beveling

Cutting or sanding a consistent angled edge along a flat piece, softening a hard 90° corner.

blade shaping

Thinning and tapering a flat section down to a sharp, even edge — used for letter-opener/knife-style projects.

branch layering

Carving stacked, tapering branch tiers on a Christmas tree shape, each layer slightly smaller than the one below.

crenellation detail

Carving the notched, castle-wall top pattern characteristic of a chess rook.

crown detail

Carving the distinctive pointed/rounded crown shapes that top a chess king or queen.

detail cuts

Small, shallow finishing cuts used late in a carve to define edges and features once the rough shape is set.

ear shaping

Thinning and rounding a pair of ears out from the sides of a block — common on rabbits and similar figures.

ear/tail shaping

Carving distinct ear and tail forms on a small animal figure.

face detail

Carving in facial features (eyes, mouth, expression) — usually the last and most delicate step on a figure.

face/beard detail

Carving a face along with an overlapping beard/hair mass — more involved than plain face detail since the two forms read as separate layers.

facial disc detail

The flat, rounded face shape characteristic of owls — carved as a shallow concave disc rather than a projecting snout.

feather detail

Shallow stacked cuts that suggest individual feathers or vanes on a decorative handle or wing.

fin detail cuts

Thin, shallow cuts that separate and define fin shapes on a fish figure.

fur/ear detail

Small textured cuts suggesting fur texture, combined with shaping distinct ear forms.

handle detail

Shaping and smoothing a grip section distinct from the working end of a piece (e.g. a spoon or letter opener handle).

handle shaping

Rounding and tapering a grip section to be comfortable to hold — the main step distinguishing a handle from the rest of the piece.

hook knife bowl carving

Using a curved (hook) blade, pulled toward you, to scoop out a concave bowl — needed for spoons and can't be done with a straight knife.

horse head detail

The distinctive angled head-and-mane shape of a chess knight, carved from a blocky base.

limb shaping

Carving out arms/legs as separate rounded forms from a blocky figure.

long push cuts

Extended push cuts run the full length of a piece (e.g. a blade or handle) rather than short overlapping ones — needs a longer, flatter blank.

mitre detail

The angled notch cut into a chess bishop's top, referencing a bishop's mitre hat.

painting

Applying paint (often alternating light/dark) to a finished flat or carved surface for contrast.

pull cut

Drawing the blade back toward your body (with your thumb braced on the wood, blade moving away from your hand) — used where a push cut can't reach the angle.

push cut

Pushing the blade forward through the wood with your thumb or palm behind the spine, cutting away from your body. Good for controlled, shallow shaving cuts.

roughing

The first coarse pass that removes the bulk of waste wood and establishes the overall silhouette, before any fine shaping.

rounding

Shaving flat corners into a curved surface by taking many light, overlapping cuts — the main move that turns a blocky rough-out into a finished shape.

sanding

Smoothing a surface with abrasive paper after cutting — used where a flat, finished surface matters more than knife-marks (e.g. a chess board).

shell detail

Shallow surface cuts that suggest a shell's plates or ridges without carving each one in full relief.

snout/ear shaping

Rounding and narrowing a block into a distinct snout and two ears — the main feature-defining step for most four-legged animals.

stop cut

A straight cut made first, perpendicular to the grain, that stops a later cut from splitting past a line. The most fundamental setup cut in whittling.

tail/leg shaping

Separating and rounding tail and leg forms on an animal figure, usually one of the last rough-out steps before detail work.

undercut

Cutting in underneath an overhanging feature (like a mushroom cap) to separate it visually from the part below it.

v-gouge outlining

Using a V-shaped gouge to cut a crisp groove along a marked line — common for outlining squares or borders on flat work.