A Chick's Easter egg

My wife, Michelle asked me to carve a pin of a chick hatching from an Easter egg.

 

The pin is relief carved from basswood. It's 3 1/2 inches tall, 2 1/2 inches wide and 3/8 inch thick. I painted it with acrylic paints and finished it with high gloss lacquer spray.

She thought it was cool. Me too.

Enjoy!

A Pink Alligator in NJ?!?!?

I was asked if I could carve a alligator caricature based on a "squeak toy" that's sitting on my bench. So I did! It's basswood, and painted with acrylics and finished with satin poly. It is 2 3/8 inches long, 1 1/8 inches high and 2 inches wide.

She received it last week and she loved it.

My Latest Singing Mouse...

I carved another Choral mouse for my wife Michelle. I called it a Spring Mouse. She calls it "AWWW MAAAHHH!!"--making reference to all of the other choral mice dismay with Mom singing, too. The mouse was carved from aspen, the umbrella from basswood and the handle is a 1/8" dowel. It's 2 3/4" high to the top of the umbrella, 1 1/2" wide, 2" deep from the edge of the umbrella to the back. She's painted with acrylics paints, and 2 coats of satin polyurethane. The tail is a piece of suede lace. The pocketbook handle is a piece of plastic chain.

Seahorse Pin

This is a Seahorse pin I carved out of eastern white pine for my wife, Michelle. It is 3-1/2" high, 1-1/2" wide and 3/8" thick. The eye was painted with acrylic black paint. The Seahorse was sprayed with several coats of high gloss lacquer. It has a pinback epoxied to the back.

Christmas Ornament Swap

I recently participated in an ornament swap with 18 other woodcarvers from across the USA. We each carved 18 ornaments and sent them to the other carvers.

I decided to do the Dalicarlian horse because in Norwegian history, it started as a toy being carved by woodsmen whiling away the long Winter nights, and by soldiers in exchange for housing and hot soup. Now it is known worldwide as a traditional symbol of Norway. I just liked the story and the culture of carving that comes from Norway. And the Dala horse just happened to pop up when doing research for ideas for ornaments!

Flexcut Pocket Jack

I received the Flexcut Pocket Jack yesterday.

http://www.flexcut.com/products/cart.php?target=product&product_id=1398&category_id=174

I tried it out for a little bit last night. Sharp as can be right out of the package. It carved nice and clean on basswood

The tools do hang up on each other when folding a tool out from the handle, but it wasn't a big deal to close the one I didn't want. They're not tight--just snug. They lock sufficiently in place. And the locks work easily.

I like the selection of tools. Having never used a scorp before, I'm getting used to using them. At the very least, I know I will be using the gouge and knife.

Although the knife blade is sharp, I'm debating whether to sharpen it from edge to back of the blade. Currently, there is a bevel ending about a third of the way from the edge. I prefer to lay the blade flat on the stone, and lifting it a slight bit (a dime's thickness) when sharpening my knife blade. The length of the blade--1 5/8"--is a little longer than the 1 1/2" blade I'm used to using. It shouldn't be a problem. The blade profile is sufficient for general carving and a reasonable amount of normal detail.

The handle is a little bit uncomfortable. I think the handle edges need to be rounded over a bit more. My solution is to do what I've recently started doing regardless of what tools I am using. I wear a Kevlar glove with the grip dots on both hands. It helps to grip the tool, lessens fatigue on my hand, and prevents inadvertent injuries to my index finger. I tend to ride up on the tool's working end for better control when doing fine detail.

All in all--I like the Pocket Jack. And based on my usage so far, I'd recommend trying it out.

BTW--I have a solution for a sheath. I use the nylon sheath that came with the Kobalt 2 blade folding utility knife. It's roomy enough to hold the Pocket Jack and a piece of leather belt that I have charged with honing compound for periodic maintenance on the tools' edges.

Here's a link to the Kobalt sheath and knife I'm talking about:

http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?partNumber=253835-16878-50417&langId=-1&storeId=10151&productId=1239055&catalogId=10051& cmRelshp=sim&rel=nofollow&cId=PDIO1

A Maple leaf pin commission

2 1/4" wide by 2" high carved in butternut and with a blend of acrylic paints to create a Fall like look. The pin was sprayed with High Gloss Lacquer.