Day One Chip Carving | Woodcarving | Woodcraft 101 

This is probably one of the most underrated shows available anywhere. This is art and entertainment and should be more popular than the garbage on youtube. Quality.

I love that expression - "Everyone has a day one"...definitely can be hard to remember sometimes! I've always wanted to try chip carving...this might have pushed me over the edge!

Lol. Talk about synchronicity. I just found your show a couple weeks ago, have been devouring the episodes, and then, just an hour or so ago, my girlfriend told me she just bought me some wood carving knives at an estate sale. I've never mentioned knives or carving to her ever, even though I am a professional woodworker and she knows I love tools. Guess this is a sign. Maybe I'll make today day one of my wood chip carving journey along with you.

Thanks for being honest and showing the "first time" openly!

Chip carving is an art form all it’s own, just the dimension by itself is a technique that can take years to master. To help with your tools fitting your hand better I have found wrapping them tightly with a soft craft foam or making a hand grip for the handles works rather well. It gives you comfort and stability. If that doesn’t help wrapping the handles with soft leather can make it easier to maneuver the cutters and sculpting tools and not hurt your hands. Remember the tribes had awls they would wrap the handles with leather to make scraping and carving easier. It’s been around for many many generations. A beautiful try, it is a learning process. I can’t wait to see how this process develops for you. Love 💕 your work.

I turned my first bowl last month. (After a couple of egg- shaped practice turns.) From a black walnut tree I cut down on our property.

Awesome. I first found chip carving when I saw a man doing it at a local arts and crafts fair. I was fascinated ! And I asked him how he learned to do that - he showed me a copy of the same book you have - which I immediately went out and bought !! LOL. It is a wonderful hobby.

I really like your channel with all the interesting crafts & hobbies one can get in to. I've recently been fascinated by the hobby of customizing knives...replacing the scales & doing file work on the knife spine. The one key word you used, "practice", is paramount in any hobby or craft one gets into. That's where I'm at, practicing on a piece of stainless steel with files or even a Dremel...and practicing with scrap wood on the 1x30 belt sander...practice, practice, practice is key. Thanks for all the great content.

Yes, we all have day 1. This may sound dumb, but if it was me I would draw a line (or use tape) on the knife blade , giving a reference to how deep I want to go. Over time and with much practice, I would not need that line anymore. Thanks for sharing.

That is the exact mindset I try to keep. Always practicing new art forms etc. The best part is that each time you learn a new skill it builds upon your other skills.

An old dog can learn new tricks, Lol. Love it.

Did my first practice carving…I’m officially hooked.

Beginner's mind is something a lot of us forget we need to embrace. Thanks for being such an encouraging teacher and sharing your start with us!

Thank you! I watch so many different videos trying to learn different things where the person says 'I'm just a beginner' and then does an excellent job, leaving me, as a true beginner, thinking I just suck at this. I've been making the same mistakes as you, so now I feel reassured that with practice, results will come, as they did with many other skills. Except lockpicking, countless hours and dollars into that and I just can't get it (not giving up, though. Stubbornness is a virtue sometimes).

I remember the fascination of watching old PBS woodworking shows do this. Such a few simple cuts made so much decoration.. when added together. Their cuts where shallow, started with triangle tip indentations... then shaved out deeper with multiple passes. Very cool

I’ve got some cheaper small knives that I’ve had the same issue with and also found the swell of the Flexcuts easier on me. But also, building up some cotton tape up over some horse ankle wrap (guys use it often as a safety tape in carving; it’s a flexible crepe tape that sticks to itself) gave me a swell that was easier on me. Then I was able to hone that previously uncomfortable knife more and more shallow over time. Now it’s a handy low angle knife I often use for cleanup or places where the grain lends itself to better use over my standard flexcut’s set up. Like where you’ve got those ‘hanging chad’s’ 😂. So don’t give up on that uncomfortable knife; it still has a place somewhere in your rotation I’m sure; even as a modified utility player. Think of a place kicker or punter…. I appreciate the shows brother 👍

I extremely enjoy every show and video you have done. Your approach of interviewing the talent, wether craftsman or artist😉, and your chomping at the bit to get your hands on the work is really inspiring. Thank you for getting a retired tradesman out of the easy chair to get my hands on the projects that might otherwise sit there collecting dust. 🙏🏻😎🧙🏻‍♂️

i'm glad this video came up on my recommended because i really needed a reminder that it's normal to suck at first. i'm learning and practicing and i'll get better over time! thank you!! chip carving is wicked hard

My wife and I are slated to take a chip carving class later this year. We will begin practicing soon. Using that compass gave me an idea to buy a Spirograph to make different shapes.

This is really cool. There is a class in my town on this, and I've been thinking about taking it. I want to get more woodworking experience, because I would love to work as a luthier some day, especially flamenco guitars.

I've always loved working with wood. Your series in general is one of my top favorite shows some of them I've watched multiple times. I've read this book a few times over the years haven't taken the dive yet into it. Chip carving is an art form in itself working with knives yeah it's therapy for me one I miss spending time with. I'll be following your progress. Seeing an artist in your own right taking this on is going to be fun for me looking forward to seeing more videos on this. Good luck man

So that's what you're working on! So exciting to learn a new craft! For me, the learning process is a challenge that I really enjoy. I think it's fun to see my skills improve when I learn something new. Love the designs you're working on! Maybe one day you can create a chip carved cross! Have fun!

Fascinating. Looks like you are getting the hang of it! I love the geometric shapes.

I have a new cedar Bluebird box that I wanted to either free-hand burn some designs into the exterior, or carve. After watching this I will definitely burn this one since it needs to go out NOW and I know I'm not ready to carve. lol - I always have beautifully inspired ideas, but need to practice much more!! Your content is amazing - thank you!

Great stuff for everyone ! Good work for starting a new skill thank you for bringing it to us all the best !!

Wayne Barton is a true master, he resides outside Chicago he would make an interesting guest, very colorful guy. His cousin is Scott Philips of The American Woodshop fame

Eric, so we'll said about craftsmanship and the mastering of there craft. This was a great idea showing and sharing day one! You have to start somewhere and that's a point you have to start and invest the time, and don't worry about making errors! Good going on this thought process and demoa Steven Columbus Michigan

Love the geometric shapes! Your design with the compass is really beautiful! It was fun to watch you begin to learn a new skill! It looked like you were learning quickly and I'm sure your skills will advance rapidly! Can't wait to see your progress and your first real project! Enjoy the process! You and Buddy have a great weekend!! God bless!

Thanks Eric, you're an inspiration to all of us!!Yes,we all hv a "day 1"for sure!👍😎

Much like our freedoms, all this knowledge and ability is never more than one generation from extinction. We sit today marveled and questioning at how the Pyramids were completed, how the aqueducts and Amazonian cities were made. It wasn’t some alien technology. Man built them and then man forgot. The skill was lost. We now have machines building our machines, think about how wrong that can go after the human skill/input is lost.

It's worth noting that even though it may be day 1 for chip carving it ain't your first foray into woodworking unless you paid someone to build that shop you are in and kit it out with a stellar array of carving tools.

Eric you might have more control on a high stool vs a chair in relief carving. Just as important as a comfortable tool handle!remember ergonomics also!

Great video Eric . Inspiring and encouraging! Also, good choice of music. 😊

Nice clean organized shop....❣

Thank you for this. As someone looking to get into chip carving I found this inspiring. =)

re: Flexcut chisels. They come sharpened to perfection with mirrored edges that gleam. The 10 piece set I bought came with a plastic bandaid dispenser with the flexcut logo on it. I laughed but after I saw them and how they could shave hair better than a Dovo straiht razor it was a sobering moment and it gave me pause. Especially after I effortlessly sailed through my thick leather work gloves and through my wrist 3 inches long and a 1/4 inch deep. Another time I stabbed my thumb's palm with a v-tool also through gloves which caused the fat cells in my palm to literally squeeze out and needed to be snipped off. I now no longer find myself saying "I'll only carve towards my fingers/hand for a stroke or two, I'll be careful this time" I just don't do it, well almost never.

I find I have more control using an icepick type grip if I'm trying to do small deep cuts especially with repetition if I want uniformity with my cuts. I first practice a few cuts till I get the correct length and depth I want then perform the same motion on the work piece. Doing all cuts of one type at once instead of carving each facet at a time also helps with making each module of a design uniform throughout. If I carve each module with each of its different angled cuts one by one then by the end of the piece some modules are larger or smaller or have differences that stand out. The difference of depth or if you cut on or over the pencil line can have an impact on the finished look. And by far I find chip carving to be the least forgiving to deviance.

Hi Eric, I enjoyed the learning and mistakes process you showed us is very encouraging. I think we All would love to see you build a bed for Buddy's cushion. something unique with carvings and turnings maybe live edge and of course some metal. Keep up the good work!

I agree with seeing the progression from novice to master. I found it very disheartening to watch a tutorial that seemed so simple to find that my own attempt looked hideous. I therefore have shown all my mistakes and even injuries plus my work at the start of a project to its completion and that practice has made me better and it takes a lot of it to improve only slightly sometimes but it does come. By far the hardest has been to learn how to sharpen and maintain chisels especially gouges. But that by far the most helpful step was by buying a few Flexcut chisels which come hideously mirror sharp. It's hard to know what you are doing wrong if the tool you recieve is blunt or poorly made to begin with. I had no idea just how important the three faces on a v tool were or that there even were three of them until I bought a Flexcut v tool. Now I'm not trying to sell you on flexcut tools only that they were the brand I finally splurged on that came properly sharp. I'm sure there are others out there like Pfeil for instance a brand I drool over but as of yet haven't bought any of. I was lucky enough to find over a grand's worth of carving gouges of so many types for $40 that I really don't need any more. But if the day comes I do i will be getting myself some Pfeil's

Make sure that your knives are super sharp that helps tremendously.

You can also use your hand on the table as a fixed pivot and your other hand to cut the chip in an arc

nice..

Flower of Life design...Drunvalo Melchizedek

Eric, would it help to put a depth line on the blade to keep it consistent? Thanks 😎

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

I've tried picking up chip carving a couple of times but the real problem for me is sharpening the knives. I've bought dozens of different stones in different grits and watched tons of tutorials but no matter what I do I can't get them sharp or even develop a burr.

Look for Daniel Clay here on youtube. You’ll be amazed!

If you ever get chip carving figured out, you can completely reset your skills by trying letter carving. You'll feel lie you've never held a knife or a pencil before LOL

Looks like shit brother. Lol I’m kidding, I’m sure mine will too when I start

thanks..cant get enough..