If you’re unfamiliar about where to start after getting your wood burning tools then try to just focus on starting something to get you familiar with your tools.

Here are some wood burning designs that are great pyrography patterns to begin with (some of these examples are first time attempts at wood burning!).

Animals

 

  

   

   

Animals are very popular to do and are surprisingly simple wood carving ideas once you get the texture of their fur, feather, scales, etc. right.

Start off small, analyze what could be improved, then find out how to do it better.

See how the owl example above doesn’t have any realistic details on its feathers but, aesthetically, looks good? Great idea. [Read more…] about Stupid Simple Wood Burning Designs For Beginners

Using a sharpening stone can be a little overkill if all you really need is a little touch up before your knife is ready to go again. Which is why the best leather strop will allow you to fix anything from blemishes to rolled edges in seconds.

Frequently used with compound, these fine abrasives are what can give a mirror polish to an edge.

We determined the best leather strop to use for wood carving tools is the Garos Leather Paddle Strop that comes with white, green, and red compounds. 

How to use a strop

First you must apply your compound (black, white, red, or green) to the leather strop, a little bit goes a long way so there is no need to cake it on there but do make sure the strop is covered in the compound.

Lay the bevel against the surface of the best leather strop and apply light pressure and begin moving the blade away from the cutting edge. Flip the blade to the opposite side and repeat the process.

It’s important not to move the blade toward the cutting edge because it will cut right into the strop, which will cause dulling of the balde and ruin the best leather strop. Four to six strokes is enough to get the job done.

If you want to maintain that razor sharp edge, you will need to strop your blade before you even think your edge is dull. [Read more…] about Best Leather Strop For A Mirror Polish Edge

Have you ever tried carving a spoon with JUST a whittling knife?

If you have then you know it practically takes a lifetime to accomplish. Granted, it CAN be done, but if you want the bowl of a spoon to have a smooth finish then I suggest getting the best spoon carving knife (a.k.a. “hook knife”) to do it.

Luckily, for a decent hook knife, it is quite affordable to purchase and even easier to maintain, but I would not advise buying just any hook knife. You have to know which one is the best spoon carving knife before you can make a decision like that.

[Read more…] about Best Hook Knives For Easy Spoon Carving

Splitting, chopping, breaking your back to get the wood just the right size for your stove or fireplace can be a long and grueling job. What you want to make sure of though, is that it is no harder than it has to be. To do this, you need the best splitting axe for chopping wood available!

That’s why I wrote this guide, to help you find the best axe for splitting wood. There are small yet crucial differences between different types, and each is made for a particular job. 

For instance, the best splitting axe is not designed to go against the grain like a felling axe, but instead, will split the wood along the grain. Even this small detail is crucial to saving you a lot of back breaking labor!

If you want to find the best axe for splitting wood, keep on reading! [Read more…] about Top 6: Best Splitting Axe Reviews

The adze (also spelt adz) is a wood cutting tool dating back to the Stone Age. With its broad and rectangular head, its appearance is largely axe-like. The head of the adze, however, is attached at a right angle to the handle, like that of a hoe.

What is it used for?

The adze is a versatile tool, with numerous variations of different weights, sizes, and blade shape. Different types of adze are have been specifically designed with certain tasks in mind, but generally speaking, the purpose of the adze is to shave slithers from the wood’s surface, rather than chopping out sections. It can be used for hollowing curves, or for shaping and smoothing flat pieces.

The history of the adze is long and geographically far-reaching; it’s actually one of the earliest-dated tools in archaeological record. Examples of the adze dating back to the Stone Age have been discovered across Europe, and there’s evidence of it having also been used by the Maori tribes of Australia and the native people of the Northwest American coast. Depictions of the adze have even been found in Ancient Egyptian Art, from the Old Kingdom onward. [Read more…] about The Adze Tool: History, Safety, and Technique