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Dan Miller of 48days.com found this sign in Lynchburg, TN...
"To the casual observer, carving and whittling may appear to be similar pursuits. But the two are related only by the fact that each requires a sharp knife, a good piece of wood, and, as with most things round here, a fair amount of time. Here’s how to tell the difference. If a person is carving, he is making some sort of useful object. Odds are he will end up passing this object on to somebody who will appreciate the gesture greatly. In whittling, on the other hand, the process itself is the thing. The result of this effort is simply a poke of wood shavings. It is important to note that this does not make whittling any less important than carving. Each is useful in its own way, and rarely does a person excel at both."
Do you agree with that distinction?
If so -- or not -- which one do you do? I find myself doing a bit of both. Sometimes it starts as carving, but ends up just whittling. Other times, it starts out as whittling and becomes a carving.
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Designer Firewood Created Here!
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| POSTED BY: CharlieB on 04/29/2008 17:03:32 |
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Matt, I like to think of myself as a carver, I am sure it is all in the perseption of the event of carving or whittling. I am sure I am way off base here and I am sure I will here about this but around here if you are thought of as a whittler the perseption is that you are a little older than say a carver. So if there is any truth to that statement I want to be thought of as a carver. CharlieB |
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"Whittling" is a verb: the action of shaping a piece of wood with a knife. This suggests to me a process not necessarily aiming towards a finished product. "Wood carving" is both a verb and a noun: ie. both the act of creation and the finished product. A completed piece of our art, even from a session with a knife is not called a "whittling" but a "carving". When you pick up a tool, any tool, and a piece of wood with the intent of creating artwork the term "whittle" no longer applies. Most of the time I would like to think I'm carving. The only exception I can think of is when I'm making chips to demonstrate grain direction or hardness of a piece of wood. Larry
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WorkingInWood
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I went through this.. when I was teaching many years ago so went through all those BIG thick books they call dictionary's.. and after reading all the words written for WHITTLING and CARVING I came up with the words written for whittling were closer than the words given for CARVING. I never did once, find carving meat listed after the word WHITTLING. I had a little handout years ago that I use to pass out at the my Beginning Carving class with all this information on it..sorry to say, but I do not have a copy of those words of wisdom any more... That's my 2 cents worth.. Have a nice evening Will in Vancouver WA |
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A simple, but very adequate answer. My sisters and I have had this discussion. We were both very closer to our grandfather. Grandpa had been retired for all the time he was still with us. There were four things that Grandpa aways kept close at hand: pocket knife, piece of wood, hand rolled cigarette, and the porch swing. Oh! I almost forgot his cough medicine (hee hee). When I started carving, my sister asked me if I remember Grandpa every carving anything. To that I said "no", just piles of chips. My wise sister then said, "Grandpa was a whittler". So I accept your simple difinition of whittling. I will stop refering to some of my less than decent carving as just whittlin. Tom |
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Whittling to me is simply some free form carving done primarily with a knife and is a pasttime or hobby. It seems to also be portable, have a knife, a branch or small piece of wood, a place to sit and you're good to go. woodcarving seems to me, to be much more complicated. You need an idea in your head first, perhaps a pattern, some fancy tools and accessories, reference books, a wood selection, technical knowledge, a work area and so much more. Woodcarving is a craft or art, me thinks.
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Carving In NYC
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