I have been carving quite a bit, actually, but haven’t taken the time to post anything here.  I carved quite a few of those little bears while I was in Phoenix, and a few other things, as well.  Here are a few of my miscellaneous doodles.  You can click on any of the pictures below to see the full size image.

I carved this letter opener from a piece of mesquite that I picked up in Phoenix.  After sanding, I put a line of super glue on the edge and sanded it again.  It works really well.  The blade is about 2-1/2 inches long.

This, too, is a letter opener.  It’s 8 inches long, with the handle and blade being of equal size.  The wood is called Indian Rosewood (Dalbergia Sissoo), again from the Phoenix area.  After sanding, I gave it a light coat of mineral oil to bring out the grain.  I like the way it looks, but it doesn’t open letters very well.

The … whatever it is, above, started out as a branch from an oak tree here that didn’t survive last year’s drought.  I had intended to carve one of my little bears, but the wood is so hard that I became frustrated.  It’s kind of cute, but mostly a very good reminder of just how hard it is to carve oak.  The piece is 3 inches tall and about 1.25 inches in diameter.

This little doodle is another piece of Indian Rosewood.  I started just whittling a relief that curved around to capture each knot on the branch.  Somewhere along the line I got the idea to try making a corkscrew.  Nothing more than a curiousity, really.

I carved all of the above pieces with my Buck pocket knife.  There’s nothing real special about the knife other than it’s quite a bit sharper now than when I bought it.

I know these pieces aren’t exactly high art, but working on them did keep me amused and occupied during a particularly difficult period.