By Rabiha Othman
I’ve liked building things since I was a kid. My room is stacked with Legos, models, K’Nex and ROKR wooden puzzles. However, I’ve always had trouble thinking up my own designs or starting projects without provided instructions. Last semester, I built a model rollercoaster out of sticks of balsa wood and super glue. It was hard to start, but once I really got into the project, I had a great time. There’s just this amazing feeling of accomplishment when you finish something you’ve built from scratch (a lot better than finishing a Lego set). It got me thinking about how I need more of this feeling in my life.
I decided to look for a hobby that would sort of cater to this idea of accomplishment, without being expensive or taking up too much time to learn, and preferably it would be something done from the comfort of my home. The problem is that I’ve never been super artistic, and all the general hobbies one would think of require a lot of creativity and a lot of time. Drawing and painting, knitting and crocheting, pottery, or photography. Others require good weather, like gardening or hiking. They’re both great hobbies, but they’re not really things you can do year-round in the Midwest.
So, my hobby hunt had to go places not many people go, and I came across whittling. Whittling is probably one of the easiest hobbies to begin, yet it’s sort of slept on. All you need is a good piece of wood and a sharp knife. Basswood is the best kind of wood for beginners, because, as a softwood, it’s easier to carve than hardwoods such as walnut and cherry, which require more skill and sharper knives. It also has a uniform grain, which makes chipping less likely and cuts more predictable. Basswood is also very cheap. I got a pack of small square and rectangle blanks for less than $20.
Another thing to note before starting a whittling project is types of cuts. The simplest cut is the push cut, where you push the blade out and away from yourself. On the opposite side, a pull cut is when you cut towards yourself, helpful when cutting against the grain. This cut can be a little more dangerous and beginners should wear thumb guards to protect against injury. The V cut is just what it sounds like; you’re essentially making a divot in the wood by cutting at an angle on both sides. A sweeping cut is similar to a V cut, but instead of making a V-shape, it will flow with the wood like a dip. There are other types of cuts, but these are just a few of the basics.
After doing a little research on whittling, I started my first project. I made a little mushroom out of a rectangular figurine blank. I had fun making it, and I didn’t really have any expectations going in, so it turned out all right. Just from the one project, I was already getting a feel for the wood and how to make different types of cuts. My second and third projects are going to be a bowl and spoon, which I’ve already started. These will take me a bit longer than the mushroom, but I think they’ll be good projects to help improve my skill for harder projects in the future.
For anyone else interested in starting a niche hobby, I would say go for it! There’s no harm in trying something new. You might even find that it turns into a lifelong hobby.
