Yet another fun little carving project: Whittle a hobo clothespin

This is another beginner-friendly crafts project.  All you need is a Swiss Army knife again.  For wood, I choose hazel, because it is easy to carve when fresh and dries out to be tough and resilient, due to the long, dense grain.  You want to take a piece that is as straight as possible and with no twigs or branches.  At a right angle, drill a hole with the awl of the SAK.  Widen the hole with your little blade or by using the saw. 

I made a little Video about it on the YouTube channel: 

The hole acts as a stress relief hole. 

Using your little blade, carve a recession, Equalizer on both sides, towards the end of stick. Use the big blade to split the wood towards the relief hole. Do not forget to lock your elbows to your sides. Lightly work the blade into the end grain.  As soon as you feel the resistance of the wood go down, your stick is split.  

Now carve a tear-shaped hole towards the end of the stick. Be careful not to remove too much material from the end. 

With a scooping cut, remove the thickness at the middle of the clamp. What this does is reducing the spring resistance of the clamp. 

Add a V- or stop cut for decoration or for fixing the pin to the washing line with twine. Add another at the end to cut the clothespin from the branch. 

And just like that, you have a little helper that can also come in handy for re-closing packages. You can carve these as a beginner in just half an hour. 

 With more experience, however, you can carve one in less than ten minutes.  

For me, that is a quick and satisfying project, especially when you have little time.  

So, I hope that was halfway helpful.  Thanks for dropping by, and take good care!