Whittling Techniques

Use these simple tools and techniques to carefully whittle wood into beautiful products like spatulas and other utensils.

By Rick Wiebe
Updated on October 7, 2021
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by AdobeStock/alkerk

Use these simple tools and techniques to carefully whittle wood into beautiful products like spatulas and other utensils.

Sixty-five years ago, when I was a kid, I was a burgeoning bushcraft whittler. I don’t remember if I even thought of myself as a whittler. I just did it.

“I’m going to the bush with Sandy,” I’d tell Mom as I headed out the door. Sandy was my best friend who lived a block away. Half a block away was a big patch of forest – the bush. We had great times building “forts,” pretending we were Robin Hood or Davy Crockett, getting dirty, and just having as much fun as a couple of boys could.

Whittling with a knife, axe, or saw was always part of these adventures, and we often gathered materials in the bush and brought them home to continue our projects. We had no instruction. We just got an idea and tried it, and as we did, our skills grew, and our projects even started to look like what we’d envisioned.

It was great fun, and I never outgrew it. I always have at least one knife with me. Trees tremble when I approach – especially aspens. I indulge in this three-dimensional doodling whenever I can, and I’ve found that lots of other people, with a little instruction and encouragement, enjoy it too.

I hope to offer some basic information that will speed up the learning process. But more than anything, I want to give readers a little nudge to just get started!

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