The Little Book of Whittling

I was so impressed by this little book that I bought a copy for each of my adult children, along with a Victorinox Swiss Army Tinker, and a few other sharpening tools and materials, as well as a block of Basswood. They will be admonished to learn this skill and when the time is right, pass the skill and tools along to my grandchildren... or let me enjoy doing so. This is the first of two great books I have found for learning to whittle; the other is Whittlin' Whistles by Rick Wiebe. Both of these books are filled with illustrations and detail of technique for maintaining your pocketknife to whittle as well as be successful in the projects. On-line one can find instructions for whittling a whistle, a ball in cage, and other items, but a well-illustrated book is more effective. Another booklet I have found is Whittling for Beginners by Salty; this is available only from select Woodcarving stores. Lubkemann's book is a great resource for not only teaching the skill of whittling, but also it offers snippets of outdoorsman and woodlore knowledge covering a very broad range of topics - reminiscent of the Boy Scout Handbook or Field Book of years ago. Ten of his 90 pages cover topics of pocket knife selection (he prefers the versatility of the Swiss Army Tinker), sharpening, and whittling cutting techniques. Lubkemann's projects are drawn from art and utility from the out-of-doors, covering spoon, fork, spreader, carved figures, walking stick, sling-shot, whistle, and more. His raw material is the fallen branches found almost everywhere except for the densest urban setting. Highly recommended.

Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts can go through a simple training program to earn the privilege to carry and use a pocket knife on campouts. Once the privilege is earned, the boys typically find sticks and carve the ends to a point making pokers. Pokers can be used for roasting marshmallows and hot dogs, as well as, jabbing fellow scouts (Ah oh!). I have been searching for a resource to help the boys focus their new found skill on things that might be more constructive and creative. The Little Book of Whittling provides that resource! This is a great idea book filled with basic and intermediate whittling projects that transform twigs and branches into wooden knives, spoons, stick figures, animal shapes, miniature canoes, and more. This handy book also provides tips and instructions for the budding outdoorsman. These topics include proper knife care, safety tips, fire building, recipes, identifying poisonous plants & snakes, and other camping hints. I recommend this book to anyone interested in learning how to whittle or to anyone wanting to share the fun of whittling with responsible kids ages 10 and up.

Educational

good book easy to understand

Excellent book , I used to whittle a bunch as a kid and life got in the way until now. I wanted to take it back up so I looked for the knife I used to use (now made in china) so picked a case stockman (medium) knife (awesome knife better then I used to have). Now onto the book.... First off I picked up two books and this is the best one by far for the beginner. It is very detailed on the projects with lots of east to understand pictures as well. Lots of good information from sharpening your knife to how to use it. Now the big bonus is for the true outdoorsman he provides tips on the bottom of the pages that I have only heard growing up in the scouts some were even new to me and I have multiple "survival" type books. Another great thing is he provides bubbles throughout the book with things like animal tracks and lots of other things to use in the outdoors I won't spoil it. For $10 it’s a bargain it will provide hours of things to do. If you need a book to relax and pass time in the outdoors this is one of my favorite ones yet.

While the book covers a lot of safety and good knives to use, don't expect any instructions on making a chain or a ball in a cage. That said, once you get some basic instruction there are tons of projects for free on the Net. I like the book because there are plenty of projects you can make from twigs that are probably scattered all over your lawn, and it's good to start learning on "free" wood instead of blocks of basswood you have to buy. Heck, my neighbor just cut down a tree and I now have enough wood to keep me busy for months.

This book is good for someone who is new to carving or whittlin. It would make a good book for a young person learning what to do with a pocket knife. It has a number of fairly easy projects pretty much anyone can do. I will point out that several if not most of the projects have a list of tools needed and include power tools in some cases (e.g., power drill, etc.). While it is possible to complete the projects without the power tools, the projects will take a bit longer and require some diligence and ingenuity in the carving process which is not a bad thing for people to develop. If you are on your own and wanting a place to start this book can ease you into the world of making wood chips.

I like this book! The text is concise yet clear, with a few choice tidbits thrown in for good measure. The illustrations are wonderful. You almost don't need the directions. I would recommend this book for anyone interested in learning how to whittle. It will give you a good foundation. Happy Carving!

Super livre, très abordable, très clair et synthétique. Peut être trop sur les bonnes manières de tenir le couteau. Ça ne me gêne pas car en parallèle je me suis beaucoup documenté. Les projets proposés sont vraiment chouettes, je recommande vivement pour ceux qui souhaitent démarrer la sculpture sur des projets simples.

Es un buen libro, el autor es muy reconocido en todo el mundo como uno de los máximos exponentes de este hobby. Pero para empezar en el, aun que tiene los ejercicios básicos y algunos proyectos, el resultado final de estos, es un poco aburrido aun que son los clásicos del hobby.

happy with purchase.

Ottimo libro! Tutto in English, con un buono dizionario della oxford, ti invoglia a tradurre. Spiega: come "tagliuzzare" il legno con un semplice coltellino svizzero, tutte le specie di legno, come affilare il coltello e tanti altri consigli utili... Contenuto: coltello, coltello per spalmare, cucchiaio, attizzatoio, forchetta, figure stilizzate, anatra, uccello, pesce animato, fiore, albero, canoa, bastone da passeggio, fionda, fischietto e grattaschiena. Lo consiglio a tutti, associando anche il coltellino svizzero e il dizionario d'inglese ! ! !

I'm really pleased with this book. There's a really short introduction to the author and the topic and some advice on tools and materials, then its straight in to the projects. Very little fuss, just lots of ideas of things to do with wood and a knife. There are lots of different things to make. From toppers for walking sticks to knives, forks, and spoons, as well as ornamental flowers and trees. Each guide is accompanied by lots of clear colour photos and the writing is concise and unpretentious. Some times it feels a little 'thrown together' - one or two photos of materials have captions along the lines of 'this bit of wood is a bit bigger than it ought to be' - but these little things tend to make the book feel more like something a friend wrote than some professional tract on woodworking. It could be more in depth as to the types of wood that are best to work with or optional tools to use, but the author has opted to keep it simple. Whittling isn't that hard or complicated. Just pick up some wood and a knife and have a go is the message here. There are also quite a few tips for camping and hiking trips too. This is a book written by someone who just loved being outdoors but also knew that experience is really the best teacher. I can't say how useful this book is for experienced whittlers, but for relative novices like me, its a great primer and inspiration.