Chip carving;

Chip carving is a style of wood carving in which knives are used to remove small chips of wood from the project surface in a single piece. Chip carvings have two planes: the wood surface and the point beneath the surface where the cuts intersect. Patterns can be free form style or based on geometric figures. The projects are created primarily using chip carving knives upon basswood, butternut, pine, or mahogany.

Chip carving knives can also be used for whittling, cabinetry, and general workbench purposes.

Relief carving;

The process for relief carving is usually as follows. The carver first fixes the wood to his workbench by means of a carvers screw or clamp. The carver then sketches on the main lines of his idea, indicating the flowers, foliage, or other subject. If the design be very intricate or of a geometrical character, he may trace the design from a pattern first prepared on paper.

The carver grounds out the spaces between the lines with a gouge to a more or less uniform depth. Then he hosts the upstanding pattern that remains, i.e. he models and shapes the details of his design, carefully balancing the lights and shadows; and finally, after having obtained the result he desires, he cleans up all of the cuts. The quicker he works, the fewer times he goes over the same part, the more sketchy the subsidiary portions, the less high finish he puts into the detail, the better the result. Incised work, chip carving, are generally finished at once and not in stages.

Scandinavian flat-plane;

The Scandinavian flat-plane style of woodcarving is a style of figure carving. The figures are carved in large flat planes, created primarily using a carving knife. Tool marks are left in the carving and very little (if any) rounding or sanding is done.

Caricature carving;

A caricature carving is a humorous wood carving that exaggerates or distorts the basic essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness.

Although caricatures can be made of inanimate objects such as cars or buildings, the art form is usually reserved for illustrations of people, especially celebrities and politicians.

Caricatures can be insulting or complimentary and can serve a political purpose or be carved solely for entertainment.

The word "caricature" can also apply to a person or thing that displays behavior or mannerisms that are ridiculously exaggerated and overly stereotypical.

An early definition of the origins of 'caricature', an Italian word meaning 'to load', occurs in the English doctor Sir Thomas Browne's Christian Morals (first published in 1716)

Love spoon;

A love spoon is an ornately carved spoon traditionally made from a single piece of wood by young men, especially in Wales, as a love token for their sweethearts, to show their affection and intentions.

The earliest surviving example, displayed in the Welsh Folk museum in Cardiff, dates from around 1667, although the tradition probably dates back long before that.

The love spoon originated from the "cawl" (soup) spoon. Over generations, decorative carvings were added to the spoon and it lost its original practical use and became a treasured decorative item to be hung proudly on a wall. Certain symbols came to have specific meanings: a horseshoe for luck, a cross for faith, bells for marriage hearts for love, among others.

The love spoon was given to a young woman by her suitor. It was important for the girl's father to see that the young man was capable of providing for the family and woodworking.

Sailors would often carve love spoons during their long journeys, which is why anchors would often be incorporated into the carvings.

Although the Welsh lovespoon is the most famous there are also traditions of lovespoons in Scandinavia and some parts of Eastern Europe, which have their own unique styles and techniques.

Today love spoons are given as wedding and anniversary gifts, as well as birthday, baby gifts, Christmas and "just because". They are mostly a folk craft now but can be romantic under the right circumstances.

Treen;

Treen is a generic name for small handmade functional household objects made of wood. Hence treen is distinct from furniture, such as chairs, and cabinetry, such as clocks and cupboards.

Anything from wooden plates and bowls, snuff boxes and needle cases, spoons and staybusks to shoehorns and chopping boards can be classed as treen. Domestic and agricultural wooden tools are also usually classed in with treen.

Before the advent of cheap metal wares in industrialized societies, and later plastic, wood played a much greater part as the raw material for common objects. Turning and carving were the key manufacturing techniques. The selection of wood species was important, and close-grained native hardwoods such as box, beech and sycamore were particularly favoured, with occasional use of exotics, such as lignum vitae for mallet heads.

Wooden objects have survived relatively less well than those of metal or stone, and their study by archaeologists and historians has been somewhat neglected until recently. Their strongly functional and undecorated forms have however been highly regarded by designers and collectors.

The scholarly study of treen was greatly advanced by Edward Pinto (1901-1972), who started collecting in his childhood and wrote a definitive book on the subject. In 1965, when Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery purchased his collection, it contained over 7,000 items.

Whittling;

Whittling is the art of carving shapes out of raw wood with a knife.

Whittling is typically performed with a light, small-bladed knife, usually a pocket knife. Specialised whittling knives are available as well. They have thick handles which are easier to grip for long periods allowing precise control and pressure.

Occasionally the terms "whittling" and "carving" are used interchangeably, but they are different arts. Carving employs the use of chisels, gouges, and a mallet, while whittling involves only the use of a knife. These days whittling is mainly a hobbie and not a living like it used to be before carving machines were invented.

It is a custom that has been practiced worldwide for centuries. Some communities still hold whittling festivals and competitions.