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How to whittle your very own Jimbo hook II


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Just finished a revised, more complete tutorial on how to whittle your very own crochet hook.  From a stick to an heirloom hook.  You're more than welcome to mosey on over to my blog for the lesson.  And if you decide to whittle one up, please post pictures of it in replies to this post.  I'd love to see your work.  And if you have comments or questions, please let me know.

 

Get out your band-aids and start a whittlin!!

Jimbo

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Band-aids? I have a feeling I'd need some sort of cauterizing gun as I'd be likely to slice my fingers right on off! :)

I will have to check out your tutorial!

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Band-aids? I have a feeling I'd need some sort of cauterizing gun as I'd be likely to slice my fingers right on off! :)

 

Oh we can't have that.  Here ya go....Just apply the words of wisdom passed on to me by my pappy when I was jist a little shaver...... "In life son, there's just one thang you need to remember.  Allus whittle away from yersef."

 

 Wisht I woulda lissened.

 

Stumpy

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Ha ha, good advice Stumpy!  

 

I'm not sure I'm brave enough to try this myself but I do love your way with words.  We happen to have some maples and an apple tree in my yard, I may show this to my hubby ...   maybe I'll try your beauty trick with a tahr ahrn n 50 grit sandpaper ;)

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Ha ha, good advice Stumpy!  

  maybe I'll try your beauty trick with a tahr ahrn n 50 grit sandpaper ;)

Talk about your ex folleyation!  That'll doit.

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Would love to give it a try. My hubby and I, years ago, decided to take whittling classes. This big ole grizzly looking man with grey beard comes out and first thing sets a box of bandages in the middle of the table. We were like .... what?!  Sure enough, hubby needed one first thing off. lol Such fun though, just watch those fingers.

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As a Girl Scout I learned how to use a jack knife. Got the badge by whittling marshmallow/hot dog sticks, clothes pins, tent pegs and toy canoes. But I can't seem to peel a 'tater with out Band-Aids around :lol .

Ellie 13

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Sadly I am surrounded by pine trees, no hardwoods around me.

Ah you can use pine, it's ok for big hooks, say an N or larger but be sure to use a nice straight branch.  I've made cedar and redwood hooks and they work.  I'd steer clear of smaller hooks though cause even the branch wood on softwood trees is not as strong.

Oh and there are such things as soft hardwoods too.  Some of the birches aren't such good hook woods.  Aspen's ok if you're careful in the selection and hook head orientation when whittlin.  Course you'd never want to use balsa or bass.  Tamarack makes beautiful hooks and although it's technically a hardwood, it's at the softer end and should be used only for larger sizes.

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My backyard has a sassafras tree. Can this wood be used to whittle crochet hooks?

Never made a sasseyfrass hook but from all I read it should work well.  Show us your finished hook!

Happy whittlin

Jimbo

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Thank you for your fast answer. The sassafras tree in my backyard is my favorite. It has a huge limb that hangs way out to the side, which finally cracked under its own weight. It has been slowly dropping sticks and small limbs, so I've been hoping I might be able to use these for something other than a fire.

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Thank you for your fast answer. The sassafras tree in my backyard is my favorite. It has a huge limb that hangs way out to the side, which finally cracked under its own weight. It has been slowly dropping sticks and small limbs, so I've been hoping I might be able to use these for something other than a fire.

OH!  Don't forget--you can boil those sticks and make some excellent tea!!!!

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Wonderful post on how to whittle our own crochet hook. Though I think it is much harder than it looks and we need band-aids. :think

I guess crochet hook whittling might be a little more risky than crocheting, yeah.  Remember that old saying "A sharp knife never cut anyone"?  Well I'm here to tell you, a sharp knife can cut the beegeebers outa you.  Got the scars to prove it.  Maybe the saying should be "The sharper the knife the deeper the cut."  But all that just means it's a good idea to be careful... like never swat at a skeeter with the hand that holds the knife.. that sort of thing.

Much harder than it looks?   Nah.  Well ok; it can be frustrating when you  break the hook off the first few, then try to get them to the right size... and it's a bit of a challenge to get the the thumb rest and throat aligned, and the gullet formed to the right depth, and the lip shaped so it doesn't catch.... but actually that's all pretty cinchy.   FUN.    Really.

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