As promised a video on making wooden flowers with a knife. This is an easy project and is great fun for all the family. The best thing is that you only need a knife, and the wood is easily found from any hedgerow. Any knife will do as long as it has a reasonable edge on it.
I could have included a lot more but not only had my back seized in spasm, but it was also one of the coldest days of the year, hence the shaky hands. Thanks to Dan for doing the camera work.
Another video but with Dale making flowers with a drawknife. Unless I am making small flowers like these I work on a shave horse with a drawknife. The Gypsies used only a knife, usually held against the knee and the stick was pulled against the knife. I have tried this and found it very difficult. I have met people who make flowers just using a penknife and make beautiful and large flowers.
Scroll down to the bottom of this post to see how Sue makes her flowers.
A note about cheap stuff. I was given the Stanley knife blades and really I should just throw them away. Not only are they very bendy and break if to much pressure is applied but the edge blunts and rolls very quickly. They are potentially dangerous. As I have said before why do people go to all that trouble to make landfill waste, and why on earth do we buy it. Buy quality and it will last, for example the Mora knives I sell are not only very good value for money but very good quality as well.It is not necessary to spend lots on tools especially if you do a bit of research.
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Sean,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing that post. I have done feather sticks for years, maybe I will give some gypsy flowers a go now. I couldn't help noticing the beautiful bevel on your knife there, I'm going to go have a look around your site to see if I can find a better picture.
I work as a carpenter, and from time to time I have to do some sheetrock (gypsumboard) work, for which the stanley knives are ideal. The thin blades are perfect for scoring the sheetrock even when the edges go dull after the first cut. I agree with your sentiment entirely, but in this case I think the part of the dissatisfaction is due to putting the knife into an application it is poorly suited for.
Thanks again for the post!
thanks sean, just carved my first flower while watching your video... ~rico
ReplyDeleteMr. Hellman, the link in your post doesn't seem to work. Wonderful video! I think so often people think they need specialized tools to even get started. Thanks for showing us that you can make things with the tools you probably have laying around already.
ReplyDeleteSimon, the knife is a mora 106 and has a Scandi grind, that is it only has a primary bevel. Because the knife has no secondary bevel, the bevel acts a bit like a sole of a plane and helps with long flat cuts.
ReplyDeleteI started carving with Stanley knives, and used them years before cutting card and paper. Normal blades are great for this. I would never beable to cut card safely or easily with these ones.
Tom, thanks for that the link has been fixed
Just in time for Valentine's day. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteGot them done last night Sean, thanks for a great video!
Deletehttp://spooncarving.blogspot.com/2012/02/stick-flowers-for-gypsy-in-all-of-us.html
Thanks Sean, flowers went down a treat this morning! I found some old willow in a brush hedge from last year which worked well and gave a nice curl to the petals. Also tried some fresh willow but the petals remained straight. I left them in with the bunch as a contrast and they have started to open out in the warmth of the house just like 'real' flowers! Are you going to spoonfest? I have booked my ticket, 25% discount for earlybirds.
ReplyDeleteStanley used to make 2 blades to fit their knives; 1991 is the standard one and 1992 is a heavy duty thicker blade (if my memory is correct). They still seem to be available online if your local hardware shop doesn't have them.
ReplyDelete