Little Whittle LLC

All of them! Really it depends on your experience, patience, and what you like best. We’ve tried to briefly describe their carving difficulty and likelihood of breaking a piece off, but it really depends on how aggressive you carve them. Any can be done by a first-timer and any can be messed up.  You can’t go wrong with the otter which is great for those with no experience whittling.Even if you lose a tail from overly aggressive carving, you can glue the piece back on and after it dries continue carving. You can also get creative – a tail-less otter looks a lot like a groundhog! In fact, the Dachshund was inspired by an otter that looked more like a dog! The point being, with a little creativity and flexibility, even if a critter doesn’t  you planned or expected, you can still have a great result you can be proud of.

This is impossible to answer as it varies person to person. Cub Scouts lets boys who are Bear Scouts use and carry knives (once they’ve earned their Whittling Chip) which is around 9 years old. There are kids older who won’t be ready and kids younger who will be. It’s up to every parent/guardian to understand if their child is responsible enough to use a knife, and to supervise that use to ensure their continued safety. 
Using a knife at any age involves risk, and while this can be reduced through proper techniques and safety equipment it is difficult to completely eliminate. Therefore, for anyone using a knife, it is very important that they have the right mindset and and level of concentration. It is also important to have a sharp knife. A sharp knife requires less force which will help make carving easier, but far more importantly it makes carving safer. Whittling should only be done in a safe area when one can dedicate the focus and attention to ensure they are doing so safely.

There are numerous books you can get on the art of whittling and carving. There are also numerous resources online; in articles, how to guides, and videos. There are even classes in most areas for learning. Scouts is probably the easiest to find local resource that is nationwide that can teach both the safety aspects as well as some techniques for whittling. Like most things though it’s really about doing, as nothing beats hands-on experience. Make sure you understand the safety rules and some of the common cutting techniques, then start whittling. Take your time and think about the way you’re using and holding your knife. One of the most important but often overlooked aspects to carving is your tools. The sharper the knife the safer and more enjoyable it is to use. It may seem counter-intuitive but a sharp knife will cut with less force which will reduce your chances of injury as well as the severity should things go wrong.

All our kits are currently only offered in Basswood. While at some point we may add the option to try other woods, only offering basswood simplifies things. Basswood is really the best wood for learning to carve. It is fairly soft and has very little grain. This means it tends to split large chunks less than other woods. As grains become more wavy and varied, they take more skill to cut correctly to prevent splitting off more than intended. Since it is relatively soft it takes less force to cut it which makes things both easier and safer. A sharp knife still helps a lot (for ease and safety).

Carving is the general term for shaping wood. You can carve with many different tools, most commonly chisels, gouges, and knives, but there are many power tools you can use as well – such as lathes, chainsaws, grinders, and even sanders. Whittling is a subset of carving and refers to using a knife only. Many of the skills and techniques that you learn from whittling apply to any other sharp-edged tool as well. One big advantage to whittling is you need just a single tool, your knife. The best knife for whittling is a foldable pocketknife with a locking blade. These can easily travel with you, making whittling a project you can do almost anywhere. (Where having a knife is allowed – of course).

There is already a discount applied when ordering multiple kits. You can also choose to get them without the retail box which saves a little more. Unfortunately we aren’t able to offer more discounts at this point as our prices are already as low as we can get them while being able to make them responsibly and in the USA.

We’ll try to get it shipped as fast as possible. Most of the time that means the next day, but please be patient as it can take us up to 3 business days. Shipping time depends a bit on where you are and is generally 3-5 days.

Please buy it through Amazon – Click here for our Amazon Storefront. The prices are generally higher though Amazon, especially if buying multiple items. However, since it is fulfilled by their shipment centers they can generally get it to you faster (and show you when they expect to deliver prior to ordering.
Amazon has fairly high fees, so we aren’t able to provide the same level of discounts we can when selling through our site, so if you’re patient, and are buying multiple critters/knives/etc. we’d recommend buying directly through our web-store, but we’re happy either way.

Whichever knife you have that is sharp! We strongly recommend a locking blade (to reduce the chances of accidentally folding the knife on your fingers), but really any knife will work. Sharper is better. We have carved every critter we offer using a simple single-blade locking knife just like the one we sell. Having a shorter blade can be helpful for carving details which is why many prefer having multiple blades. We can’t stress enough how important being sharp is though, it will make carving easier, more fun, and most importantly safer. Since a sharp knife takes less effort to cut with, the forces you’ll be pushing with will be reduced which is why sharper is safer. You can even carve our kits with a razor blade (like a utility knife)!

We bought dozens of knives to find ones that we’re proud to stand behind. Our single blade locking knife, the Pocket Bandit, is our cheapest option and is an excellent starting knife. In fact, all our demo photos were carved with a single-blade locking knife just like it (though about 20 years older!) The Flexcut Whittlin’ Jack is sharper and since it’s higher quality steel, it’ll stay sharper longer. It adds a detail blade, is easier to hold (more comfortable), and is our recommendation if you know carving is for you. You can spend more to get more blades, but really the two are enough which is why we don’t offer Flexcut’s more expensive options. However do note it doesn’t lock. We also offer a 3-blade knife, the Lockback Whittler, which is similar quality to the single blade lockback, but adds 2 detail knives, unfortunately only the main blade locks.