What should I carve as a beginner?
What should I try carving as a beginner to get started?-First-Time Carving Plans
If I were a beginner, what would be the best carving to do?
Starting wood carving is pretty easy.
Every summer, I lived with my grandparents in a small village by the Volga river in Russia. I remember when I was six. I snuck inside my grandfather's workshop, and I found one woodworking chisel. I didn't know what the tool was, but I knew it had a cutting edge and thought 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, though. I found a white brick and started to chisel. I really had no idea what I was carving. I just liked the process. At the end of the day, I could see a human face in that brick. I don't remember what I felt, joy or frustration, but I know now it was the start of my lifelong journey as a carver.
After that, I tried to work with a piece of wood and liked it a lot more than brick. I made the decision. I will carve wood and no longer the brick!
I knew nothing about types of wood or about different types of wood carving. How do chip carving and relief carving differ? All those fancy words made little sense to me. I lacked any basic understanding of wood carving.
I was really lucky with both sides of my family. My grandpa had a little shop and a few workbenches, and I could hang out with him and see how he did things. To him, his shop was a “hiding spot” from his wife, my grandma. But of course, she knew where to find him.On my father's side, the family has a rich history of fine woodworkers and furniture makers. One of my great-grandfathers was a craftsman for a royal house in Saint Petersburg, Russia.My Grandma talked about her childhood 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. Actually, it was a pocket knife from the USSR, not a whittling knife. Pocket knives are good for simple carving. Those were my carving tools. I didn't have a gouge or any power tools. Not even a real chip carving knife. A basic pocket knife is enough to create 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 should I try carving as a beginner to get started?
What carving project is best for a beginner?
Think about what you like more: a spoon or relief carvings. Beginners sometimes don't notice how different it is to carve a wooden spoon compared to carving a 3-dimensional sculpture with a gouge and a mallet. This is also called 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)
Join School of Wood Carving
What should I do for my first carving project?
Reflect on another significant question. What is my favorite carving style? Yet, this isn't the only question to consider. Another question is: what tools do you have? Do you have basic wood carving tools or only a knife? Some of you have only a chainsaw :). Chainsaw carving is possible but not spoon carving.
I advise experimenting with various carving styles. So, what hand tools do you possess? If you only possess a chip carving knife, you can't do spoon carving, but you can still carve other things.
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: without enough, like people with ADHD, your focus can get stuck or suddenly become intensely focused.
WOODCARVING – What should I try carving as a beginner to get started?-First-Time Carving Plans
Here is a List of some ideas:
- Carving spoons
- Old European Knife Carving
- Relief Carving
- Carving in the round
- Bird and Fish Carving
I’m a woodworker who loves carving. I make fancy carvings for a high end client worldwide. I also teach wood carving. I started the School of Wood Carving, a non-profit to help people learn.
The school’s website has over 3,000 how-to videos. Great for beginners and pros! I’m from Russia but have lived in the USA a long time. Like wood? Join us at the School of Wood Carving. We’d love to have you!