Woodcarving Suppliers

A couple of weeks ago I decided to put together a list of suppliers as a reference for anyone looking to purchase woodcarving supplies.  The following list of suppliers is a compilation of my own list plus some contributions from some of you.  These suppliers carry anything from knives and gouges to accessories and wood, and everything in between.

However, this is by no means a complete list.  I’m sure there are many other woodcarving suppliers who are not listed here.  If anyone knows of any others who are not on the list please send them in and I will add them.  They can even be knife makers or wood suppliers.   We would love to hear from you to make our list even longer.

WOODCARVING SUPPLIERS

Supplier	Website or Phone #	Products Supplied
Belcher Carving Supply	www.belchercarvingsupply.com	Tools, accessories,, turntables
Chipping Away	www.chippingaway.com	Tools, supplies, roughouts, wood
Chris Hammack Roughouts	www.chrishammackart.com/roughouts	Barflys, Professiomal series, roughouts
Dale Green Woodcarving	www.dalegreenwoodcarving.com	Roughouts, Knives
Drake Knives	www.drake-knives.myshopify.com	Knives and Gouges
Dwayne Gosnell Woodcarving	www.dgosnellwoodcarving.com	Roughouts
Fantasy Carving	www.fantasycarving.com	Cutouts, roughouts
G. & B. Sears Woodcarving	www.gnbsearswoodcarving.com	Roughouts – Cowboys, Santas, Snowmen
Greg Dorrance Co.	www.gregdorrance.com	Bases, Supplies, Smoky Mt. roughouts
Heinecke Wood Products	(715) 822-3524	Northern Wisconsin Basswood
Helvie Knives	www.helvieknives.com	Helvie custom knives
Hillcrest Carving	(717) 285-7117	Anything you need for wood carving!
Hummul Carving Co.	www.hummul.com	Anything you need for wood carving!
Jon Nelson Woodcarving	www.jonnelsonwoodcarving.com	Roughouts-Santas,snowmen,gnomes
MDI Woodcarvers Supply	www.mdiwoodcarvers.com	Supplies of all kinds, walnut bases
Moore Roughouts	www.roughouts.com	Roughouts of all kinds, stopper corks
Mountain Woodcarvers	www.mountainwoodcarvers,com	Tools, supplies, roughouts, books, wood
Stadtlander Carvings	www.stadtlandercarvings.com	Supplies, turned wood products, Safety
Steve Brown Woodcarving	www.sbrownwoodcarving.com	Roughouts, pen blanks
Sugar Pine Woodcarving Supp	www.sugarpinewoodcarving.com	Safety, Pine knots, Dremel equip.
Treeline	www.treelineusa.com	Walking sticks, carving & cane supplies
Van Kellys Carving	www.vankellycarvings.com	Roughouts-hillbillies, Santas, snowman
Wetherbee Collection	www.wetherbeecollection.com	Roughouts – all kinds
Whittling Shack	www.whittlingshsck.com	Tools, spoon kits, cottonwood bark
Wood Carver’s Supply	www.woodcarverssupply.com	Tools, Safety, Books, Wood

PHOTOS

Christmas is less than 5 short months away.  It’s time to get started on your Christmas carving.  Here are two photos of some Santas and Snowmen carved by John Tuttle Thanks for the photos, John:

QUESTIONS & COMMENTS

We start off today with some fine suggestions & comments from Dean who writes:

“On the topic of pattern versus measurements. I’ve used both. I don’t have a band saw but I do have a scroll saw. It works looks a band saw up to 2 inches. That’s something to consider if you don’t have room in the house or the budget for a band saw. I prefer measuring especially when I plan to “modify” a design. When I’m trying to more closely match a design then I find patterns handy. One down side to patterns IMHO is they can be tricky to get started. Sometimes it’s just hard to visualize the proper sequence of steps. That’s my $.02. Who else has something to add.”

You make some interesting points, Dean, which I agree with.  When working from a pattern you’re kind of bound by the outlines of that pattern and sometimes it can be hard to visualize where to start first.  Sometimes with some patterns the carver gets ‘locked’ into the design and has a hard time making their own changes.  When measuring you have the freedom to go in any direction you like.  Also, to those of you who can’t afford or don’t have room for a band saw a scroll saw is a good alternative.  Let’s hear some others’ thoughts on this subject.

Next we have some interesting insight from my good friend Wayne Smith in response to our earlier discussion on Choosing the right knife.  Wayne writes:

Hi Bob, ….. just finished reading your most recent post and it got me to thinking or reminiscing of when I got started carving. I like so many others had no clue as to what I needed for tools, all I knew was that ” I needed ’em all “… lol.  Somebody (might of even been you ) on WCI forum suggested that I get the beginners kit from Little Shavers (Rick Ferry). I did , and it consisted of a Murphy knife, 2 flat skews (which I very seldom use), a V tool  ( which I later ruined trying to learn how to sharpen it ) a # 11 gouge,  and 2 # 3 gouges ( one straight  ,and one bent). I use those 2 # 3’s on practically every carving I do these days, but as you probably know I fell under the spell of Lynn Doughty and traded the Murphy knife for a Stanley # 199 which I use almost exclusively.  As for the age old question ” what is the best tool ? ” My answer would be ” A sharp one “.

  Keep up the good work with your blog,  I will continue to look forward to it regardless of the frequency that you publish it.

Wayne 

That’s a great email with some good information, Wayne, but first let me say that it wasn’t me who suggested you buy a beginner’s set of tools because I very rarely recommend purchasing tools in sets.  The reason being, as you found out you usually find that you never use 40% of the tools that came with the set.  My suggestion to any carver looking to buy tools is to buy them individually.  This way every tool you buy is the one you want and will use and won’t have wasted your money buying tools you’re never going to use.

I never could get my head wrapped around the thought of using a box cutter as a carving knife but Lynn Doughty swears by them and he’s a pretty darn good carver.  Also, anyone else who I’ve come across that uses box cutters swears by them too so there must be something to them.

Your last remark may be the most important, and that is the best knife to use is a sharp one!  That statement couldn’t be more true.  Regardless of what kind of knife you use make sure it’s sharp!  A sharp knife cuts easily and makes whole carving experience that much more pleasurable.  A dull knife does not cut through the wood easily causing the carver to struggle and become discouraged.  More importantly, however, is that a dull tool is dangerous to use.  Because a dull tool doesn’t cut well the carver has to use more force to push or pull it through the wood.  A dull tool is more apt to slip and the carver is more likely to get injured…maybe seriously.  Make sure your tools are sharp!

We also have a gracious comment from Bob Nesbit of the Conewago Carvers.  Bob writes:

“Bob
Thanks for all you do with your blog, and I look forward to reading it every night. Hope you will continue with it. We at Conewago Carvers like to discuss some of the comments and learn from the blog as well. Keep up the good work and I look forward to the blog being continued.                                                                                                                         Bob Nesbit”

Thank you for the encouraging words, Bob! I work hard to put out an informative blog every time. I, too am a member of the Conewago Carvers. Please spread the word and encourage more members to subscribe to Wood Chip Chatter. The more followers I can get the better I can make the blog. Thank you again!

Steve Garrett asks the question:

“How do you carve the curls in Santa’s beard?”

Great question, Steve, and one I’m sure a lot of readers are wondering about.  Without the benefit of a video the best way I can tell you is through a series of diagrams which I have drawn below.  There are several ways to approach this but this method is easy and it works.  Here is a Santa ornament I carved with a curly mustache.  We’ll use it as a reference.

HOW TO CARVE A CURL IN HAIR

Step 1.  Carve out a small circle using the gouge of your choice.  Usually a #6 works fine.

Step 2.  Starting out a distance away from the circle (this will become the hair) make a long stop cut all away around the circle until it meets the stop cut again.  This can be done with either a V-tool or a knife.  From the outside of the large circle you have made with your stop cut carve back to it from the outside in the direction of the arrows, thus raising the curl.

Step 3.  From the top edge of the inner circle make a small stop cut to the outer stop cut making sure it comes to a point with the top outer stop cut.  Cut back to this point in the direction of the arrows.

Step 4.  Above the outer curl make another stop cut somewhat parallel to the first stop cut you made, thus forming the hair.  Cut back to the curl (in the direction of the arrows) to raise the hair.

Step 5.  Cut back to the curl (in the direction of the arrows) to raise the curl above the hair.  Finally, carve “C” and “S” type cuts around the hair and curl.

NOTE:  A V-tool can be used for a lot of this work if you choose.  It’s up to you.  Some carvers prefer working with V-tools and others are more comfortable using a knife.  Whatever tool works for you is the right tool.

Let the chips fly!  Tell your wood carving friends and spread the word about Wood Chip Chatter, and don’t forget to send in your questions and comments so we can keep Wood Chip Chatter Active and keep the conversations going!

And remember to email your photos to carverbobk@woodchipchatter.com

Keep a sharp edge and keep on carvin’!