a question about Whittling(wood carving)

[faaltuplaces]

Hi all,
Me and my cat are staring at all your awesome blades from past three hours. Great place this is. Glad to be a part of it.
Now, the thing is, I have been planning to delve into whittling(wood carving) during my leisure time on the terrace.
But as you know, India rocks in a lot many ways but it aint as rocking when it comes to purchasing knifes.

And right now I am interested in knowing that is there is anyone who is interested in this passtime(carving)??
What knife do you prefer? Where can I buy one?
Anyone here does that using a Victorinox SAK?

I have done quite a lot of searching and scanning and cant find a thread related to it. Kindly redirct me there in case there is one.

[Moin.]

Hi all,
Me and my cat are staring at all your awesome blades from past three hours. Great place this is. Glad to be a part of it.
Now, the thing is, I have been planning to delve into whittling(wood carving) during my leisure time on the terrace.
But as you know, India rocks in a lot many ways but it aint as rocking when it comes to purchasing knifes.

And right now I am interested in knowing that is there is anyone who is interested in this passtime(carving)??
What knife do you prefer? Where can I buy one?
Anyone here does that using a Victorinox SAK?

I have done quite a lot of searching and scanning and cant find a thread related to it. Kindly redirct me there in case there is one.

A very warm welcome to IFG mate, there are wood carving sets available at large stationary stores which you can buy. Don't think SAK's are suitable for wood carving, the edge will dull in no time.

Regards
Moin.

[faaltuplaces]

hi moin and thanks for the reply.
Its just that I tried out every stationary shop and online site. None of them have the hand carving tools like

http://www.flexcut.com/products/cart.ph ... gory_id=97
or
http://www.capeforge.com/styles.htm

[Moin.]

hi moin and thanks for the reply.
Its just that I tried out every stationary shop and online site. None of them have the hand carving tools like

http://www.flexcut.com/products/cart.ph ... gory_id=97
or
http://www.capeforge.com/styles.htm

Hi Faltuplaces, I've seen some wood carving sets at some stationary stores but the handles are more simpler and not contoured like the ones shown in the pics. Check a few large stationary stores or hobby shops where you live, I'm sure you'll find something.

Regards
Moin.

[Mark]

The trick to whittling is to get a piece of wood and start carving it, In regards to what knife- just use what you have.

If you have a Swiss Army knife, great! Use that! Otherwise use whatever else is in your pocket or drawer or elsewhere. If the blade is an awkward size, choose a different item to carve with that particular knife.

There are a million different styles of wood carving knives, but unless you want to carve a million different items that cannot be done with a certain style of blade there is no need to get any of them.

It used to be that most people only had one pocket knife, and they did everything with that one knife, including carve wood. Now it seems like people spend more time collecting as many different possessions (such as knives for example) that they never seem to spend that much time actually using those knives. I have fallen into this trap myself so I am qualified to discuss it.

Anyway, my suggestion is to stick your hand in your pocket and I bet there is a knife in there. Just pull it out and find a piece of wood and make something. Today. It doesn't matter if you make a tiny boat that you can float in the bathroom sink, or a couple of wooden chain links, or just a toothpick but just create something.and I suspect you can start answering your own questions

Apologies for sounding somewhat pushy, but it sounds like you know what to do you just need some encouragement!

[faaltuplaces]

all right. I can do some more hunting.
And yeah, can you please tell me a few such shops in mumbai? maybe i can google them up and ask them if they can courier it.
I mean whenever you find time ......

[faaltuplaces]

Hey mark....
Thanks a lot for that. I really needed a push , i think.
I have a Swiss army knife(albeit a basic one), and I will start chipping right away.
Besides,I was just thinking about getting a basic folding knife for the same purpose (something on the lines of "Case"). Got any suggestions for that?

And you seem to be quite experienced with this.... did you try a hand at carving?

[Mack The Knife]

[essdee1972]

Faaltuplaces, if you are in Mumbai, you can try a store called Mango. It's not in Mumbai proper, but in Thane West, near the railway station, and another one in one of the malls near Vashi station (opp Four Seasons hotel). Before Staples became just another computer accessories shop, you could get it there, too. Or, the stationery shops in the maze of lanes around Crawford Market.

But, as Mark says, any knife is good enough. Your problem might be getting the proper wood. I tried a bit of whittling with SAK (Officier Suisse), my Browning pocket knife, and some of the X-Actos. Wood was the problem - didn't want to buy!

[faaltuplaces]

Hey essdee1972 ,
Thanks for the info. Just carved some stupid stuff out of a block with my sharpened SAK and gifted it to my girl. She loved it. . Saved a lot of money as well
Do you think that Mango does national delivery??
And what kind of carving knives have you seen at that store?? I am asking it because X-actos wont be of any good use to me.

[essdee1972]

Saves money..... impresses girlfriends....... great!!! You got a winner, buddy!!!

I don't think Mango does any kind of delivery, you can try searching their site (if they have one). I don't recall the brand, etc. (wasn't thinking of whittling then, but calligraphy pens.....), but they were a set of three, curvy kind of knives. You can try Staples if you are near one (in Mumbai, they are present at R-City Mall, Ghatkopar, and Phoenix Mall, Lower Parel, plus a few more malls). Although Staples seems to have converted into just another computer accessories store - the hobby stuff is relegated to one or two aisles now!

Another way might be to get drawings / dimensions of the whittling knives online and get normal kitchen knives ground to those patterns.

X Actos are actually too "weak" to stand up to much whittling - lose the edge fast, thermocol is what they are good for.

You have a good source of wood? I asked my friendly neighborhood carpenter, and he gave me some pieces of teak / sheesham types - too damn hard to whittle!

[faaltuplaces]

Thanks for that,man... I will surely look up these places and try to find something worthwhile.
Even I was thinking the same thing, X-acto's blades are weak. They might break and cause injury.
Well,kitchen knife is the last resort. We get those little kitchen knives by Victrinox. One can grind into a Scandigrind and whittle with it.
And Whoa there! you trying to carve Sheesham? lol thats one of the hardest woods you can get.
The best would be Basswood, thats called "Poplar" in india. Used to make matchsticks.
If you cant find that, go to a wood shop, dig your nail into the wood, you'll get an idea of its hardness.
I couldnt find poplar. So i got a fairly soft wood, it was a light brown in colour and fairly easy to work upon(if you keep the grinding stone handy)

[essdee1972]

No, buddy! I didn't try to whittle sheesham at all. I do know my limits!

Do you get wood shops which let you buy / beg / borrow / steal small pieces? I tried a couple, they wouldn't sell unless I bought in quantities enough to make a chair, at least.