Spyderco Forums

I'm no expert when it comes to whittling. Nay, I'm mot very good. But on beautiful Spring weekends I love to sit out and do a little carving. I generally use a traditional pocket knife for this, lately my yellow boned GEC Churchill. However, since I always have at least one, if not two, Spyderco's in my pocket, I've started considering using one of these for whittling. I was wondering if any of you whittle and if so, do you use a Spyderco? What model do you find best? I tried my Chaparall today and the thin blade was excellent, however the thin handle became uncomfortable after too long. I may try my lil' native soon as it has a much thicker handle. Any thoughts or experiences doing some Spydie whittlin'?

I find the Native works well. When using the choil the ergos are great and the smaller blade is easy to control with that full grip. I have a custom Puukko that does most of my whittling but when I grab a folder it is usually a Native. For me a small blade and a full grip are confidence inspiring and for me that carries a lot of weight when whittling. The edge isn’t ground as thin as it could be for wood carving but it works.

I used to whittle regularly and tried all sorts of folders but none performed overly well and hurt my hand sooner or later through hot spots.

I bought three Mora Sloyds like the one bellow. It’s the longest in the series. I also have one with a shorter blade and one with a Wharncliffe blade also but can’t find them at the minute. They’re a laminated blade with carbon steel core and a pleasure to use and sharpen. :)

You got it bloke. The Mora 106 seems to be the carver that other carvers are compared to. My go to is this guy. The blade is almost four inches so it is a tad long for a carver but I love it.
The Scandinavian knives are inherently good carvers. I have a buddy who had a Nilakka and I got to play with it. I imagine it would be a great carver.

Great minds think alike Darby. :p

I like whittling balls in cages and I’m a little manic so I’d whittle for hours on end and would give it away because my hands would cramp up but never a hot spot. :)

I can’t see your pic.

OK, I can know. That’s a beast!

Air or Nilakka would get my vote.

Wolfspyder

Johnnie1801 wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 30, 2018 5:54 am

Wolfspyder

+1

The Bradley Air is a terrific whittling knife. Anybody who wonders why they'd ever want to make a gent's knife out of M4 just hasn't done enough whittling to understand.

I used my PM2 in s110v yesterday on some cedar sticks. That s110v is super hard and still cut the cedar like a champ. You looking into real whittling or serious wooden spoon makin..

I forgot about the Woldspyder. I do not have one but I imagine that it would do quite well. At the very least it has a good grind for the task.

I'm definitely going to look into get a Bradley Air! I'd love to have a good whittling spyderco. I always feel a bit guilty when I reach for a GEC or my bark river lil' carver

Due to the blade geometry, I can't imagine any Spyderco being any good at whittling or carving.

I use a fixed blade puukko. If I needed to use a folder, Wolfspyder.

Maybe a shaman for the ergos of long term use and stout yet pointy tip for intricate details?

Guys, you're perhaps being to critical (I don't mean that in a bad way). I'd say any pocketknife is a whittler, if the blade's not too thick. That's what pocketknives are for. :) Here's a bit of fun I had with a Spy-DK.

Irrespective of the brand I’ve found there are two prerequisites for a whittler/carver. A zero edge angle and a comfortable handle. :)

A steel that handles a zero grind is also advantageous. :rolleyes:

I like wharncliffes for whittling. Haven’t tried the wharnie Delica yet but that one would probably work well.

Personally I currently use a Terävä Puukko 110 for my (strictly bush league) whittling tasks but as this is a Spyderco forum, Ill suggest the following great knives:

Fixed: Spyderco Puukko - practically made for whittling/wood work.

Folder: Spyderco Nilakka.

Both are beautiful, utilitarian, simple and elegant knives.
I wish I had both.

This is a timely thread because there have been about 3 articles on whittling in some of the survival/prepper type magazines. In a recent issue of the "Backwoodsman" is one of the better articles yet I've read. That article was in the "March/April" issue and I encourage everyone to take a look at it. Also for the past year or so there has been a knife company that specializes in whittling blades who goes by the name "Flexcut Carving Knives" and their website is "www.flexcut.com"

I've actually been tempted to try my hand at whittling because it does look like an interesting hobby for sure. Spyderco has had such a nice selection of small blades and specialty type blades which I believe could make for a nice set of whittling knives. It's been about 9 years ago but I distinctly remember a guy over at BF who wanted a Spyderco Warren Thomas KARAMBIT model I had up for trade and he said that he was wanting one of those really bad for wood carving and woodworking in general.

I've often thought that the Dodo could potentially be a great whittling knife. I've also given thought to the discontinued Spyderco SALSA models that also be a good tool for that hobby as well. Interesting thread for sure.