Hello Hook Knife, Good-bye X-acto

Being pretty new at this, I wasn't aware of all the cool tools I didn't have. Thanks to PDrake for clueing me in on the hook knife. I did end up re-working this guy a few times, due to a few slips of the blade, but ater a few more projects I think I could learn to love my hook knife. These are ones I did via X-Acto #11 blade I've been doing little guys and selling them at a sunset festival at the beach. The little ones are carved from 1/2" x1/2 " basswood sticks, medium ones are from 1"x 1/2 " and the bigger ones ore from 3"x3" basswood.

Excellent!
Can you post a picture of your hook knife?
Got any more pictures?
Thanks,
Buzzy

Here are my few tools of construction, the hook knife being a Warren KB-3W. I call these carvings "Lucky Tikis" when I sell them at the Sunset Festival on Clearwater Beach, 'cause I haven't cut myself yet. Then I decided, why temp fate and bought a Kevlar/Stainless Steel Glove. Definately a little more peace of mind.

Way to go Capt Doug, the Hook will be your friend for life.
The hook blade you are using has a very Shallow curve to it. You should try to get the deeper one like these:


You wiull find a Giant difference with the right one.
Nice carvings there too. I can see it isn't gonna take you long at all.

Hey,all it takes is a LITTLE HINT. Thank you sir for that. I looked in the tube of blades that came with the kit and indeed there is a blade that looks like the one you suggested. Next time I give it a try, that's the one for me. Thank you for the input,from one of the experts, much appreciated.

glad to be of help. keep up the good work.

Hi, I carve small tikis too, mostly with the dremel but.... tell me about that blue sanding tool i see in your pix.

thanks.

'nother new , using the recommended deeper hook blade. I found it much to my liking, plus I seem to be getting a little faster. The little sanding device is pretty handy for the small spots and you can get it w/ various grit belts. you just roll the belt w/ your thumb and you always have fresh paper. I got it at http://www.qualitycarvingsupplies.com Talk to Becky, nice lady, fast service.

Good stuff. I love carving small and the variety of tools is endless. I started by using an Xacto and still use it quite a bit. Hook blades, palm chisels, Dremel - they're all part of the arsenal and used accordingly. One suggestion - get away from using Basswood. You will find that once you start using other wood species that the basswood has its limitations. Florida has so many native species that are great for carving. Keep 'em coming.

Ok, that sounds like great advice, but how about a few suggested wood types to start with. I'm no botanist, and there so many exotic plants that thrive here in Florida, I don't know which are safe to carve. Oleander and Brazilian Pepper for example are supposed to be either poisonous or irritants. Point me in the right direction. Thanks

Central Florida - Pine, Oak, Mohagany, Avacado, Mango, and Palm. They are all good for carving - the best thing to do is experiment. You will find a favorite and will be surprised how easy it is to find wood. Check with the company you bought your knives from - I'm sure they can help you. Good luck and keep posting.

Thank for the suggestions. They got me thinking in other directions. Such as, "PhrondTiki". I gotta let him dry a little, sand him a little, and I might try a bit of stain, but I think the Tourists on the pier might just eat these up. I'll do a few more, and give it a try. Thanks for all the hints everyone.

Been trying some more of the "Fron-Tikis", Not very good, but I am at least getting a feel for how palm carves. Neighbor cut down a Queen Palm the other day and I beat the garbage man to the logs. 3' to 5' chunks, 12" to 14' dia., so I look at these little guys as an experience builder. I used a torch, might have gotten a little carried away on the first two, the other is still "in progress"

[ Edited by: capt.doug 2006-06-08 10:06 ]

CD,
Be advised the Queen palm is a difficult palm to work with. The inner portion is very wet and will rot the log from the inside out unless you can extract it first. I've done it and will never try that again. The outer two to three inches are hard and really nice to carve but the effort to clean the inside may ditract you from using it. Good luck

Hey..those fron-tikis look good, I like the first one with no stain..the contrast between the green and beige carving area makes it special.

made the "Fron-Tikis" a bit more tourist oriented. Actually, it does give them something to do, besides just laying there.

[ Edited by: capt.doug 2006-06-12 18:40 ]

[ Edited by: capt.doug 2006-06-13 17:50 ]

Got these chunks of basswood, so until they are gone, gonna bore ya'll with these

hey man that looks really cool. its like just some company. i like it and keep the work up.

These are some for your viewing pleasure, not by me, first two are from Bali,the shark too. The other three are from East Coast Florida Carvers. My sweetie has them in her store.

[ Edited by: capt.doug 2006-06-12 18:48 ]

[ Edited by: capt.doug 2006-06-12 18:59 ]

Where do you guys get the basswood from? I'm not familiar with that wood here in Az.

I got the Basswood in 2",3",4" blocks 12" long, from http://www.qualitycarvingsupplies.com I got 1/2 X 1/2 sticks of basswood from the craft department at Walmart. Like some one said, it doesn't have a very interesting grain pattern, but it carves pretty easily. Good for a newbie like me.

Thanks Doug. I'll have to check out Walley World. I need some cheap stock to destroy on my first few attempts.

Keep up the good work Capt. Doug. Keep looking for free wood too, thats the way you find out. Loki is right about the Queen palm, but it makes nice masks, if you slice it in half then it's easy to clean out the soft center.

thanks for the input Ben, you guys that know what you're doing don't realize how much your comments mean to newbies like me/us.

[ Edited by: capt.doug 2006-06-14 20:27 ]

Sure we do. I can remember when I first found TC and then started carving again. The support was very warm and helpful.

The two pieces that got me started into carving. I found these in my mom's curio cabinet. A neighbor gave these to me when I was still in grade school, so that would make it either in Calif. or Texas. Any of you fellas recognize your work? I moved around so much as a kid, I don't remember the man's name, and I still haven't been able to duplicate his skill level.