A pagan ritual knife handle, carved in oak with a Viking-style wolf's head decoration

It was really enjoyable to do some carving with my Opinel knife recently, when commissioned to make a new handle for a pagan ritual blade.  The oak came from a tree that originally grew near Nether Stowey, on the Quantock hills in Somerset.

The Norse-style wolf's head at the end was modelled on an example that the person who commissioned me already had on some jewellery, although I adapted it for the carving. I wanted it to have the look of an object that might have been carved by a Viking carver and to be very comfortable to hold, as well as beautiful. 

The end of the handle is drilled to fit a 10mm (0.39") tang. 

This image shows the handle against a tracing of the rest of the knife, so that you can get an idea of the scale:

I must admit that I liked the appearance of the carved handle before any finish had been applied. The patina of use would have looked good on it...

...but the finishing gave it a more 'antique' style. A woodworker in the neighbouring workshop said that it looks like it was finished at least ten years ago, rather than two days ago. For the finish, I used pure tung oil (extracted from a kind of nut) and then a mixture of natural waxes. Using natural finishes seemed more appropriate for this particular carving.

I really like the thought that this piece has another, deeper meaning to its new owner than the purely decorative. I hope that you have enjoyed seeing it too.

An unusual carved wooden coat hanger commission

I was asked to carve a wooden coat hanger that looked as if it was made from old bones, for a shop called 'Tee and Coffin' which will sell alternative-style clothing. Sycamore wood seemed the best choice, as it is relatively strong, fairly inexpensive and also has a nice 'bone-like' pale colour.

The hanger was carved in three pieces, which were then joined together. A lot of the carving work was done using my Opinel knife, with later texturing carved using a small veiner gouge and a Dremel with a ball-shaped burr fitted. This texturing really helped the carving to look bone-like.

The hanging loop was taken from an old coat hanger, as bending wood to fit would have been difficult and would possibly not have worked anyway. The client also preferred that look.

Meeting Hans-Joachim Seitfudem, master woodcarver from Bavaria, at my studio

Yesterday, my friend Jo Seitfudem brought his father Hans-Joachim to visit me at my studio. It was great to meet him. Hans-Joachim is a master carver in Bavaria, with clients who have previously included the Vatican.

Although Hans-Joachim speaks very little English and my German is very poor, Jo could translate and his father was keen to look around the workshops at Bower Ashton and to see my woodcarving tools. It was easy to see that the wood dust and tools were getting him itching to do some carving himself! He also noted how he likes older British-made carving tools such as Addis and Herring Bros.

My Opinel carving knife felt too large in his hands though; Hans-Joachim said it felt 'dangerous' to him when he used it after his own, smaller carving knife. He also likes to have the cutting edges of his V-tools swept back from the tip, whereas Jo and I prefer them to be square to the tip. Carvers generally do seem to develop a strong preference for how their tools should be shaped. Many experienced carvers that I've met don't lend out their personal carving tools for this reason - breakages and bad resharpening can ruin friendships (although I don't know if Hans-Joachim feels that way).

Hans Joachim said some very kind things about the carvings on the bench for the Bristol Downs that I've been working on recently. He also liked the 'Predator bird' sculpture that he saw in my portfolio.

It was a very enjoyable afternoon and it was very interesting to hear what Hans-Joachim had to say thanks to Jo's translating. I just wish that my German language skills were better!