Reddit mentions: The best wood crafts & carving books

A strop is only for honing (the final step to achieving a razor-sharp edge), while a whetstone could be used for anything from shaping the initial bevel to honing, depending on the grit.

If you do buy some Flexcut knives, which I highly recommend, you will probably only need a strop if you properly maintain them. In fact, they recommend you never use a whetstone and only opt for a Powerstrop if you neglect them for too long.

Many sites will recommend you buy tools one by one so you can get what you need, but as another beginner, I was extremely happy I purchased the Flexcut Deluxe Set. It was probably one more knife and one more palm tool than I needed, but it helped me understand what was out there and how to use them. A good, cheaper alternative might be this set.

No matter what you buy, one of the most important things to do from both a safety and usability (and enjoyment!) factor is to keep your tools as sharp as possible. That way it requires less force to move the tool through the wood, which is a common injury mechanism, and it makes it easier to create fun things. For the weird angles with V and gouge tools, I use another Flexcut invention. It works okay, but you can get the same results with folded sandpaper or other methods. I also bought a fullsize knife strop because it really does make a difference and you can get some with a lot more surface area. I haven't needed to buy a whetstone yet.

Also, I've since supplemented my starter set with Dockyard tools, which also come very sharp and keep their edge well. So far I've only used their micro tools, but I understand they have decent sets as well.

Speaking from unfortunate experience, you should definitely pick up a pair of kevlar gloves. I had a pretty serious hand injury (partially severed tendon) because I was just doing some touchups and wasn't using my gloves and got a bit sloppy. It only takes one single wrong stroke, and I had gotten complacent since I'd been so careful in the past. The gloves let me be more reckless and have definitely saved me from cuts, although they wouldn't protect against a stabbing cut. Thumb guards are also popular, but I don't actually like them very much. The gloves are nice because you can get a great grip on the tools.

When you have a knife or a set, you'll need some wood to practice on. I found ebay to be a great resource...just search for "basswood" and pick a few different sizes. 2x2x6 seems to be a good starting point to me. Make sure it is kiln-dried as well. Here is a good assortment that is pretty cheap. Butternut is another good choice, but for a beginner, I'd stick with basswood from personal experience.

Finally, if you are wanting a good book to introduce you to the subject, I'd recommend the Complete Book of Woodcarving. I've bought a number of books on the subject, but it is definitely the best if you are only buying one and need an overview to the entire craft. Old Time Whittling is only 30 pages, but gave some great examples and was very useful to me as well.

Wow are you every lucky, that's some nice stuff there once you clean it up and if you take care of it.

For carving with gouges I strongly recommend these three books:

Chris Pye's Woodcarving Course

Chris Pye's - Woodcarving Tools, Materials & Equipment vol. 1

[Chris Pye's - Woodcarving Tools, Materials & Equipment vol. 2](
https://www.amazon.com/Woodcarving-Tools-Materials-Equipment-2/dp/1861082029/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1466087662&sr=8-2&keywords=Chris+Pye)

As a beginner I found them immensely useful to learn how to properly use and take care of my tools. If you use gouges wrongly not only do you create dangerous situations for yourself but also you tend to do worse work at much more effort than required. The first book above is great for teaching you how to use the tools, it does so by walking you through some projects and teaching you the grips to use and such. It's really good. The other two books are like encyclopedia's practically on how to look after that good quality gear you have. They'll tell you everything you need to know and more about them, like what those numbers are on the tangs (the "sweep" of the gouge) and how to sharpen a v-tool (those V shaped gouges you've got there).

For the stones I think you've lucked into something there. I used to restore straight razors as a hobby and those guys are insane sharpening fanatics and know a ton about sharpening stones. If you went to talk to them I bet they could identify the stones for you dead on. This is where they hang out. If you went on their forums I'm sure they'd love to help you figure out what the various stones are. In my experience old stones your grandpa used to have that you find outclass modern stuff by a mile and a half so long as you use them properly. I've seen it again and again when guys luck into finds like yours on that forum heh.

The knife on the far left is a good knife I'm jealous of. You could use that for any kind of knife carving work you see out there (caricatures, bird carving, etc..) not just chip carving. If you get into that make sure you get one of these and try to find some of this high friction guard tape for your knife holding thumb. That tape is the best stuff on earth and has saved my thumb from being cut in half many a time.

Finally pay close attention to what syntax said about needing a strop, that's super important as you'll learn. Just buy your own leather and glue it down to some MDF with 5-minute epoxy and then rub honing compound into the leather. Use this frequently as you work.

Oh and final bit of advice is one power tool every carver needs is a band saw, like you say to cut out patterns and do bulk wood removal. If you haven't got one make friends with someone who does quick!

Welcome to the wonderful world of whittling!

So I would recommend some basic safety gear, if you don't have it. Nice rawhide or leather gloves will help your hands avoid nasty splinters and nicks, and at worst may prevent you from losing a finger. My pop lost a few fingers playing with his power equipment, so I can't recommend it enough!

Guide wise, I've heard a few. Now I'm posting amazon links for the sake of brevity, but you can find these books elsewhere :

• The Little Book of Whittling. I can't reccomend this book enough. I enjoyed it greatly, and it is quite affordable. I enjoy the sharpening section a lot, as the pointers it gives are pretty helpful.
  
  
• Old Time Whittling. I don't own this book, but I have heard good things from others.
  
  I do like the look of your new knives as well, especially the Opinel 7. Make sure to practice safety friend!

one book that really caught my eye when i was younger was

http://www.amazon.com/American-Boys-Handy-Daniel-Beard/dp/0804844038/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1458068521&sr=1-2&keywords=boys+outdoor+survival+guide

and then this one more so as a teen...

http://www.amazon.com/Camping-Woodcraft-Handbook-Travelers-Wilderness/dp/0870495569


they are both old texts, and really don't focus on what you shouldn't do, but all the really awesome shit you CAN do and make while you are outside. Safety advice isn't near as inspiring as awesome possibilities, and you cant be an outdoorsman if you don't want to get out there in the first place!

If your son is young enough to still enjoy being read to, definitely read gary paulson's "hatchet" and his other books, as well as "my side of the mountain" by some author i can't remember now. nothing makes camping more fun for a kid than having it relate to something awesome and enjoyable BEFORE his first experience relates more to mosquito bites and sleeping on an uncomfortable sleeping pad in a wet tent.

Depending on where you are from Woodcraft is a great place to get your tools. All the guys in there are woodcarvers and are generally super nice and informative. Here's a link to their locations.

Wood types: Basswood/Lime and or Butternut are good, soft woods for beginners.

Projects: Look for woodcarving books with the step to step instructions with pictures. Books by Chris Pye are pretty good. This book is the one I started out of, doing the simple bird project which was greatly detailed and pretty easy to do!

There are so many books out there that it's hard to recommend less than a dozen or so. However, If he's into chip carving, the next step might be relief carving. This book might be a good place to start branching out. While I'm not personally familiar with the book, I know that the editors of [Woodcarving Illustrated]
(https://service.qfie.com/wcim/clsWCIMNewOrdForm.asp?PubCode=WCIM&TrackCode=J12FREE&strAspReason=210&twoparty=false) are excellent people who have a great magazine as well as a great web site.

Hopefully, you'll see some more suggestions from other Redditors.

This sub is mostly centered around wilderness survival and not so much disaster prep, although there are obviously some cross overs. If you live in a pretty urban environment you might try /r/bugout where as if you expect to be surviving the wilderness you can probably find some answers here.

Personally I think that there are definitely some good premade survival kits out there, but typically you will find that they are either lacking or have excess and you will ultimately modify them to your own preferences, which is why many people suggest just building your own.

My best suggestion would be to find a good book/s or maybe a youtube channel (or both!) and put some time into exploring survival before you put a whole lot of money into a bag of tools you have no idea how to use.

Personally I enjoy picking through [Camping and Woodcraft] (http://www.amazon.com/Camping-Woodcraft-Handbook-Travelers-Wilderness/dp/0870495569) by Horace Kephart. It is fairly dated, but not a whole lot has changed in the woods, save whatever you bring into them with you. The fire building, shelter building, woodworking techniques are all still very viable in a modern day survival situation.

Sorry about the wall of text, but I hoped it helped some.

TL;DR read books, watch movies, youtube, etc. then build your kit.

I was going to recommend this book, but realized that it's more for lathe work than hand carving. There's some stuff in there applicable to carving, though, for the knights and king/queen tops. IIRC, it has some other good tips like proper sizing and weighting of the pieces.

I see there's also a few other books that get good reviews, but I have not personally read these:
http://www.amazon.com/Making-Wooden-Chess-Sets-Kind/dp/156523457X

http://www.amazon.com/Wooden-Chess-Sets-You-Make/dp/1565231880

I'm sorry to hear your mom has passed. My mom passed 18 years ago. I loved so much about her but the thing I miss the most about her is her ability to comfort me anytime I needed it. She was so warm and caring and selfless. She always put everyone's needs in front of her own. I'll stop there because I could go on all night....

Book

Hey Bean! That's a cute nickname :)

when i was a wee lad just getting into backpacking i bought this book........http://www.amazon.com/Camping-Woodcraft-Handbook-Travelers-Wilderness/dp/0870495569

Written in 1906 it is filled with images and suggestions on gear to be had from Abercrombie & Fitch.


The author, Horace Kephart I later learned thanks to Ken Burn's The National Parks was pretty much responsible for the founding and formation of Great Smokey Mountains National Park. Which was the first National Park to be initially funded by private donors. He and photographer George Masa are the two to thank for this gem of a park.

The most important thing you can do is keep him engaged! Do fun things. If he hasn't got a pocket knife yet, he'll need one. 10yo is plenty old enough, as long as you teach him knife safety.

When he's got a knife, teach him to whittle. I bought The Little Book Of Whittling for my son and it kept him entertained for hours at a time. The book recommends good knives for kids, IIRC, so maybe get the book first if he doesn't have a knife yet.

So.....now, some projects that will keep him engaged.

• Make a slingshot
  
  
• Learn how to properly build a fire (not just randomly throw sticks into a pile). The key, obviously, is to stress SUPERVISION and SAFETY (this isn't something he can do without an adult present).
  
  
• Learn knots
  
  
• Learn how to use an axe (again, safety and supervision).
  
  
• Identify plants, like Poison Ivy or different trees
  
  
• Put together a small pocket fishing kit and use a stick as a fishing pole. Bluegill will eat just about any fly, and they're a blast to catch. Catching a bluegill will keep him engaged.
  
  
• Geocaching! I haven't done it, myself, but I've heard that recommended as a good introduction to the outdoors.

You're welcome, have fun. A good book to pick up that isn't too spendy is [Checkering and Carving of Gunstocks by Monty Kennedy] (https://www.amazon.com/Checkering-Carving-Gunstocks-Monty-Kennedy/dp/0811706303), the patterns you'll see being carved are super retro '50s '60s style but the fundamentals taught are the same for everything.

If you're making similar parts you might be able to create a jam chuck or other shop-made fixture to hold the part. Maybe this book would help?

Not OP, but one of my favorite turning books is more about chucks than turning.

https://www.amazon.com/Fixtures-Chucks-Woodturning-Everything-Wood-Holder/dp/1565235193/ref=pd_rhf_sc_s_qp_1_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1565235193&pd_rd_r=CW0R3SR6WM3DZF8A5RJN&pd_rd_w=Fpfkq&pd_rd_wg=WDth1&psc=1&refRID=CW0R3SR6WM3DZF8A5RJN

To be fair about your edit, "no in-print books" made me think of exactly what it said - I have no books in-print of that type. I have a lot of out of print books that are very high quality collapse type and immediately thought "what's the relevance"?

No need to be mean when you made the mistake.

BTW, if one frequents used book stores (the older and seedier part of the town the better...really) you can get some great books for dirt cheap usually under the "outdoors" moniker. Plus, everything written now is in today's mindset and not necessarily a perfect perspective of reality. Old books give a very neat and different look at surviving.

A 1923 gem still in print is:

Camping and Woodcraft

Horace Kephart (important enough enthusiast to have a mountain named after him)


Link

The reason it's so good is "Camping and Woodcraft" in the old school ways is what we will be doing if the grid goes down and SHTF for more than a short time.

Great read.

Reading Rainbow

Old Time Whittling: Easy Techniques for Carving Classic Projects

>https://www.amazon.com/dp/1565237749/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_BFD1wb3FS9SMB

And of course imgur has everything sideways.

My first carving. Carved from basswood with Flexcut chisels.
Textured with diamond grit rotary tool.

Two Coats Varnish + Mineral Spirits to seal the grain (3:2 , 4:1 ratio respectively) Home made stain (cheap oil artist paint + mineral spirits).

I took the basic design from 'Carving Gargoyles' and made it my own (through lack of talent and understanding of wood grain, and carelessness... the ears didn't survive the landing)

http://www.amazon.com/Carving-Gargoyles-Grotesques-Other-Creatures/dp/1565233298/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1411573306&sr=8-1

I started out with those knives (am still using them) and this book, which I found helpful because I didn't know where to start and it went through the very basics.

You should pick up a copy of Laminated Designs in Wood. It used to be ridiculously hard to find & expensive, but there are a bunch on Amazon now.

He wrote various outdoorsy things

http://www.amazon.com/Camping-Woodcraft-Handbook-Travelers-Wilderness/dp/0870495569

Here's a book on paper airplanes that guy didn't write:

https://www.amazon.com/Great-International-Paper-Airplane-Book/dp/B003RXV33K