Enter whittling.
We started out with exactly zero tools specific to the trade. At first I was distracted by the need to go out and buy a knife. A beautiful, expensive, hand-forged-with-the-steel-from-the-hooves-of-an-ancient-warrior's-mythical-beast kind of knife. It took a couple of days to realise that I really couldn't justify the financial outlay on such things, so instead, I found a small vegetable knife (Forever Sharp™ Surgical Stainless Steel - how could I go wrong?), used a hack saw to remove a slender branch from a tree in my yard and sat down to whittle.
As soon as I took my position on my porch with my knife and piece of wood I knew I was onto something. I bent forward and rested my elbows on my knees (this just felt like the correct pose for the job) and struck the first blow with the blade. At this precise moment I knew that whittling deserved its revered place in the history of humankind. Seriously. It felt real. It felt calm. It felt necessary.
I worked away with no purpose other than to shave away at this piece of wood. After the bark was removed I kept going until I had a pretty sharp and satisfying point on the end of my stick. With great satisfaction I swept the little wood chips into the garden and intended to get back to my day...but I couldn't. I looked at this smooth, pointy piece of wood and it called me back. I started up again and in the failing light I whittled the other end into a sort of a blade. Wonky and lopsided, but still sharp enough to...I don't know...cut cheese?
But this is where it gets tricky. After you whittle a pointy tip and a less-than-mediocre blade, which are straightforward enough, where to from there?
- How does one pick wood?
- Where does one source this wood?
- Can we make anything useful and/or beautiful with our limited (read: virtually non-existent) skills?
- How can we have a good go at this without a massive outlay for tools?
- Can we expect to produce anything we will want to keep or give as a gift?
- Who can we find that's willing to help us along this journey?
- And do we need facial hair to fully enjoy this craft?
It's hard to research this craft without completely losing yourself in the deeply transfixing world of woodcraft. There are people out there with some seriously impressive skills. Check this, for example. It's the world's longest continuous wood carving and it's totally beyond me how any human being could do such a thing. Then there's this. I tell you, with a knife like this, this guy is NOT MESSING ABOUT. Check the tutorial and you'll feel like you've pretty much got the whittling of a fishing spear in the bag.
We'd love you to join us on our first Thing Worth Doing for 2017. We'd also love to hear from you if you are a whittler yourself, or if you know one we could hit up for a chat and a cuppa to help us on our way.
