Carve a Cool Viking Hanging Hook.

Intro: Carve a Cool Viking Hanging Hook.

This project can be made by anybody. It is so easy that kids can make this as there first woodcarving project. The only thing that can make it harder is the degree of details and the decorations.

Here you can see the finished hanging hook.

So lets get started, I will show how you can make your own.

STEP 1: The Tools

You don't need a lot of tools to make this. It you have good carving skills you can make this only using a knife . I use a small electric drill to drill the holes and a saw to cut the twigs, because it's faster and easier.
If you don't have access to a burning pen like mine you can use a soldering iron. Or you can paint the hook using watercolors.

STEP 2: The Wood

The wood I use is Hazel, but you can use whatever wood you have access to.

You need to find a strait stick with a good solid twig. The twig will be the nose or hanging hook.

STEP 3: Carving the Hook

With the knife you start to cut the strait stick flat on the backside. This flat side will be the part that will be against the wall, when the hook are mounted on the wall..

STEP 4: Remove the Bark and Shape the Ends.

Now remove the bark. If you want you can leave some of the bark intact and in that way make some ornamentation, patten or other decoration. But the hazel bark have a tendency to peal of when it is dry. So this time I remove it all.

STEP 5: Carving the Face.

With the knife, carve the face of the Hookman.

STEP 6: Burning the Details.

To make the face stand out I burn the details with the burningpen. I burn a beard around the mouth and burn the details of the eyes.

STEP 7: Finishing and Mounting.

Drill two holes in the stick. When you place the holes it is important not to make them to close to the ends. If you make the hole to close to the end the stick will split and make the mounting impossible.

STEP 8: Other Designs.

Now it is up to you how you want your hook to look like. Here you can see other designs, but with the same basic idea.

Good luck with your own hook.

Comments

[The_Tinker]

Haha. Nice

[vincent7520]

Are you sure it is Viking ???…
Seems more Italian to me, as the nose is an absolute reminder of Pinocchio !…

LOL

[Bumbling on]

I think these are fabulous!
I've been asked if I could help out with my son's school class project about the Vikings by hosting a woodwork themed workshop. I love these hooks and would love to get the kids to decorate a bunch of these but I can't find any other reference to them anywhere.
I will be making some of these for myself without a doubt but for educational purposes can you say if these are historiacaly correct as Viking items of craftwork?
Thanks for showing them. =)

[morfmir]

Hi.

This hooks are my interpretation of the findings from Hedeby in old Denmark.
The hooks from the findings function like this, But without the decorations. The decorations are my addition. The originals are plain wood with no ornaments.
I don't know if you can find drawings or pictures of the original hooks in any books. I have seen the real ones in a study trip to Hedeby.

Hedeby is a trading town in what was old Denmark, to day the excavation is in northen Germany. The dig is a "gold mine" of excavation and everyday items from the iron age and all the way through the viking age.

The last picture in the last step is the most authentic.

/Thomas

[Bumbling on]

Hi Thomas

Thanks for the speedy reply and thanks too for the info, it all sounds great, I'll have a look online tonight.
So the Vikings didn't decorate their hooks.....after seeing yours I bet they wish they had!!

Many thanks
Andy

[morfmir]

The vikings loved decorations, We find a lot of woodcarvings with decorations, everything from furniture like chests and stools to everyday items like wooden spoons and wooden bowls. And you will find that the decorations are everything form masterworks to childish scribbles. So it is very likely that some vikings had some decorated wooden hooks, but we have not found any.

Some IMHO there is no problems in the decorated hooks, as long that you tell the kids the hole story.

/Thomas

[Bumbling on]

We tend to be taught about the Vikings as being fine smiths and metalworkers which is evident from the high quality blades and other artifacts discovered.
I can only assume this 'technology' (along with their stereotypical image of war mongering) has over shadowed their woodworking (other than perhaps the longboat, shields & weaponary) but I can see from the web that there are some fantastic examples of woodwork and art that have been discovered.

Yep, I think decorated hooks and the explanation is the way to go.

Thanks
Andy

[whiteoakart]

These are really funny. How did you get such a straight cut through a limb with a handsaw? That's not easy. Well, I know you have had lots of practice. The reason I ask is that I make Native American flutes. The first step is to cut the limb in half right down the middle. It is very difficult to do this without the cut line wandering around a bit.

[Chil]

For your NAF, split the branch, don't saw it. But if you want to try and saw it, use a fine Japanese saw, The pull stroke goes straighter more naturally, and it has a finer 'kerf' or cut thickness.

Nice ibble, great way to start someone on carving!

[morfmir]

I don't cut with a saw, I'm just carving the backside with a knife.

[whiteoakart]

I see. The saw is just for cutting the branches to length.

[weaponscollector94]

does the saw need to be Japanese?

[morfmir]

no, it is just the type. It is a draw saw. It cuts when you draw, not like the European saw that cuts when you push.

/Thomas

[k_man93]

 that makes much more sense, actually

[red-king]

i'm going to try making one of these. and one of the spoons from your other instructable =)

[crankyjew]

good instructable...this is really cool. i like the designs in the last step the best.