Wood Spirit Carving, 2 Walking Stick Preparation

Learn how to prepare your basswood block to become a Wood Spirit  Cane and Walking Stick Carving Project. Another absolutely FREE, in-depth, step by step wood carving project by Lora S. Irish!

The second  chapter in Lora Irish’s Great Book of Free Carving Projects and Patterns –
“Wood Spirit Carving”- Walking Stick Preparation

Sharpening Your Wood Carving Tools

Properly sharpened tools not only make wood carving easy, they make your carving cuts safer.  A dull bench knife or chisel will grab into the wood cut, forcing you to add more pressure to complete the stroke.  That extra pressure can cause the tool to pop-out or slip out of the wood, a potential danger that can end up with a cut finger.

Sharpening is not a hard process, but there are some simple techniques that you need to learn as a wood carver.  For more free information of sharpening your wood carving tools, please visit my blog, LSIrish.com.

Sharpening Bench Knives – Explore the basic process and supplies needed to sharpen your wood carving tools.

Sharpening Round Gouges – Discover how easy it is to create a honing board for your round gouges and v-gouges.

Convert a Straight Chisel to Bull Nose Chisel – Learn how to alter the angle and corners of a straight chisel to better meet your carving needs.

Sharpening Stones – A quick look at the range and variety of sharpening stones you can use in your wood carving hobby.

Sharpening Your Chip Knives – See how to get the correct angle on your bench knives or chip carving knives.

I have checked my tool edges for sharpness, and run them over my leather strop and honing compound a few times to brighten the edge. So, I am ready to carve.

Easy Steps to Sharpening E-Project By Lora Irish

Drilling the center anchoring hole

Since my wood spirit is destined to become a walking stick topper, the first thing I want to do is drill a 1/4″ or 3/8″ x 2″ hole in the center bottom of the practice block. You can use a dowel jig for this step to ensure that the drill goes squarely into the wood.

After the carving is complete I can use a dowel pin to center the wood spirit to my walking stick staff, and drill the receiving hole.

We have a free 16-page PDF E-Project for you on
how to create the strongest joint between your
wood carving cane topper and your walking stick.
Walking Stick Joinery by Irish

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