Four Cypress Knee Santa's

[Wdcarver55]

they are ready to paint, I dip mine in boiled lend seed oil before I paint them. With cypress knees I do not need to use any paint for flesh tone, I let it stay natural.

[joepaulbutler]

Great carvings! Christmas presents?

[scotia carver]

Hi Greg
You have a couple of nice cypress knee santa's there, I like the idea of the natural finish on the faces
Bruce

[JoeVM]

Those are great.

Joe

[Wdcarver55]

Thanks fellas.

Joe, I have a couple of people who purchase a couple each every year. I use that to replenish my cypress knee supply.
I've been carving these for about 10 yeas now, would guess I've carved somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 or so.
I carve one for each of my three grand girls, plus our two kids and several friends each year as gifts.

[Spiritwolfe]

Wow! Over 200 of them. No wonder you are so good at them.
I personally like linseed oil or tung oil used as a finish. It's easy and looks great.
So are cypress knees just cypress branches with bends in them?

[Wdcarver55]

Thank you

Spirit, the knees in the pictures are all cypress knees, that is what I enjoy about them. You'll not find any two alike.
I paint the majority with acrylic paint, with the lend seed oil the grain doesn't raise much from the water.

Greg

[Spiritwolfe]

thanks but...
What's a cypress knee ? A branch with a bent in it?

[Arthur C.]

Wow! Over 200 of them. No wonder you are so good at them.
I personally like linseed oil or tung oil used as a finish. It's easy and looks great.
So are cypress knees just cypress branches with bends in them?

Spiritwolfe, cypress knees are part of the root that rises above the water or earth, depending on where it grows. They are quite common in my state of Louisiana. Interesting to carve, since the grain goes every which-way.

Greg, very nice touch on the santa carvings.

[Spiritwolfe]

Spiritwolfe, cypress knees are part of the root that rises above the water or earth, depending on where it grows. They are quite common in my state of Louisiana. Interesting to carve, since the grain goes every which-way.

Greg, very nice touch on the santa carvings.

Ohhhhh! Right. Those things. Gotcha!
Grain going in every direction would make interesting carving for sure.
Thanks Arthur

[Nomad]

Those are great! Very well carved.

[BrandantR]

Nice work! Very well done.

[Tinwood]

Nicely done. Grand kids will love those.

Tinwood

[Donna_T]

Greg, I live on a golf course and there's 3-4 large cypress trees in the bog area. Ive salvaged some but would like you to share with us about when do you debark the knee, how you sand them, do you only use power to carve, do you ever paint or leave natural, what final finish you use, etc.
thanks!
Donna_T

[Wdcarver55]

Donna, I actually buy mine off of eBay, in the past I have harvested some. They need to be debarked in the first 24 hours, it will usually peel off. Any longer it's a lot of work, have used grinder with carbide bits, knife, etc, anything you can think of. Since I still work and my carving time is limited I just purchase them.
As for carving, I use hand tools to block the face/beard and general shape I'd the robe. I usually leave the rest as they grew unless I can pull a tree, bag or something else that will enhance the carving. Hope this helps, if you have any other questions please don't hesitate to ask, I'm not always able to get on here but once a week but will respond when I do.

i am attaching a photo with a couple of examples.