KNIFECRAFT

foreign there's not much an ordinary pocket knife can't do and out in Hills Corners Wisconsin there is such an expert an author teacher and Craftsman Ben Hunt with Ben whittling is more than just something to do with his hands it's a craft a very Ancient One with many acceptable degrees of skill and the beauty of it is that everybody can enjoy it all it takes is a sharp knife a piece of soft wood such as white pine Basswood or Poplar an idea and practice as Ben says the best way to learn to use a knife is to keep using it and while you're at it make something Ben's cabin is full of the useful and beautiful things he's made realistic carvings of the animals and birds he knows so well symbolic designs borrowed from those Master Craftsmen the American Indians Jack can't quite believe that he'll ever learn to carve this well but why not let's start right now with the knife for we certainly won't get far without knowing a few things about that whittling knives as a rule have three blades the large one is the heavy duty working blade best for blocking out rough shapes but seldom used for fine carving the small round tip blade is the one you'll use most and is the one Ben Hunt will demonstrate for Jack the small square tipped blade is needed for scoring but no knife is suitable for whittling unless it's Sharp no knife is safe unless it's Sharp for only the sharp blade will do what you wanted to without slipping a whetstone will put a good Edge on your blade use only the fine side save the other course aside for your ex hold the blade flat against the stone As you move it slowly in a circle the bevel of the blade gives all the angle needed turn the knife at intervals to grind it equally on both sides that's one way but as in all things there's another way to sharpen a knife and Ben Hunt likes to use a gadget that He makes himself in fact one you can make too take a stick about a foot long and an inch and a half wide so memory cloth sponge rubber smooth leather and you're set the springy rubber same as an annealing pad is used to assure good contact with the blade and is tacked on the stick first stretch it about a half an inch as you tack the second end so that it lies snugly against the stick cover the rubber with the emery cloth which has been cut a little longer then hunt recommends carburundum cloth of a grade known as 180 Grit this does the actual sharpening the leather goes on the other side of the stick almost any piece of smooth leather will do an old belt or razor strop is fine Ben's going to use a piece of tanned calfskin that he can cut to exact size angling off the corners makes a neater job and when you attack it down be sure it's smooth side up and pulled tight finally rub in a dressing of oil ordinary machine oil and Rouge no not the kind you're thinking of but a fine red polishing agent sold in Cutlery stores now your sharpening stick is ready for business watch how Ben Hunt uses the steak holding it at an angle he's able to take long smooth Strokes back and forth with the blade pressed down flat against the emery cloth notice how he lifts the blade as he turns it over at the end of each stroke the back of the blade always leads the stroke using the same kind of motion on the leather side then hones off any roughnesses or feathers on the Blade's Edge well how can you tell when the blade is sharp let's compare bends and Jacks that's Jacks at the top see where the dulled Edge catches and reflects the light but Benz doesn't pick up a single highlight when a blaze really sharp you just can't see the edge and the point is to keep it that way Jack's knife obviously needs attention the best way to learn is by doing there's a nice rhythm in honing a knife once you catch it down back hold it flat and lift the blade at every turn well the first condition is fulfilled Jack's knife's plenty sharp and it's time to start work on something what'll it be something useful you can bet Ben picks out a lamp made from a Hopi Indian Kachina doll Fonda Caravan fun to know about it's patterned after the dolls carved by the Hopi Medicine Man and given to the tribe's children to help them understand the meaning of the ceremonial masks and costumes the cylinder of soft not-free wood Ben is roughed out is about six inches long and two inches across and the first thing he does is to sketch his design and pencil on the wood that's like planning anything you want to know where you're heading before you start so here are the guidelines marking off the head it's really a mask waste skirt and leg sections of the doll and now for the first cut a down cut on the collar line the next cut takes out the chip hold the knife firmly and plant your thumb down hard for it to your thumb that controls the depth and length of the cut here again note how the thumb is braced firmly against the wood serving as a steady rest and helping to pull the blade along note too that it's held well below the line of the blade and keep it well below if you want to keep your thumb now for the waste section or blanket below the collar this time it's the left thumb pushing the blade that gives you absolute control over your knife for delicate work you'll find this method of cutting most precise under the waist the doll's apron is rounded off let's just concentrate on watching Ben's thumbs and remember The Secret of a knife that never slips lies in two things a sharp blade and good thumb control Jack will have to do a powerful lot of practicing to work up to Ben huntskill but now at least he knows how to know about it and why you get a good feeling when you make things with your hands and it didn't even take an hour to finish carving this Kachina doll peg in the snout and ears and screw on the base but no Indian carving is complete or authentic without paint bright colors used in traditional ways Ben Hunt uses ordinary watercolors blue for the mask that will later get black and white eyes use lots of paint and let it soak in well or you may have to put on two coats the blanket on which the decorative design is already sketched is sometimes red sometimes brown or orange the apron is generally white with colored designs outlined in Black you'll find full instructions for Designing painting lacquering and wiring the Kachina doll lamp in your boy's life for January 1948. late that afternoon Jack puts the finishing touches on his handiwork well his and Ben hunts and he feels pretty pleased somehow it expected to find whittling more difficult maybe it didn't seem hard because it was such good fun and because the right way to do anything is usually the easy way at any rate nobody can tell him this hasn't been a big day