I will be posting details of those whittlers and carvers that have inspired me here and detail what I thought how they changed how I did and do look at things in life not just carving.
First up – Geir Larsen
I’m Geir Larsen, and four years ago I retired as head of IT in our local government. I live at Lofthus, a village on the Hardangerfjord, in the west of Norway and sell carvings in a local craft store. A bit chilly but outdoor carving is possible from June.
Being interested in whittling I was always looking for the ideal knife for my style of whittling, which is small caricature animals and birds. I got pretty close with Helvies and Drakes, but they were still a bit too wide in the blade and had to me uncomfortable handles.
So I started making my own, with narrow, flat grind blades and a «flintlock» grip handle. I buy the carbon steel from the US, and shape the blades slowly on a bench grinder before gluing it into the handle.
These knives are light, sharp, flexible and turn well, which works well on my small carvings. Blade lengths are up to around 30mm. I also found it interesting to search for unusual wood for the handles, like masur birch, amboyna, cocobola, ebony and various spalted wood which I stabilize with epoxy.
I use oil on the handles because I found laquer to be too slippery. My favourite knife, «my precioussss», has a spalted birch handle, and has been at work for three years now. I even had a branding iron made for my logo.
The demand for my knives has been flattering, but I have a small production of about fifty a year, not wanting to make a job of it, which would take away the fun. Therefore I also do not take orders, but sell what I have when I have them. This gives time to whittle and give classes, which is great fun, too.
I’ve learned my whittling from carvers like Doug Linker, Sharon my Art, Arleen Zomer, Gene Messer and Ddalo carver, all to be found on YouTube, and I prefer animals because I like making small funny settings with a punchline, which is harder to do with gnomes and Santas.
Last year I was lucky to get my 15 minutes of fame on a quarter page in Daily Mirror for my art, which made even Olaf, my grumpy rooster sidekick, smile a little. If you want to see more of what I do, find me on Facebook or Instagram and feel free to follow, search for Geir Larsen and you will find me
Below are a few of the picture of my whittling/carvings I have done recently.
Last but not least. I am a proud member of UK Whittlers on Facebook, and have spent lovely days in Ilkeston on the yearly gatherings.
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