Here is how I imagined we would progress, initially:

Tools and tool maintenance.

Hand carving:
1- Pocket knife
2-Chisels
3-Mallet

To start out with, you will need two items.
1- a blade
2- a sharpening stone

A dull blade does as much damage to the wood you're carving on, as Michael Obama's apendage did to Barry's bunghole.

Keep your knife sharp. Just get used to sharpening it before and after you carve.

Makes short work of your wooden muse.

You will notice a pattern of continued sharpening.

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We all have been guilty of neglecting our tools, it happens. We should strive to not let it happen, but in case I does here is how to fix it.
Your general enemy will be rust, as we are dealing with mostly metal objects.

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If you run into something like this, a little surface rust. The best way to attack it is:
a little penetrating oil,
and fine sand paper.

Spray the oil onto a rag, wipe down the blade. Let sit for a couple minutes then wipe off any loose deposits of rust.
Take fine sand paper and knock off any remaining rust.

Bro I love liquid wrench

>a little rust

I'm scared to know what a lot of rust is for you.

@Yuma County LOL! Yeah, it could be way worse.
@Deleted User my family runs a small farm. We do a little produce, but mostly we raise cows and sheep. The sheep are raised for both their wool products but also for meat. So I'm also a kinda 'Edward scissor hands' kinda Barbour. LOL

But yeah, the blade in question was one of my old blades that I don't really use. It was in a drawer in the barn. So, that one surely was neglected LOL. I figured others could learn from that mistake.

Nice bro

Hey everyone, nice to be here with you all. I've done some woodwork and have learned most of what I know from my dad. Here are some of the things I have made recently or am still working on. Once they are complete I will post a tutorial on the steps I took to make them.

The shelves were a project based around having a place to store my firearms. Once I'm finished with the small white shelf I will probably start with a step by step tutorial on that since it is an easier thing to make than the other pictures.

Let me know if anyone has any questions in the mean time, I'm always happy to help.

Very very nice

Nice hideaway for the rifle man!

I had no idea you did this. Looks great.

Thanks guys 😃 my dad has tried to teach me a lot over the years. Lucky for me he learned a lot from his dad growing up and passed some of his knowledge on to me.

@Jhawk nc Hey bros I'm a carpenter(finish and framing), I specialize in historic preservation/restoration. I'm a member of the Perservation Trades Network, keeping the old ways alive. I use chisels everyday, you should keep your chisels as sharp as your knives. Mora makes a sweet chisel ground knife, it's the best and it's only like 20 buck on amazon.

@Jhawk nc right and wrong ways to sharpen a blade?

I have an great little trick, if you have a piece of wood that's busted off and you feel you might need to drill a pilot hole in it so it won't split in two while reattaching it but don't have a drill bit. Try this, this piece busted off an old window I "tuned up"

Take your nail and blunt the end

make it like an old cut nail so it actually cuts the fibers and not seperating them.

no splitting

Ooo, nice.

I set this tile a few days ago. I do a lot of construction as a side job.

Sharp!

@Preston - MO so pretty. When I buy a house, I'll hire you to tile it lol

@Deleted User
There are many ways, and devices to sharpen your blade. I use stones. I found a few old ones at antique shops for cheap. They last for ever. I used to use a file to sharpen various blades. The issue with using a file is it dramatically removes material from your blade. Ive always heard that the edge doesn't hold as well with a file sharpened blade. Stones sharpen your blade, ever so slightly. It takes longer, especially if you neglect to sharpen your knife and allow it to get too dull.
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Now on the stone, everyone has their own opinion as to how you should move the knife along the stone to sharpen it. For example, my father likes a circular motion on his stone. I will, for instance, use a circular motion on the point of my knife. Then I keep the blade pretty flat, angled slightly, as to keep the same edge as before.
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Ultimately you want your knife to have a long happy life, aiding you in your adventures. A stone will extend it's life dramatically, comparatively.