# Whittling vs Woodworking



## maxz (Nov 16, 2015)

Hello I am new to this forum but have taking up the hobby of whittling lately. Does anyone know what is the difference between whittling and woodworking? And is there anyone who prefers whittling over woodworking?


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

I don't know what is the 'proper' way to look at it but I will tell you the way that I would look at it. Whittling is woodworking, carving is woodworking, and chip carving is woodworking. They all require knives or gouges and chisels which need to be sharpened and these tools are then used to cut and fashion wood. I suppose they would be subsets of woodworking. When anybody gets serious about any of these they will probably want to add things like a miter saw and maybe a table saw. Then maybe add a drill press and band saw, etc. Of course they maybe already had this stuff and branched of into these subsets. A couple of other subsets would be scroll sawing and turning wood. A lot of people end up doing it all. It's all woodworking in my mind. That's the wonderful thing about woodworking - you can do so many different things with the hobby.

BTW, welcome to Lumberjocks, Max.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


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## Johnny01 (Nov 17, 2015)

I would agree with helluvawreck. I consider myself as a whittler since I don't make elaborate pieces using chisels and mallets but when it comes down to it is really all woodworking. As long as you are having fun and making cool stuff it doesn't really matter how you classify it.


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

Unless you are whittling something other than wood, you are woodworking (ie: working with wood).

Cheers,
Brad


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## maxz (Nov 16, 2015)

Hey thanks guys for the info. Maybe I will hone my skills "whittling" for now and move up to bigger more intricate projects as I get more comfortable with the craft. Can you recommend any books or websites that would be helpful to gain some basic knowledge?


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## Johnny01 (Nov 17, 2015)

I have a book called complete starter guide to whittling which has some pretty cool projects in it a tips for beginners probably can find it on amazon for cheap. Also whittlewise.com is a pretty cool site that breaks down some of the basics. Hope this helps happy whittling!


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## maxz (Nov 16, 2015)

Alright I will check those out. Thanks!


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

Look into chip carving. Very interesting stuff. If you like, look at FancyChip's projects.


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## torpidihummer (Apr 29, 2013)

My enjoyment of wood working started as a little boy making toys or just, sawing and
hammering away on anything I felt practical to play with. Most of us had small pocket
knives, a hammer and a saw. So this 'love affair' in wood working has grown and the
purchasing of many 'wood working toys' band saws, table saws and an assortment of
many other power tools. Then one day as my wife were on one of our many Travel
Trailer trips, as I enjoyed the view I whittled away on a piece of found wood and was
amazed, as I carved a small bear. Since then I have carved many enjoyable small wild 
animals, along with the purchase of any and every wood carving books, along with a
huge assortment of carving tools. I have had a twelve year love affair with carving,
I now specializing carving 'birds of prey' with power tools. Bottom line wood 
working, whittling, carving all go together. 
Oscar


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## ClaudeF (Sep 22, 2013)

Whittling is normally considered a subset of woodworking. Most people think of whittling as some old guys sitting on the porch of the country store making small pointed sticks out of pieces of firewood. In actuality, whittling can produce quite intricate items.

Here are 12 books covering the subject:
http://www.foxchapelpublishing.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=whittling

Claude


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## Bluepine38 (Dec 14, 2009)

There is one older man in the local woodcarving club that uses a very sharp pocketknife to make carvilngs
that are better than I can make with my carving knives. We are both woodcarvers and woodworkers,
but I would say that his work makes him quite a few steps above me.


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## rwe2156 (May 7, 2014)

There is a different between working with wood and woodworking.
By some of people's definition, chopping firewood or demo-ing a stud wall is ww'ing.

Its like saying "microwaving a pizza is cooking?" Don't ask a chef that question.

But yes, carving, whittling, or any activity that creates something from wood is ww'ing.

Good luck on your venture. There is all kinds of carving.
I took up chip carving a couple years ago and took a class from Wayne Barton.
Its quite relaxing and fun.

I'll be taking a mallet carving class in a couple weeks looking forward to that, too.

If you ever decide to build furniture, you can embellish with carving to set your work apart.


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

My brother and I were always in woodworking manufacturing plants and ended up with an architectural molding plant with five Weinig molders. The most workers that we ever had at one time was around 50. Whenever somebody applied for a job we always asked them if they had any woodworking experience. Over the years we always had a number of them say "yes" and when they were asked what experienced they had some would say that they knew how to sharpen a pencil in a pencil sharpener. I always gave these people credit for being resourceful. If you think on it a pencil sharpener is a woodworking machine and in their minds they were woodworkers. ;-|

helluvawreck aka Charle
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


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## torpidihummer (Apr 29, 2013)

How about just having fun on what and how we carve, I just enjoy working 
with wood, adjusting my small work shop so I have enough electrical outlets,
building my carving tables that make my work more comfortable. But most
of all I have put all of my so called 'wood working' experience to help me
become a comfortable 'retiree' and just enjoy what ever I do.
Oscar


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