Wood Carvers Create Beauty

Jim Hansen and Ed Santarosa are members of the Capital Woodcarvers Association and are regulars at the Woodcraft store at 9523 Folsom Blvd.

Several times a week they show up at Woodcraft to turn blocks of basswood into works of art at a level far beyond the whittling as traditionally practiced by small boys and old men. Basswood is a hard enough wood to endure, yet is soft enough to yield to the woodcarver’s knives.

Woodcraft occasionally holds classes in woodcarving, which Jim Hansen has taught for 13 years. One upcoming session is called "Carving a Hillbilly," and will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Feb. 27. 

On display at the store is an entire hillbilly moonshine site Hansen created in miniature, complete with a whiskey still and a sleeping hound dog.

You won’t find a basic penknife in the serious woodcarver’s tool carousel. Quality Swiss-made knives in all sizes and shapes are specially configured for everything from removing large slices of wood to making delicate crevices as tiny as the hair on a hillbilly’s beard. Tools range in price from $15 to hundreds of dollars. Getting into the hobby does not have to cost a fortune.

"A woodcarver can start out with as little as a single $15 knife," Santarosa said.

If anyone believed woodcarving was a field exclusive to males, take note: half the members of the woodcarvers organization are female.

"And they give the men some tough competition," Hansen said. Rosemont residents Phil Sheehan and Judy Fairman, June Goodfellow are also active in the association.

To prevent injury, each carver wears a glove made of Kevlar, the same material used in bulletproof vests. Santarosa advises against buying the entire range of knives until the new woodcarver knows for certain he or she will not lose interest.

It would be hard to put a price on the carvings. According to Ed Santarosa, it takes many hours to create one of his little figures. He pointed to a 3-inch-tall carving of a cowboy. He was given a $50 gift certificate for a similar one that took about 20 hours to carve.

"That means I worked for $2.50 an hour," he said. "I’d rather give it away than sell it."

Clearly, these woodcarvers do it for the enjoyment and not for profit.

To sign up for a class, contact sacramento-retail@woodcraft.com

For more information: Capital Woodcarvers Association of Sacramento: www.karving.org