Wood Whittling 101

Step 4 Safety / Holding the Knife

Before we start, let's go over holding the knife correctly:
The picture below will show you how to hold the knife. When right-handed, my left hand is holding the piece of wood and my right hand is holding the knife. My left thumb is on the back of the blade and will be providing the cutting force. Never push the blade forward with your right hand; you will not be able to move the blade with precision.

Notice that my fingers are out of the path of the blade.

Don't be silly:
Never push hard on the blade. If it gets stuck (because you carved too deep into the wood or the grain orientation changed), stop and backtrack. If you try to force the blade, it could slip and cut your finger.

There's no need to go fast... Speed doesn't help you carve better. Take your time, at least until you feel comfortable carving.

Pay attention:
The sound and the feel of your cuts are important. You can hear the difference between carving with, against, and across the grain. This will be useful in developing intuition about the direction you are cutting in.