By
Keith Randich
There used
to be a time when people had the knowledge and skill to take
materials at hand and create the things they needed to survive.
That material usually was wood, as trees stood in abundance.
Although the objects they created were not permanent, the
wood was able to be worked by the few tools those people possessed.
Once their shelter was complete and the livestock penned, they
built articles that added to their comfort. As their lives
improved and time permitted, they would use their wood-working
skills to produce ornamentation and entertainment. A chair,
a spoon, and a bowl were designed to fill utilitarian purposes,
yet each one became an object of decoration in the hands
of a whittler during the long, cold winter.
Toys were created for children, chests for blankets, and boxes
for pipes, tobacco, and other items of value. Towns appeared
and businesses were able to provide many of the items that
people had been forced to create for themselves. Laws of
fashion and social status dictated that homes be equipped
with items produced of shiny materials from far-away places.
As the necessity to create faded, so went the knowledge and
skills that so many possessed. For many years, only a small
number of artisans, and a smaller number of hobbyists, carved
furniture for the well-to-do and objects for the secular
trade. I find it interesting that the last twenty years
have seen a rebirth of handcrafts such as woodworking and
woodcarving.
In the same period of time, we have seen so much technology
put in place to enable us to do less and less work, thousands
of folks are going back to activities that our ancestors
found socially unacceptable to be performing. It's as if
a large segment of the population gave up their TV remotes,
70-channel cable, and leather recliners and decided that
perfoming might be a little more interesting than being
a fulltime audience. After a day on the rock pile, they
found a couple of hours spent in front of the workbench
a much more creative release than taking in the network's
New Fall Lineup.
The term "whittling" conjures images of old men making shavings
while sitting on a bench in front of the general store.
My definition of whittling (and Webster backs me up on this)
is simply any carving done with a knife. Carving implies
the use of chisels, gouges, and a mallet, while sculpting
is just carving while wearing a beret with a plump nude
sprawled out in front of you. Feel free to substitute any
of the three terms when speaking to your friends and family.
The intent of this text is to distribute some of that lost knowledge
back to people who are tiring of playing the spectator role
and are looking for an avenue to channel their creativity.
The text is ordered such that skills taught in one project
are built upon in the next. This book differs from many
other instructional carving books in that I really try to
present each step separately. It means we'll start out slowly,
but I guarantee you'll know which end of the knife to push
by the time you've completed a couple of projects.
Thanks.....Keith
The
book is OLD
TIME WHITTLING
It is available from me for $9.95 postpaid.
Send to :
Keith Randich
211 Woodsmoke Lane
Rochester, NY 14612-2255
Phone: (716) 588-6442