Whittling: Whittling Vs. Wood Carving
True whittling has always been very simple. Details in the wood arenð€™t very refined but rather pretty coarse. When you are holding a whittled object in your hand, you know it. You can plainly see each knife stroke. Using sand paper isnð€™t an option.  This is the exact opposite of wood carving, which typically excels in details. When youð€™re holding a wood carving of the same object, you usually wonð€™t see even one knife stroke. Itð€™s very interesting. Whittling a little girl could take a week when all youð€™re using is a knife. Wood carving the same little girl requires more tools but it takes just a fraction of the time. Sheð€™ll also have many details that couldnð€™t be produced with just a knife. ÂWhittling requires no special tools, no special circumstance or any specific type of working environment. Just you, a piece of wood and your knife are all it takes. You can whittle anywhere inside or outside your home, in a car, at a picnic, in a parkð€”nearly anywhere. This is not so with detailed wood carving.
There are quite a number of special tools that youð€™ll likely be using when wood carving. There are detail knives and carving knives, wood rasps and wood files, wood gouges and wood chisels. And these arenð€™t all of them. (Ever heard of a sanding stick?) Thereð€™s a very good chance that youð€™ll probably have a handful of power tools as part of your wood carving tool kit. Then youð€™ll also need to concern yourself with how to supply electric power. It isnð€™t so simple.Â
You really do need a designated work area when youð€™re wood carving. You usually arenð€™t even holding the wood youð€™re working on. Many times itð€™d be a vise doing that for you so youð€™ll need a good work bench or platform. And with all those valuable tools around, you donð€™t want anyone fiddling with them. Besides the possibility of losing them, many of them are dangerously sharp and no one should touch them but you. And what about that special creation that youð€™ve been working on for so long? You surely donð€™t want any spectators scoping it out when youð€™re not around. Who knows whatð€™ll happen? (Hey, whereð€™d the nose go?)
The act of whittling is considered to be a contemplative, meditative process. It isnð€™t so much what youð€™re whittling but the process itself. Wood carving, on the other hand, is more of an end result process. You strive to create what you see in your mind with all the details that come with it. Youð€™ve a product to produce and so you may not care to spare any time.
It comes down to a matter of taste and how you feel. If you have no care to rush, you want to take your time and see what happens, whittling could be for you. If youð€™d like to see just how skilled you can be, how good you are at bringing out details, wood carving may be just what youð€™re looking for. Hey, try them both. You might surprise yourself.
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Len Q. is a master blade sharpener and an adventurer who strives to protect the natural world. Â If you would like to learn about
            - Knife Sharpening: How to Sharpen Knives, Maintain and Store Them
            - The Fastest Way to Sharpen, Tests for Sharpness and more
            - Sharpening Other Edges
             (e.g. Chain Saws, Gardening Tools, Axes)
            - Or maybe you could use a Free Guide on Sharpening Lawn Mower Blades
Find it here at www.MakeKnivesSharp.com.Â