Whittling Humorous Country Chickens

I've posted yet another YouTube video about how I make humorous country chickens and roosters from the forked twigs of trees. Several years ago I came across a great book by Chris Lubkemann called, "Whittling Twigs and Branches" Mr. Lubkemann makes many different birds with his pocket knife and twigs from the limbs of trees. Although he makes his tail feathers very skillfully right from the same twig, I've developed another "fool-proof" method for obtaining the feathers by using shavings made on a shaving horse using a drawblade.



Mr. Lubkemann's method is definitely preferred but I've discovered another method which works best when teaching the kids how to do it in my woodshop class. Curling the tail feathers with a pocket knife takes a bit of practice and works best when the twig has obtained just the right amount of moisture. By drying out the twigs and shavings in advance my method is an almost fool-proof way to start making these wonderful roosters right away and kids can have almost guaranteed success in just one class.

Once again, if you don't have Mr. Lubkemann's book then I strongly reccomend adding it to your library He also offers workshops and you can find more information on them at his website: http://www.whittlingwithchris.com/ I've never been fortunate enough to attend but I hear that they're really great!