of my abilities and will be a little while before I publish.
@@CarvingisFun Sounds great Brian. Keep up the solid work.
Good informative video .excellent explaination and demo ..good job young man
Thank you Gene!
This is amamzing
You are a good man
thanks for the tip newbie here starting out will subscribe to your channel keep the chips flying
Awesome tips!
Thanks!
You have made in me wish to do that! Thank you! I already know where to start. PS.: Already subscribed and notifications are on! 😄
Good job, good advice.
Thanks!
Thanks for sharing this! Great advice Definitely subscribing 😁🤪
You're welcome and thank you for the sub 😊
Cool👍
😀
I followed your fox tutorial. I made a mouse. It was fun though!
Hey, you still made something cool! The fox tutorial is a great place to start for a multitude of critters :)
interesting!!
🙂 Thanks!
I've been a stone and memorial carver for awhile, I'd love to learn to whittle wood but the techniques obviously aren't interchangeable and I really appreciate these tutorials! How do you protect yourself from repetitive use injuries? Stone carving has given me nerve damage in my hands and I was wondering if your wrists ever swell up doing this too often or if hand placement helps. Thank you again!
I personally use slice resistant gloves to prevent accidental cuts. Doing repetitive moments over and over again can cause pain in the hands and wrists, I experience this with both wood carving and stone carving. Proper hand placement and controlled technique help quite a bit so you don't overuse certain joints, muscles, and tendons, but wood does come off much easier than stone so you don't have to apply so much force or spend too much time making your carving.
@@CarvingisFun thank you for your reply! During my apprenticeship I didn't always have great hand placement so I think that's catching up with me. Anyway thank you again for the videos.
Hello! I have wanted to learn how to whittle for years. I am retired now and have the time. I received a package in the mail from my son recently. It was a whittle kit from Amazon with a few knives in it. I am very exctied to start my journey and that I found your channel. I do have a question for you. I am purchasing the products you've mentioned for my hands. I have the athletic tape in my Amazon cart. I am looking at the Dex Fit gloves and I am not sure what size to buy. This is Michelle here commenting not Rob. What size are your gloves?
I personally wear XL gloves. For reference, my palms are just shy of 4" wide and just shy of 8" from the bottom of my palms to the tips of my fingers.
Hi I just found your yt channel and it is very interesting..can you please tell me what type of wood are you using it looks easy to carv 😉
Sure, I'm using basswood :)
@@CarvingisFun thank you i will definetly try😉
Lol. I love how when showcasing your own channel it shows the "how to whittle a fox" video at 5.5k views. It's at 2.6m now
That video just went bonkers!! Im so happy that people liked it and have made their own little foxes 😀
I'm looking at getting two knifes from OCC to start my whittling journey, what two would you recommend? Also I notice that some of the OCC knifes say they are/have an Upsweep? what does that mean? Thanks Ken
Personally, I like to have a primary whittling knife between 1.5" and 2" for removing larger sections of wood and another between 1" and 1.5" for detail work. I personally like their standard blades, but if it says that the blades have an "upsweep" that means the cutting edge has a curved edge instead of a flat edge. Flat edged blades like the ones I show in the video are easier to maintain and do detail work with, the upswept blades are good for slicing and in the right hands are quite effective. Personally, I would start off with the standard flat cutting edges.
Wait. . .I could use my grandfather's Swiss army knife to carve?! Ooooh
Just to understand, once I have the tools I have to get a specific wood or I can also use things like branches on the ground?
You can always use the wood off the ground! Its where the vast majority of us started off.
@@CarvingisFun understandable, have a nice day
I’ve made a spoon 🥄 wizard 🧙 and a snake 🐍 not the best in the world but you can easily guess what they are so with that I’m happy so much fun 🤩
I saw what he looked like in 1:49 on the reflection of his phone
Yep :) I leave some easter eggs in my videos every now n then.
@@CarvingisFun 😄👍
One more comment.. would you ever consider doing a video about how you got into KZhead instructional videos? I've been thinking about doing videos about memorial carving by hand because it's a dying art but I don't know where to start. Thanks!
I have considered doing it, but to be honest, making instructions is what I have been doing for the past 10k years at work and I just adapted it to carvinf on video :) So visualize, plan, dry run, improve, plan again, prepare, film, and then edit. Theres some trial and error but continuous improvement is whete its at
Hi Sir, I've got a question and I've thought I'd ask it on this topic 🙂 You have given us some templates (examples?) of animals to whittle, like a for, an owl etc. Are these free for us to use? I mean, are they free of Copyrights? Would it be ok to share it and your Videos with my friends? I don't want to break any laws, thank you 😊
Free to use and share without monitary gain of the images themselves. Whatever you carve from using them is entirely yours and can do whatever you want. Im actually working with someone now to create some downloadable templates for people to use as well.
@@CarvingisFun This is very Kind of you, thank you very much! ❤
Where would you place a divide between whittling and carving please?
For me personally whittling is simply woodcarving but only using knives, no other tools. Woodcarving would involve the use of other tools beyond just a knife, like chisels, gouges, rasps, ect.
Thanks for the tips man!
Any time!
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Can I use a normal knife? Or a carving knife is necessary?
You can use what ever knife you have available as long as it is sharp :)
My father keeps telling me I need to be good at drawing if I want to get into woodwork and when you said about sketching I got kinda worried. Do you think it's that necessary?
Absolutely not. This is the difference between 2d visualization and 3d visualization, they require a different mindset. Example, my wife is a professional graphic artist and has been drawing for 30 years. She isnt very good at carving at all. I am an engineer and am terrible at drawing. What takes me a week to draw, my wife can draw in 5 min. However I am able to visualize the final outcome and where to make my cuts.
@@CarvingisFun Alright, I'm sold! I'll try it out. Wood, metal and stone craftsmanship runs deep in my family where my father and I broke the chain but now I'm looking to go back to the roots.
I also do stone carving :) primarily soapstone and alabaster
Is being able to draw a requirement?
Nope, not at all. Matter of fact, I rarely draw anything when I carve, just lines
How do you figure out where to start when doing a project?
Sometimes I draw them out to determine the anatomy and poses within my wood size constraints. Other times I just wing it and see what happens.
How did you start in wood carving ?
Started as a kid in scouts while on a week long camping trip. Had a knife, a stick, and time so naturally I started whittling. Got more into it about 10 years ago when I picked up stone carving as well.
Hi! I'm very new in this, I wanted to buy carving knives, but I cant find a leather strop in my country. Can you tell me any other thing or way for sharpening the knives? (Sorry, i spammed this comment in some of your videos)
You can use 3000 to 6000 grit wet/dry sandpaper or thick cloth (like denim) with polishing compound
1:49 face reveal threw the reflection of the phone :)
I was wondering if anyone would catch that 😆
thanks man, JESUS loves y’all
Hi.can u learn me?
Hi! Unfortunately I am unable to directly teach people right now, instead I put everything I know for free online so anyone can view them.
I can't draw.
Nither can I :)
Плохо что на русском языке не вещает
I wish KZhead would translate everything so others may enjoy the videos too.
@@CarvingisFun спасибо большое за ответ Но я не понимаю ! Если вы понимаете меня то напишу я из России, Сибирь очень нравится ваш канал смотрю его учусь Но что говорите не понимаю поэтому только смотрю