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popular wood choices for carving

Almost any kind of wood will work for artistic carvings, but there are some types that are more popular for a variety of reasons. Beginning and experienced carvers alike generally select from these woods:

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• Basswood or Lime: The most popular carving wood because it’s soft and easy to work with hand tools. White, with a fairly close grain pattern, it can present a bland appearance when left natural, so most carvers paint the finished carvings.
  
  
• Butternut or White Walnut: Soft and easy to work with hand tools, this wood has a dark brown heartwood and a beige sapwood. The beautiful grain pattern looks great unpainted.
  
  
• Cottonwood: A Midwestern regional favorite, it is soft with a straight grain. Traditional Native Americans use this wood to carve dolls.
  
  
• Walnut, Black Walnut or American Walnut: Also known as gunstock wood, it has dark brown heartwood and tan sapwood with a straight grain. Most carvers use a chisel and mallet to carve this wood.
  
  
• Mahogany, Honduras Mahogany or American Mahogany: A strong wood that’s very light weight, Mahogany has a dark reddish hue and usually a straight grain. Mahogany is often used for intricate carvings incorporating thin designs. The wood darkens with age and can be worked with hand tools or power tools.
  
  
• Jelutong: Imported from the Philippines, this soft, straight-grained wood is sprinkled with “latex pockets.” It is easy to hand carve, but yields fuzzy fibers when worked with power tools. Most carvers fill the pockets with wood filler – others work with this wood specifically for the look of the pockets.
  
  
• Tupelo or Water Gum: This soft wood grows in swampy areas throughout the United States. It has a nice grain pattern that looks great with a clear or natural finish.