What is a good first carving project for a beginner?

What carvings are suitable for me as a beginner?-Introductory Carve Projects

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As a beginner, what carving should I start with?

Wood carving isn't difficult to get into. 

Every summer, I stayed with my grandparents in a small village by the Volga river in Russia. I recall when I was six years old. I sneaked into my grandfather's workshop and discovered a woodworking chisel. I didn't know what the tool was, but I saw it had a sharp edge and guessed I could cut something with it. To make a long story short, it was the beginning of my journey in the world of carving. I didn't carve wood that day. I found a white brick and began to chisel away. I didn't know what I was carving. I just liked the process. At the end of the day, I saw a human face in that brick. I don't really remember if I felt joy or frustration, but I know now it was the start of my lifelong journey as a carver.

Later, I tried wood and liked it much more than brick. I made up my mind. I will carve wood instead of brick!

I didn't know anything about different kinds of wood or wood carving. How are chip carving and relief carving different? Those specialized words didn't make much sense to me. I had no knowledge of the basic principles of wood carving.

I was very fortunate with both sides of my family. My grandpa had a small shop and some workbenches, and I could hang out with him and watch how he worked. To him, his shop was a “hiding place” from his wife, my grandma. But she knew where to find him.My family on my father's side has a tradition of excellent woodworkers and furniture makers. One of my great-grandfathers worked as a furniture maker for a royal house in Saint Petersburg, Russia.My Granny told me tales from when she was a kid in her father's woodworking shop.

She recalled her father singing songs. He sang as he worked with the wood.My grandfather gave me my first chisel, and my grandmother gave me my first whittling knife. It was really a pocket knife from the USSR, not a whittling knife. Pocket knives work well for basic carving. Those two tools were my carving tools. I didn't have a gouge or any power tools. Not even a proper chip carving knife. A simple pocket knife is enough to make something beautiful.

Back then I didn't know that woodcarving would be one of the most important parts of my life. Now I am carving for collectors around the world and private residences. I did not know that woodcarving could be such a rewarding hobby.

What carvings are suitable for me as a beginner?

I'm new to carving, what should I start with?

Ask yourself first what is more appealing to you: a spoon or relief carvings. New carvers often don't realize the huge difference between carving a wooden spoon and carving a 3D sculpture with a gouge and a mallet. This is also known as carving in the round.

Nature itself moves through the ongoing exchange of opposites—earth and fire, sun and moon, male and female, dark and light. 

(Based on Robert Greene, Mastery)

 

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Any tips for my first carving project?

Consider another crucial question. What carving style do I prefer? But that's not the only question you need to ask. Another question to consider is: what tools do you possess? Do you have basic wood carving tools or just a knife? Some might only have a chainsaw :). You can do chainsaw carving but not spoon carving.

I suggest trying out different carving styles. Again, what hand tools do you have? With just a chip carving knife, spoon carving isn't possible, but other carvings are.

 

Dopamine functions like transmission fluid: when there’s too little, like in people with ADHD, it’s tough to shift attention or it goes straight to high gear.

(John J. Ratey and Eric Hagerman, Spark)

Dopamine in woodcarving is like oil for your carving tools: if there’s not enough, just like people with ADHD, your focus can either freeze or suddenly become very intense.

WOODCARVING – What carvings are suitable for me as a beginner?-Introductory Carve Projects

Here is a List of some ideas:

• Creating spoons from wood
• Old European Knife Carving
• Relief Carving
• Carving in the round
• Bird and Fish Carving

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