Whittling 101 – Free Mini-Course

Want to try carving but not sure where to start? Start here, with the basics and nothing more. There's a lot to learn in woodcarving, and you don't need all of it before your first cut.

This guide gives you the foundation every project here builds on, all in one place: safety, the tools you actually need, the five basic cuts, working with wood grain, keeping your knife sharp, and how to read and apply a pattern. When you're ready to carve, you can jump right into a project with a knife and a practice block.

It's the same foundation I teach at the beginning of my in-person classes, refined for over a year in the classroom and built around the mistakes beginners make most often (a dull knife, wood that tears, cuts that won't pop clean) so you can get to the enjoyable part sooner and keep going.

13 pages, 35+ original photos, and diagrams made for this guide. This guide has jumpstarted new carvers with zero prior experience, including plenty of people who needed to ask how to hold a knife, and some who were signed up by friends and ended up hooked.

Free digital download. Instant access and emailed link.

Questions? Reach out anytime at maria@handtoheartwood.com. I use your feedback to keep these resources updated, so we can all be better carvers.