Every now and then when my brain is not functioning at a proper level I go to my scrap box and make blanks of the smallest and easy things to whittle.  And like it or not, my brain is taking a time out more and more often. I only follow a few rules when whittling simple stuff.  RULE 1 KNIVES only.  A piece of RESCUED SCRAP WOOD.  MINIMUM VALUE TO THE WOOD USED.  It's rescue wood!  It'd be burned if not rescued for my small stuff.   The whittled piece must be kid friendly, in as much as something they would get some enjoyment out of.  I am main ..read more

 The other day someone responded to a post that I put up on another site,    They reminded me that It's been a while since I posted anything on this BLOG.  They did not say it, but I heard it - "was I still among the living"?  Well, I am among they living!  In fact I think I am living quite well.  I am not so sure that some in the local medical community would agree.  Perhaps that's because they are all young and don't seem to grasp that older folks are --well OLD.  They forget that anything old is not the same as YOUNG.  I still can say that I ..read more

 Life is like a roll of toilet paper!  The closer you get to the end the faster it seems to go! Well sometimes it sure seems that way.  The days, weeks, and months do seem to fly by faster.  But on the other hand projects seem to take (me) longer and longer to get done.  Lets be honest about that too.  Everything takes me longer and longer to do.  Perhaps the thing that takes the longest is motivation to just get started. I may have just got motivated.  It is a recent posting by a reader of this blog.  Rob, asked if I was OK.  I realized that ..read more

I have been in my new house for 6 weeks now.  When I moved in all I had was a pocket knife, strop, scroll saw, and some Basswood scrapes.  I had several changes of clothes.  The house came furnished.  When I say furnished I mean everything.  I need to get back to Ohio and bring some more stuff.  When I say stuff I mean tools, paint, supplies.  I am getting settled in.  However, not spending as much time whittling as I want to.  The very nature of what I like to whittle means that a lot of it is given away as soon as it gets done.  Here is about ..read more

Finally settled, at least to the point of whittling.  Most of my tools and stuff is still in OHIO, but my scroll saw came down with me.  The hurricane took out everything from under the house, up to about 7 foot from the floor.  The house is on 8 to 9 foot piling so the house was basically OK.  After connecting some piling with walls to form a work area I set about to build a solid bench for the scroll saw.  I used salvaged wood from several houses that did not fare so well.  This saw table must weigh several hundred pounds and is very stable. After deciding wha ..read more

These are the first pieces whittled since I relocated to the Florida Panhandle. Here's a photo of my new carving/whittling "studio". This is the front porch, which one can hear the surf from. I am getting settled, but lots of things that I need are at my house in Ohio. I will start posting some more whittling projects. Thanks for checking the blog.. Tom H ..read more

UPDATE About this BLOG! Recent changes in my life have caused me to not be as attentive to my Blog as I should and want to be.  I am in the final stages of downsizing.  I am not on a diet, but the house I have lived in for the past 46 years is too big for me to maintain.  I have to clean the place up of 46 years of accumulated stuff, and get ready to move. I am in the process of purchasing a house on the Florida Panhandle, where I will be moving very shortly.  The Florida house is near the beach and has lots of porch and deck, all of which will be utilized for whittling ..read more

These are so easy and fun once you cut the blank.  I really don't think I need to add the step by step.  I am using these as first projects for beginners to learn and practice knife cuts for whittling.  Most will complete at least one animal, and be excited about it too ..read more

I've said it before and I'll keep on saying it.  "When teaching beginners to whittle, the most important thing is to be sure that they have a successful first experience".  For me, this means that  there is no blood. and that the beginner has a whittled item completed that they are proud of.   In order for this to happen you must select a project that is within the beginners ability. After several tears worth of teaching newer carvers I have settled on the knife as a good first introduction to wood carving.  For most this would be called Whittling".&nbs ..read more

Sometimes I end up with quite a few small Santa heads, as a result of demonstrating whittling a small face.  Normal uses of these pieces have been to put either an EYE screw or a PIN BACK on them. Last year I tried to think of another way to use the excess Santa's.  I settled on PARTY PICKS.  All I had to do was drill a hole in the bottom and place a skewer.   I took a bunch to a local carving show/sale.  No interest at all!   The Santa's with a pin back and eye screws sold, but not the party picks.  Finally a young fellow stopped and picked one ..read more