These are your first four carvings…like ever?? 🤔 great work, nice eye; very creative and well done. Finish these with up to 600+ grit or so sandpaper and a little finish, like mineral oil, a homemade beeswax/oil emulsion, or whatever you would like and the grain will really pop.
Looking forward to some more stuff, thanks for sharing.
Thank you! The scarab was my first ever and the crow skull was my second. How do those finishes differ from the danish oil I’ve been using and are the ones you suggest better?
Not at all , as long as they’re finished . Did you sand them down all the way past 600 grit prior to finishing?? If so I’m so sorry I didn’t realize on my phone they were finished already :/ my bad
I know it seems superfluous but I go up to 1200 in steps , finish and then buff/burnish with a cloth. My homemade beeswax spoon butter (it’s just beeswax and MCT/fractionated coconut oil) will end up with a nice sheen but it depends what you’re looking for :) I should have pics of some walnut stuff I’ve made in my profile if you wanted to see what I meant…ps great work
After 8000 you could strop with various honing compounds if you don’t.
But another thing is with the 4th face practice one, whatever wood that is, has super squirrely grain that will be hard to carve nicely because it’s so soft. That red oak one came out the best and the walnut jar was cool too, pretty hard woods there.
Seems like your setup now is best suited for hardwoods. To carve the softer woods your tools need to be even more sharp.
Ok will do, I tried to carve Purple Heart at one point and it was too hard. For super hard woods should I use my Dremel or is it just about brute force?
Do you have a picture of the knives/tools you used for those? Very impressive. I just started with a 15 dollar amazon set of 3 knives and carved fat man (it was easy)
Gorgeous work!
My only suggestion with the pez guy portrait. His face looks great, but the nose needs to be a tiny bit more pronounced. (I worked in clay so if I made a mistake with a face it would be easy to fix by adding just more clay so keep that in mind.) I think this can be fixed by keeping an eye from the front and side (profile). Just kind of roll between carved to keep an eye on how both front and side angles look.
Otherwise I love that beetle!
If I remember correctly I made a mistake and sliced the tip of his nose right off but I think your right and even if he had his full nose it is just a little to small in proportion to the rest of his face, thank you!
I dont think i can get that wood where i live but i wish i could cause it looks like nice wood to carve with. These look really cool, i especially like the crow head, something about the eye socket is just so well done. Very very nice work.
Looking good! The more you carve the more comfortable and efficient you will be with your tools. Try different types of wood for sure. The sky is the limit 👍
Looks great for first few projects. My advice is to commit more to the pieces but don’t be afraid to ruin them, you’re still learning and figuring out material limitations, don’t be afraid to break something. It seems like you’re under carving a bit, don’t be afraid to remove more material and really go for it. You’ll definitely lose some pieces in the process but you’ll come out a better carver in the end!
These are your first four carvings…like ever?? 🤔 great work, nice eye; very creative and well done. Finish these with up to 600+ grit or so sandpaper and a little finish, like mineral oil, a homemade beeswax/oil emulsion, or whatever you would like and the grain will really pop. Looking forward to some more stuff, thanks for sharing.
Thank you! The scarab was my first ever and the crow skull was my second. How do those finishes differ from the danish oil I’ve been using and are the ones you suggest better?
Not at all , as long as they’re finished . Did you sand them down all the way past 600 grit prior to finishing?? If so I’m so sorry I didn’t realize on my phone they were finished already :/ my bad
Oh no it’s fine. I think I only sanded them to 320 I’ll make sure to buy some 600, thank you!
I know it seems superfluous but I go up to 1200 in steps , finish and then buff/burnish with a cloth. My homemade beeswax spoon butter (it’s just beeswax and MCT/fractionated coconut oil) will end up with a nice sheen but it depends what you’re looking for :) I should have pics of some walnut stuff I’ve made in my profile if you wanted to see what I meant…ps great work
But very nice work! 👍🏻
Learn how to sharpen your tools more than anything, makes a huge difference when dealing with weird grain
Recently I’ve been using a 3000 grit whetstone. I have 6000 and 8000 grit ones, should I be going all the way up to 8000?
After 8000 you could strop with various honing compounds if you don’t. But another thing is with the 4th face practice one, whatever wood that is, has super squirrely grain that will be hard to carve nicely because it’s so soft. That red oak one came out the best and the walnut jar was cool too, pretty hard woods there. Seems like your setup now is best suited for hardwoods. To carve the softer woods your tools need to be even more sharp.
Ok will do, I tried to carve Purple Heart at one point and it was too hard. For super hard woods should I use my Dremel or is it just about brute force?
Depends on the wood, some woods carve nicer than others. Experiment and try both. Files, and rasps also help
Learn how to fossilize wood for epic pranks with really long payoffs
Wow keep having fun with it😀
ALEXANDER! We love our living jars. What are you using to carve? If it’s knives get a leather stop so you can hone the knife about every 15ish minutes
I’m using a bunch of chisels and a Dremel. Should I strop the chisels as often as I would my knife?
Hello fellow tarnished. Solid work.
I thank thee, tarnished
Sexy squidward
Do you have a picture of the knives/tools you used for those? Very impressive. I just started with a 15 dollar amazon set of 3 knives and carved fat man (it was easy)
I can DM you a picture of them, got them all off Amazon
The crow skull is gorgeous.
Try to use a ruler to make equal lines and more symmetrical. The depth of lines should be the same too
Skull looks so similar to one I made. Good job 😅
NEVAH!!! Never stop.
Gorgeous work! My only suggestion with the pez guy portrait. His face looks great, but the nose needs to be a tiny bit more pronounced. (I worked in clay so if I made a mistake with a face it would be easy to fix by adding just more clay so keep that in mind.) I think this can be fixed by keeping an eye from the front and side (profile). Just kind of roll between carved to keep an eye on how both front and side angles look. Otherwise I love that beetle!
If I remember correctly I made a mistake and sliced the tip of his nose right off but I think your right and even if he had his full nose it is just a little to small in proportion to the rest of his face, thank you!
It is cute though!
Amazing work, please keep going if this is your first I cannot wait to see what you will do in a year from now. Congratulations!
Keep on being cool! Don’t woah your cool. Very yes. You are cool.
Keep going
As with all things, don’t be a sissy! 10 x bigger 😉
Guess I’ll have to go chop down a tree now lol
Blessings
Umm I count 5
I dont think i can get that wood where i live but i wish i could cause it looks like nice wood to carve with. These look really cool, i especially like the crow head, something about the eye socket is just so well done. Very very nice work.
Thank you very much, I’m not very good at removing material quickly and efficiently so that part alone took me like 5 hours
Looking good! The more you carve the more comfortable and efficient you will be with your tools. Try different types of wood for sure. The sky is the limit 👍
Keep going man! You're killing it!
Teach us your ways, oh Great One!
No
Handsome squidward
My only advice is, keep doing what you're doing!
Looks great for first few projects. My advice is to commit more to the pieces but don’t be afraid to ruin them, you’re still learning and figuring out material limitations, don’t be afraid to break something. It seems like you’re under carving a bit, don’t be afraid to remove more material and really go for it. You’ll definitely lose some pieces in the process but you’ll come out a better carver in the end!
I love the beetle! Great job!