Description

The Cheetah is our newest creation, and the most difficult to carve. There are many challenging points, from separating the legs to thinning the tail, but the reward is worth it! The fun part is the more you carve the tail, the less its in the way for the hind legs, and the more you shape them, the easier the tail is… just be careful as there’s a lot of thin pieces you end up working on. You definitely need to be able to read the wood for this one. It’s carvable with a simple locking blade, but shorter alternate blades may simplify things. He was modeled after a leaping cheetah, but really could be made into many types of quick cats.

The Cheetah’s Inspiration

The Cheetah is the fastest land animal reaching speeds over 60 mph! They weigh 40-140 lbs and can reach 5′ long. They hunt mid-to small prey preferring impala, springbok and gazelle. Cheetahs typically have litters of 3-4 cubs which the mother raises alone. Few survive to adulthood as they often fall prey to other predators. Cheetahs are closely related to the cougar and Pumas. It is thought that the Cheetah originated in North America before migrating to Asia and eventually Africa following their prey. They are one of the most social cats (besides lions) and can often form small groups where they will work together to hunt and defend their territory. They can be found in pockets across Africa as well as in Iraq. Due to habitat loss and fragmentation of their population they are considered Vulnerable. To learn more about the Cheetah and to help protect them, please visit https://cheetah.org/

General Description (applies to all our Critters)

All our Critters are made from basswood and roughly 1″ thick, 1.75″ tall and 10″ long. They can all be made into nifty letter openers (just carve their nose/tail into a flatter shape with sharp edges) or carved more true to their namesake critters. While they vary in difficulty (which we try to describe in the description for each) their long, slender shape lends themselves to easier whittling and safe, easy holding (never cut towards yourself or have any part of your body in the path of the knife).

The time it takes to carve will of course vary by Critter but even moreso by experience. Most will take many hours to get right, but if you’re skilled at whittling and “hurry” they can be carved to 90%+ within a few hours. These make excellent projects for learning to carve. They’re excellent gifts both carved and uncarved.

These whittling “kits” are perfect to learn to whittle with. These make excellent carving projects whether you’re looking for a project to do with your kids, grandkids, cousins, friends, or just to do yourself. There’s no easier way to learn carving in wood. We offer ones of varying difficulty to satisfy everyone from the novice to expert. As you get better at carving you’ll be able to add more details to help make each one uniquely yours.

These make excellent group activities whether it’s for your scouting group looking to learn to carve, or your book-club looking for a new activity. All you need is a sharp knife (a locking knife and safety gloves are highly recommended) and a Critter! All of our Critters are designed to make excellent letter openers for those wanting a fun and practical project. They can just as easily be carved into a more natural shape if you don’t need a letter opener. These make excellent gifts, either as blanks to introduce whittling to someone, or fully carved to give them a piece of art. These make an excellent craft project as a stand alone activity, or provides something fun to do while sitting around the campfire talking.

Whittling is an excellent way to relax and slow down. A chance to make something truly yours and explore your artistic side. Our Critters are designed around being easy to carve but there’s no limit to the details you can add. You can easily stop once you’ve roughed the shape with a knife, or you can take it further, sanding off the whittling marks. You can leave it as the natural wood, stain it, or paint it to truly bring out the character of the critter. Carve a single critter, or carve them all, it’s all up to you!