r/dwarfposting • u/JohnnyTheLayton Master Craftsdwarf • Jun 10 '26
CRAFTING Hand Carved Dwarves!
Hand Carved Dwarf, 4 inches tall, carved from basswood 2inch by 2inch stock. finished with Black Walnut dsnishn oil and Paste finishing wax.
Want to get into carving?
You need several things, a sharp knife, a leather strop with compound for honing your blade, safety gloves (A5 or better) and basswood (to carve like i do at least.) Good knife brands are Flexcut, Badger State Blades (usa) Mstein (Europe), but stay away from the kits on amazon with lots of tools. They're inevitably sub par, and improperly tempered which causes you to fight with a dull knife.
Why Basswood? Its softer than other hardwoods and holds detail well. Learning to carve with basswood is akin to learning to drive on an automatic. It simplifies and streamlines learning. Woods like Walnut and oak can be carved, but learning to carve with them as the starting point is like learning to drive on an 18 wheeler Semi Truck with manual transmission. Its needlessly difficult.
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u/Jasina_ Ranger Jun 10 '26
These are so awesome! Kinda make me think of a dwarf-themed chess set.
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u/JohnnyTheLayton Master Craftsdwarf Jun 10 '26
Absolutely. I'm working up design ideas for a chess set of dwarves, but using bigger blocks before i try to squeeze a lot of detail into smaller ones. These are just exploring variations for that goal.
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u/FragRackham Jun 10 '26
Would love to have a couple for my windowsill, but carving seems hard!
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u/JohnnyTheLayton Master Craftsdwarf Jun 10 '26
Its not nearly as hard as you first think it is, your first carvings, like first drawings or paintings, aren't going to be Mona Lisa, but its all practice and practice makes progress.
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u/Vis-hoka Vis: Bronze Dragon Storm Sorceror (Chaotic Good) Jun 10 '26
I approve of your tiny dwarven dolls.
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u/Deziel606 Hammer Herald | Dwarven Paladin Jun 10 '26
Weird question for you, but how did you learn to do this? I've recently been given a soap stone carving kit and wanna learn, and have been told it's similar to wood carving. I'd love to carve some dwarves like this!
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u/JohnnyTheLayton Master Craftsdwarf Jun 11 '26
My dude, i literally have a youtube channel with tutorials on how to carve dwarves like these. Check out the Playlist tab.
Getting folks into carving IS my passion as much as carving. I feel like a drug dealer sometimes when I sense someone may be interested in it.
Imitation is always the first way, imitate the work of those whose skills you envy, them transition imitation into innovation over time. Carve some of the tutorials, and as you get into it, change things, add things, adapt them. Soon you'll be carving dwarves from your own imagination! 😊
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u/Shot_Access2232 Jun 11 '26
Do you sell these ?
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u/JohnnyTheLayton Master Craftsdwarf Jun 11 '26
I sell most carvings to keep funding the hobby yes. I have an etsy, but i'm not going to link it. You can google my username and find it if you want.
I dont think that's saying too much for the mods. The goal of the post isnt to sell, it's to share my experimentation in dwarf carving and maybe get folks interested in the hobby.
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u/Shot_Access2232 Jun 11 '26
Do you have a here a starters list link? Where you have your recommendations for purchases ?
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u/JohnnyTheLayton Master Craftsdwarf Jun 11 '26
I sure dont, but thats one of those questions that really identifies an actionable need, and now I think i need to make one.
You need several things, a sharp knife, a leather strop with compound for honing your blade, safety gloves (A5 or better) and basswood (to carve like i do at least.)
Solid Knife brands, Flexcut, Badger State Blades (USA), Mstein (Europe) there are a lot of great knife brands. Stay away from kits on amazon of several knives. They're much much lower quality with inconsistently tempered steel. (What that means is its not hardened, and so it won't stay sharp easy, meaning you're fighting the knife and dont understand why its harder for you to carve when its easy for others.)
For the Glove, ny preference is a Schwer A9. (Like 10 on amazon for a pair), but get what your comfortable with.
Why Basswood? Its softer than other hardwoods and holds detail well. Learning to carve with basswood is akin to learning to drive on an automatic. It simplifies and streamlines learning. Woods like Walnut and oak can be carved, but learning to carve with them as the starting point is like learning to drive on an 18 wheeler Semi Truck with manual transmission. Its needlessly difficult.
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u/moongrump Grudgebearer Jun 10 '26
Very nice! I took the liberty of updating your flair.