Whittling Projects for Beginners: Eight Bushcraft Carving Projects for Camp

Which whittling projects should a beginner start with?

Start with the projects that teach the cuts every later project reuses. A tent peg needs only a point and one notch. A pot hanger adds a fork and several notches. A toggle teaches a groove around a round piece. A spatula teaches thinning, which is the hardest part of a spoon. Work through them in order and the first spoon will feel like a small step, not a leap.

The numbers below are typical sizes for adults and a sharp knife. They are starting points, not rules: adjust length and thickness to your gear.

Wood, grain and knife: the basics behind every project

Green or dry wood?

Fresh green wood is soft and carves with little force, so it is safer and kinder to your edge. Choose it for the spatula, tongs, toggle and skewer. Dry, sound wood is harder but does not shrink afterwards, which suits a mallet head or a toggle that must keep its size. Rotten wood that crumbles is never suitable. The full comparison of species is in the carving guide; for identifying what you hold, see tree identification and wood types.

Reading the grain

Wood fibres run along the stick like straws. Cut so that the edge exits out of the fibres ahead of it ("downhill") and the shaving lifts cleanly; cut the other way and the blade dives in and tears out. If a cut starts to dig, turn the piece round. Thin shavings are always better than thick ones.

Stop cuts: the cut that makes every notch

A stop cut is a cut across the grain that marks where a shaving must end. You can press it with the knife and rock the edge, or saw it with a small folding saw, which is faster and straighter on thick pieces. Then take a sloping cut towards it from 2–3 cm away: the chip comes free at the stop cut, and the split cannot run past it. Every notch in this guide is a stop cut plus a slope.

Splitting and rough shaping

For boards (spatula) and thick blanks you split first. A knife and a wooden baton do this for pieces up to about 10 cm; see batoning. A hatchet is faster for bigger logs; see axes. Always remove the pith, the soft centre, from a blank, or it cracks as it dries.

A sharp knife is a safe knife

A dull knife needs force, and force is what turns a slip into an injury. Strop it before each session and every 20–30 minutes while carving; the routine is described in sharpening a knife and tool care. A sharp knife also leaves clean, shiny surfaces, so you can see at once which cuts went well.

Project 5: the try stick with every notch type

Although it is number five in the table, the try stick comes first in practice. It is a straight green stick of 30–40 cm and 2–3 cm thickness on which you carve each notch once. It costs nothing, takes 45–90 minutes, and shows you which cuts tear and which come clean. The grips are in the carving guide; here the focus is on the notches themselves.

What a good try stick looks like

• Stop cuts are straight lines, not ragged grooves.
• Notch walls are flat and shiny, and the bottom is clean with no hanging fibres.
• The point has three or four even facets meeting in one tip.

If a notch tore out, you probably cut uphill or took too thick a shaving. Turn the stick and cut the other way. Keep the stick: it shows your progress and is a handy measure.

Project 1: how to carve a tent peg (with a notch)

The wooden tent peg is the classic first project. Saw thumb-thick green hazel, birch or ash to 20–25 cm. Chamfer the top so it does not split when struck. Carve a point of 5–6 cm with three or four flat facets: a long thin point breaks in stony soil. About 3–5 cm below the top, cut a ramp notch to about a third of the diameter. Seat the guy line in the notch under the flat shoulder, so it cannot ride up.

Drive wooden pegs with a baton, a log or a carved mallet (project 8), never with the back of an axe. Pegs for a tarp shelter hold best in damp soil; in sand or snow, bury a longer peg or use a stick as a deadman. Hard, stony ground splits wooden pegs, so carry a few spare.

Project 2: carving a pot hanger (adjustable pot hook)

A pot hanger holds a billy over the fire at a height you can change. It is a forked green stick of 40–60 cm with the side branch cut to a hook of 4–6 cm, and two or three ramp notches along the stick so it can hang from a crossbar or tripod line at different heights. Use green hardwood: a thin dry stick close to the flames can burn through. Fire height and cooking set-ups are in campfire cooking, the place for the flames in building a fire pit, suitable pots in bushcraft cookware.

For hotter fires, keep the hook a little longer than you think, and hang the hanger so it never touches embers. If the hook chars, carve a new one: it takes ten minutes. Never hang a heavy pot of water on a hook you have not load-tested at ground level.

Project 3: toggles and simple fixings

A toggle is a short stick with a groove around the middle. Tie a cord into the groove and the toggle becomes a quick-release fastener for tarp lines, bags and gear loops: push it through a loop and it locks, pull it out and it frees. It is the fastest project here, 10–15 minutes, and teaches a groove cut around a round piece.

Use dense, straight hardwood about 1.5 cm thick, sawn to 6–8 cm. Chamfer both ends so they do not catch. Cut two stop cuts a little apart in the middle, then slope into each from outside and rotate the stick until the groove runs all the way round. Tie the cord in with a clove hitch or a constrictor-style hitch; see knots and paracord for cord choices.

The same stick makes a button for a tarp ridge line or a handle for a cord. Larger fixings, such as lashing poles for a camp tripod, are explained in lashings and camp structures.

Project 4: spatula or butter spreader

The spatula is the bridge to spoon carving: splitting, a drawn outline, stop cuts and, above all, thinning. Split a green log of 5–10 cm through the centre, then split off a board of about 1.5 cm, leaving the pith behind. Draw the outline: a blade 5–7 cm wide narrowing to a handle of about 2 cm. Thin the blade towards the tip to 3–4 mm.

For a butter spreader use the same steps at 15–18 cm with a blade of 2–3 cm. Let the finished piece dry slowly in a paper bag, and finish it with a thin coat of food-safe drying oil, as described in the spoon guide. Oily rags can ignite by themselves: spread them flat outdoors to dry.

Project 6: tongs from green wood

Wooden tongs lift pot lids, move hot stones and turn food at the edge of the fire. They are one rod, split lengthwise and bent: choose a straight, supple green hazel, birch or sycamore about 2 cm thick and 30–40 cm long. Split it into two flat halves of equal thickness, or carve a thin even taper on each arm while the wood is wet, then bend the arms into a U around a round form and let them dry in that shape.

Taper the tips thinner so they grip, and keep the grip ends thicker so the spring does not snap. Green wood bends without breaking; dry wood does not, so do not wait. Wooden tongs scorch in heat: use them at the edge of the fire, never in the flames, and replace them when charred.

Project 7: cooking skewer and marshmallow stick (food-safe wood)

A roasting stick is a 60–80 cm green rod of about 1 cm. Peel the last 10–15 cm of the tip, because bark tastes bitter and may carry dirt, then carve a point with four facets. The stick is long enough to keep your hand away from the heat. It is a good job for children, with an adult beside them; see bushcraft with kids.

Anything that touches food must be safe. Hazel, willow and birch are common, mild choices. Resinous conifers can taste of resin. Some woods are toxic: never use yew, laburnum or rhododendron, and if you cannot identify the wood with certainty, do not use it for food. Our guide to tree identification helps you learn the common species.

Project 8: a tent-peg mallet

A mallet drives pegs without damaging their heads. Take a dense, dry log round of about 10–12 cm diameter and 15–20 cm long for the head, and a straight handle of about 30–35 cm and 3 cm thick. The simplest design is one piece: a thick head with a narrower handle carved from the same log. Cut the handle with stop cuts and a saw, shave it round with chest-lever cuts, and leave the head thick. For a heavier mallet and splitting wedges, see carving a mallet and wedges.

Do not use a mallet with cracks along the grain. Do not strike hard objects with it, and never use your knife as a chisel against a mallet. A baton for batoning is a similar tool, but a mallet head should have a flat face and be heavier.

Safety: blood circle, grips and first aid

Most carving injuries are cuts to the thumb or holding hand. The serious ones are to the thigh, which is why the rules are simple and non-negotiable.

• Blood circle: check your arm plus blade length is free of people, gear and guy lines. Stop when anyone steps in.
• Cut away from your body: use the chest-lever and thumb-push grips from the carving guide. Know where the blade goes if the wood gives way.
• Sit, brace beside the knee: never over the thigh or between your legs.
• Cold, tired or hurried hands slip: stop earlier than you think.

Carving with children

Children need soft green wood, a rounded-tip knife, one grip at a time and an adult beside them. The roasting stick or a try stick are good first projects. Our guide bushcraft with kids covers knife rules in detail.

Carrying the knife

Carving at home is rarely a legal question; getting there with the knife can be. Carry it sheathed (a snug leather sheath you made yourself is ideal) and packed away, not on your belt in public, and check local rules. Germany, the UK and the US differ, and nothing here is legal advice. See knife laws overview.

Where can you get wood? Legal and ethical notes

All wood belongs to somebody, including dead branches and windfall. Never cut a living tree or branch for carving without permission. Rules on collecting dead wood differ by country, region and land type, and nature reserves are stricter. Ask the landowner or forester, and treat this as orientation, not legal advice.

• Prunings from gardens and orchards are excellent small carving wood.
• Hazel and willow rods from coppice work suit pegs and hooks.
• Windfall after storms may still be green inside, if the owner agrees.
• Tree surgeons often have fresh birch or alder.

Take only what you use and cut cleanly. Rules for camping and wood on wild sites are discussed in wild camping and camp setup.

Troubleshooting: what went wrong and how to fix it

A typical beginner mistake is to carve everything in one session. Stop when your hands tire. Your next cuts will be cleaner after a rest, and the sharper edge will return after stropping.

What to do next

When the spatula feels comfortable, the spoon is next: carving a spoon adds a hook knife and a bowl. Tools are in carving tools. Pegs and hooks fit naturally into camp setup. Add a small carving kit to your Kit Builder list.