FEATURES
A Wood Carving Fantasy
By Bob Duncan
Floyd Rhadigan is known for his quick knife, appealing fantasy characters, and tireless teaching schedule.
Carving Between the Covers
By Kathleen Ryan
Italian sculptor Nino Orlando reveals the hidden magic in carved books
Carving a Place in History
Woodworker Barrie Casement is helping to restore St. Patrick’s Cathedral
Winning Wonders
Meet the winners of the final 2016 People’s Choice Contest
PROJECTS
Bringing Home the Tree
By Russell Scott
Model T delivers memories of Christmas past
Oak Leaf Tray
By John Shortell
This heirloom tray is as useful as it is beautiful
Block Nativity
By Andrew DePace
Stylized design makes a beautiful and durable decoration
Bright Bulb Santa
By David Sharp
Combine two Christmas classics with this clever ornament
TECHNIQUES
Carving a Nativity Scene
By Carolea Hower
Adaptable design can be displayed on your tree or mantel
Simple Santa
By Dave Stetson
Change a few details to customize this easy carving
Santa Variations
By Susan L. Hendrix
Customize your carving by sketching new accessories
PATTERNS
Father Christmas
By Susan L. Hendrix
This slightly stylized Santa will complement any holiday décor
Casual Claus
By Floyd Rhadigan
Laid-back Santa isn’t checking the Naughty List this year
Frosty Ornament
By Jim Willis
This jolly snowman won’t melt after the holidays
Peekaboo Santa Ornaments
By Carolea Hower
Don’t like to carve eyes? This fast, fun Santa lets you skip ‘em
Holly Napkin Holder
By Marty Leenhouts
Chip carve this simple design to dress up your holiday table
Cardinal Ornament
By Jim Willis
This winter bird will add a splash of color to your tree
North Pole Snowman
By Steve Russell
Simple relief ornament can be carved and painted quickly
Peace Out Santa
By Rick Stoddard
Give Santa a retro look with this fun carving
Quick Reindeer
By Barbara Millikan
Carve this ornament in a couple of hours and then let the kids add the color
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
By Dennis and Susan Thornton
A choir of music legends rocks the halls of heaven
Carving a Caricature Soldier
By Floyd Rhadigan
New book is a heartfelt thanks to veterans
Traditional Santa
By Thomas Westmoreland
Add or ignore details to tailor this pattern to your carving skills
The Spring 2017 issue of the world's best how-to magazine for woodcarvers is packed with patterns, techniques, tips, and projects for all skill levels. Meet the father/daughter team of Nairi & Larisa Safaryan, and see how they use an indescribable technique to create utterly unique art. Randall Stoner, a lifelong fan of fantasy novels, captures his favorite tales in wood. Ralph Beam shows how to build your own carver's frame that leaves both hands free for carving. A clever geometrical design and careful carving turn Bill Johnson's flat plate into a chip-carved optical illusion. Other projects include a textured panda cub, a folk art chess set, a comical elephant hanging hook, and a keepsake rose made from scrap wood. Discover new techniques for lino print blocks, low-relief portraits, coloring book patterns, and much more!
The Summer 2017 issue of the world's best how-to magazine for woodcarvers is packed with patterns, techniques, tips, and step-by-step projects for all skill levels. The lazy days of summer are perfect for relaxing one-knife whittling projects—we’ve got you covered with projects like Bob Kozakiewicz’s simple Quick Wizard. If you want to carve and sell some perennial craft show favorites, try Vernon DePauw’s folk-art style Americana Whale, Glenn Stewart’s cheery Daisy Pin, or Don Arnett’s Custom Whistles. Found wood projects include Ed LeFave’s whimsical Sliding Ball-in-Cage, carved from a broken broom handle, and Marty Leenhout’s chip carved paint stir sticks from the local hardware store. Dylan Goodson shows how to use realistic anatomy to bring his classic Sea Captain carving project to life. And pyrography enthusiasts won’t want to miss Aline Hoff¬man’s creative techniques for woodburning soulful Animal Eyes.
The world's best how-to magazine for woodcarvers is packed with patterns, techniques, tips, and step-by-step projects for all skill levels. In this issue we feature a fine selection of relief carving projects, from Bob Stadtlander’s tranquil standing blue heron to Carolea Hower’s two-sided Thanksgiving/Christmas ornament. Dylan Goodson reveals his tricks for creating the illusion of distance in relief landscapes, while Betty Padden explains her simple techniques for high-relief carving. Other popular carving methods are well represented too, from carving-in-the-round to caricature and chip carving. Leah Goddard shows how to create a magnificent bighorn ram bust using only five tools. Mike Pounders’s trick-or-treat witch makes an amusing addition to your Halloween decorations, while Marty Leenhouts’s welcoming house sign, carved from high density urethane, will stand up under the toughest weather conditions.
The 20th anniversary issue of the world's best how-to magazine for woodcarvers is packed with carving patterns, how-to tips, and step-by-step projects for all skill levels. We offer plenty of Christmas carving ideas for holiday gifts and decorations, from Larry Green’s delightful caricature tree ornaments to an exquisite relief-carved snowman from Lora S. Irish. Our jolly assortment of Santa projects includes Dylan Goodson’s realistic St. Nick, plus a new chance to carve our very first Santa from Woodcarving Illustrated issue #1. Carolea Hower creates smiling Santas from ordinary wooden spoons, and Randy True shows how to transform ordinary golf tees into tiny Santa ornaments! You’ll also find many great projects unrelated to Christmas that will make terrific gifts. “Game of Thrones” fans will enjoy Tamera Seevers’ dragon wand, Tom Dean shows you how to use power tools to carve heirloom-quality bracelets, and Karen Hundt-Brown uses a woodburner to turn gourds into functional lamps.
The Spring 2018 issue of the world's best how-to magazine for woodcarvers is packed with patterns, techniques, tips, and projects for all skill levels. Bob Hershey shares his step-by-step instructions for creating realistic fur texture on a caricature bunny, while Dylan Goodson shows you how to carve an amazingly lifelike rendition of the human hand. Russell Scott’s charming “Holding Tightly” project makes an easy-carve gift for your Valentine sweetheart. Kathleen Ryan describes the fascinating 700-year history of hand carved cookie molds, setting the stage for Keoma McCaffrey’s delicious cookie mold carving project. With its simple body shape and feather structure, Randy Conner’s Carolina wren makes a perfect first power carving subject. And if you are just starting out in woodcarving, don’t miss Bob Duncan’s snap guide to all the tools you need to get started.
The Summer 2018 issue of the world's best how-to magazine for woodcarvers is packed with patterns, techniques, tips and projects for all skill levels. This issue includes quick-carve projects that are perfect for campouts and teaching kids. Celebrate the patriotic holidays by whittling eagle heads, or capture the sounds of summer with a wood spirit whistle. Try your hand at an action-packed baseball pitcher caricature, or chip-carve a peaceful summer scene. Harold Enlow shows how to carve a classic cowboy—from the iconic hat to the stubbly beard—in 20 easy steps. Karen Henderson reveals her simple trick that lets you handcarve colorful wood to make gorgeous spoons. Desiree Hajny teaches how to combine carving and woodburning techniques to create a fearsome tiger, and Deborah Pompano’s lighthouse pyro pattern is perfect for beginners. But whatever you carve, keep your tools sharp! You can have sharp tools in just 10 minutes by using Bob Duncan’s quick & easy method for hand-sharpening most knives, gouges & v-tools.
The Fall 2018 issue of the world's best how-to magazine for woodcarvers is packed with patterns, techniques, tips and projects for all skill levels. Get carving now with these 18 fun and easy weekend projects from some of the very best carvers in the world! Fred and Elaine Stenman present a rustic fall landscape in low relief, and Deborah Pompano proves that autumn is the perfect season to burn with a vivid cardinal pyro project. Light up your house this Halloween with a friendly painted pumpkin spook from Betty Padden, while Janet Bolyard’s fun and functional Frankenstein relief carving will have trick-or-treaters in stitches. Learn carving techniques from the experts, as Lora S. Irish shows how to create an interesting stone effect, and Marty Leenhouts demonstrates his versatile chip-carved borders to embellish a variety of projects. Bob Duncan test drives the hardiest wood-removing tools on the market, and offers a handy review of power carving basics.
The Winter 2018 issue of the world's best how-to magazine for woodcarvers is packed with patterns, techniques, tips and projects for all skill levels. This holiday-themed issue dishes up a whole sleighful of Santas to keep you busy making gifts, decorations, and ornaments during the months leading up to Christmas. Beginners will enjoy making Roger Beane’s ingeniously simple Pear-Shaped Santa, and classicists will love Dwayne Gosnell’s Jolly Old Soul, while those looking for something different will appreciate Dave Francis’s Peppermint-Stick St. Nick. We devote eight pages of detailed instructions (along with 34 photographs) to help you bring Wayne Shinlever’s Dancing Santa to life. There are ornaments in abundance, along with other memorable pieces like Peter Zanauskas’s delightful Ball-in-Cage Snowman and Chuck MacKnee’s striking Circle of Love Nativity. Topping it all off is an amazing photographic tour of Betty Padden’s Carved Christmas Spectacular, an entire elfin village doing double duty as a tree stand.
Whether you’re camping, hiking, or simply on a walk, cordage is one of the most useful and important items a person can have. Not only is it crucial to have close by, but it's also a lot of fun to discover the endless possibilities! From the same author who wrote the Victorinox Swiss Army Knife Camping & Outdoor Survival Guide, Bryan Lynch teaches readers the basics of survival, 7 ways to carry paracord, and over 60 functional uses, from creating fire, collecting water, and repairing gear to keeping clean, navigating the area, making tools, and more! Learn the history of how paracord is made, what it was originally used for in the military, why it’s so popular and useful, and why you’ll always want to have it on you. Trust us, you’ll want to know!