John Hein Woodcarver

09/06/2026

The repetitive whittling of the simple Gnome head/face serves a couple of purposes.
For the beginner, it is something that can be completed in a short period of time while developing hand-strength and technique using a couple of tools (detail and optional 1 1/2" knives and a Vee gouge. After sketching in the brim of the cap I score the line with the point of a sharp knife - go deep. I then flatten the center area beneath the brim - this is where I will carve the nose. Make the flattened area wide enough to sketch in a good sized round nose. Note- if you mess up here, no problem; just reverse the ends of the piece and start over again. I use the detail knife to go all around the nose. Following the nose you can then flatten the cheeks, shape the cap and use the Vee gouge to detail the beard.
A second purpose of a simple carving if for those who will attend shows to sell their work. How so? Consider the Car Wash; it gives you a menu of choices and each choice has a description of what will be done, starting with a basic wash and ascending in price to the top level wash/wax etc. This is called "tiered pricing" where the customer is able to see and select from a variety of choices (Seen everywhere e.g.Honda offers autos- Civic, Accord, Odyssey, Acura and choices within each model LX, EX, EXL). The simple Gnome head/face is the lower tier. The second tier could be something like the small Santa Face/head (shown) in the photo. Where the Gnome is sold x dollars the Santa is sold by a multiple of x. . For example, $10 for the Gnome, the Santa would go $15 -$17 a larger Santa/Gnome would be in $30 for example. Hope this helps.

09/06/2026

Our Loon keyholders on display at Sota Store in Stillwater, MN.

09/03/2026

Painting Tip. There are a couple of ways I add feathers to my bird carvings. One is with straight, thin lines as shown on the back of the duck to depict feather groupings. The viewer's eye needs only see a pattern, not every feather that could possibly exist. The other method I use is with a fan brush. I wet the tip of it with paint, blot out the excess on paper, then slightly drag the brush across rhe back of the bird. This can also be seen on the side of the duck. Duck is acrylic over basswood, the Cardinals are red water-based wood dye with black acrylic.

08/31/2026

....and so the journey through the woodpile begins. I bought 87 board feet ( board foot = 144 cubic in) of 1 1/8" thick Basswood. Spent part of the morning cutting out 36 each of our large Cardinal and bodies of our Loon ornaments. It's carving time!

08/31/2026

And so the journey through the wood pile begins. I bought about 87 board feet (BOARD FOOT = 144 Cubic inches) of 1 1/8" thick Basswood . This morning I cut-out and shaped about 36 each of my large Cardinals and Loon ornament bodies. That took about 4 BF. I am going to be working on this pile for a while

08/29/2026

08/27/2026

Say Hon, I stopped by to pick up some Basswood and it was so pretty I knda' bought just a little too much.
Since it looks like it rain and the wood is so pretty, I had to put it in the back seat of the truck.
Don't worry, I know I promised to pick you and your sister up from the mall. I got it all figured out.
I used a some rachet straps and rope to secure a couple of lawn chairs in the truck bed and some bungee cords that you can use for seat belts on the ride home. Oh, and couple of umbtellas.
Is there any thing else you might need?

08/27/2026

Painting tip. My wife buys a stack of 6" paper dessert plates from Dollar General and cuts them into 4 pieces. They make great disposable paint trays.

08/27/2026

Is it still woodcarving if I only used a Vee tool to define a couple lines? Approx 5 1/2" × 16" , white and burnt umber acrylic, finished with Clear Shellac

08/19/2026

Here's a tip. We make a lot small Christmas ornaments for a European Christmas Market. When the top end of an ornament is thin, or a screw eye looks too large relative too the size of the ornament, we use a jewelery wire loop. Before painting, I cut the wire end at an angle so that I am forcing a blunt end into the wood. Then grip the loop with a pair of pliers close to the end and force it into the ornament, adjust the pliers and keep pushing until the wire is deeply inserted. You can make this a bit easier by dipping the end of the ornament first into water to soften the fibers. Note this ONLY works on the end grain where the wire can go between the fibers. These wire loops can be found at a craft store, such as Michael's or Amazon.