Too often we just leave folk to learn by trial and error. I would advise thinking carefully about how you do it safely yourself and showing that. The little whittling book has lots of good stuff for your scouts but just giving them a freshly cut hazel or willow rod to decorate and "practice whittling" on is a great start. I tend to play down the "making something" and play up the "we are learning to use the tools".
I would practice what you are going to teach with one or two first. Going straight in with a group would be very hard work and potentially dangerous. Very nice review, Robin. I totally agree with "the earlier the better" provided size of hands is taken into account. I learned to handle a knife age 11 Boy Scouts. Whether one goes for a fixed-bladed knife or a folder depends, in my opinion, on what your're doing. Swiss army or equivalent. And make sure you teach 'em how to sharpen the thing! One drawback of the Swiss knives is that they are very hard; you need to use a diamond hone on them.
Or I do, at least. I have a Swiss knife in my pocket every day, although I graduated to a model with a saw on it, useful for collecting odd-shaped branch stock. Sounds like you did a good job teaching your kids how to use knives properly. JRC and Swiss Army Knives—I've seen some people say they're too hard and others say the steel is too soft to be useful. In any case, one useful tool in keeping just about any knife sharp without going to the stone every other day is a strop. I know I'm hitting this up a bit late, but I rolled on up to this post today and decided to offer my two cents.
As an Eagle Scout with about a bajillion years of being the subject of education on knives, your post is fairly spot on. It's fairly common for Scouting programs here in the US to encourage use of the Swiss Army models, partially because they're cheap and effective and partially because they're often mid-range rewards for things like popcorn and wreath sales, which allows scouts to get a knife they can keep forever versus some plastic toy that will break and get chucked.
A fixed blade, if able to find one of comparable price and quality, is probably superior, just given the tendency of scouts to pinch fingers in bending knives. Someone looking to have beginners break into carving with Swiss Army knives: It'll work fine, but if your knives are fresher, make sure to break them in a little bit in terms of the mechanism, as they can be quite strong and annoying to open at first and potentially more dangerous should they snap close. Other than that, they're fine starter knives. Soap bars are also a cheap and easy way to have kids train, though the smallish size of soap bars is sometimes restrictive, and they're more brittle than you would desire for example, you can wedge the blade under a ledge of soap and pry upwards, twisting the blade.
This may encourage this shortcut in soap where it's not really possible in most woods. Otherwise, a softer wood like pine is quite good for starters; many an hour at scout camp was spent whittling spears out of pine branches and sticking them into the ground to make a mini-fort. ChrisCP, I can illuminate that whole "soft versus hard steel" thing a bit more: Swiss Army knives were actually made by two companies, Wenger and Victorinox.
While the models as well as the insignia they used were nearly the same, personal experience makes me think there's some variation between the two. My Wenger models usually were easier to use out of the box, with less force on the mechanism required to open. My Vixtorinox knives, on the other hand, were much more difficult to break in, taking at least a year of irregular use. With regards to the softness of the metal: The Wenger models were definitely a softer mix, while the Victorinox were on the harder end; I think I sharpened each of my Victorinox knives maybe once barely needing to while the Wenger knives take sharpening more often.
Overall, it's kind of a moot point; apparently, Victorinox absorbed Wenger in , so I'd assume they'd be closer to that nowadays. I haven't bought one recently to check, though. Hope this helps, and great article! Thanks for this great post. I just bought a bruceletto balder and the whittling book for my 9 year old for a Christmas gift. He has been working with a folding knife for carving twigs and has really been wanting a non-folding knife so i appreciate your reccomondations.
By Robin Wood on December 14, in knives , woodworking tools. Shortly afterwards Wille gave the children lessons in carving the famous Darlana horses. Now some people recomend a round tipped knife as a first knife and this one is popular. Instead I would recommend simply taking some coarse emery paper or a rough old carborundum stone and just blunting the tip a little. Finally I would not rule out a folding knife, our children both love their Swiss army knives and it is very hard to beat. This is not serious adult style woodcarving but is full of great inspirational and achievable little projects for children of all ages.
As with adults carving with knives safe technique is of the utmost importance. Teaching the correct way to hold a knife, always thinking if the knife slips through what I am cutting faster than I expect where is it going to travel? Does it stop safely due to the correct body stance or does it swing out of control into a leg or another person? The twists in this book are absolutely unforeseeable and will leave the readers anticipating till the climax to find out what happens next. The dialogues are okay, not that great, what mattered here is the myriad perspectives of the four main and important characters, and through their voices, the readers get to contemplate with the story line.
The actions scenes are penned very strikingly, that give an adrenaline-rushing feel to those scenes. The characters are explored really well, both with their flaws and with their strong aspects, to make them look real and believable in the eyes of the readers. The main character, Cyra and Akos, have developed a bit more in this installment, they looked mature which reflected in their thoughtful and wise decisions. The two other characters are relatively new and their fresh voice added life to this dark inter-spatial drama.
In short, all the characters are very layered and felt really good to read about them. In a nutshell, the story is gripping, with interesting set of characters, that drive the story with their powerful voices. And that climax is really something, totally worth the wait for this book. A must read series for the dystopian fans! Thanks to the publishers from Harper Collins India for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. May 14, Caroline marked it as to-read. Why do I read a book right after it comes out knowing I'm going to love it and then have to wait an entire year for the sequel??
I am so disappointed.
- what is the best whittling knife for a child? - Robin Wood!
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More than most fans were with Allegiant. Personally, I loved Allegiant, but hey to each their own. This book, however, is a different story altogether. When I read Carve the Mark I loved it! I could not get enough of Cyra and Akos. Two star-crossed lovers if ever there were. The world was a little much. I am not going to lie. I was overwhelmed with the vastness of the intergalactic world Roth created. There was just too much of it. The language she tried to throw in there was inconsistent and unnecessary, but the characters and their interactions made Carve the Mark all that it was to me.
The first few chapters of the Fates Divide pick up where Carve the Mark ended. Typically, this is great. Roth decided to kill off the villain in the opening chapters leaving me wondering what all the development was for. Why spend all this time building a great villain just to have him killed uneventfully in the opening pages? We move on to a new argument that is mundane and seemingly pointless but of course leads to a war. Who gives a shit? Then we get a bombshell.
It was a doozy!
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Akos leaves without a word to Cyra. Where they could have just spoken with one another like responsible adults, they act like immature assholes and go their separate ways. Cyra and Akos were wonderful and Roth fucking ruined them in this sequel. Give me a break!!!! They had great chemistry and their relationship was a beautiful thing and what I wanted here was to see them together, holding hands in public and rubbing their love in the faces of EVERYONE. Instead we get a pointless war.
We get characters with no meaning. I kept waiting and waiting for this to get better. Maybe as angry as Kelly was when she got to Allegiant? I just felt like she dropped the ball big time here. Figure it the fuck out and start again. View all 11 comments. Jul 22, Carlos rated it liked it Shelves: Not so bad conclusion to this duology at least I think is a 2-book series , but it lacked more structure and plot development. The three stars rating comes from the main characters development alone. Looking forward for whatever else this auth Not so bad conclusion to this duology at least I think is a 2-book series , but it lacked more structure and plot development.
Looking forward for whatever else this author comes up with in the future. May 17, Rissa rated it really liked it. The fates divide 3. I love the friendships and how each character has their own personality and attitude that shines through so clearly without having to directly say it but how they say it. I like that they needed to ration and fight through the days it was realistic for a dystopian. If you didnt really like carve the mark pick this up anywa The fates divide 3. If you didnt really like carve the mark pick this up anyway because it was much better and I really enjoyed it!
Space was not a finite container, but that didn't mean it was empty. Asteroids, stars, planets, the current stream; space debris, ships, fragmented moons, undiscovered worlds; this was a place of endless possibility and unfathomable freedom. It was not nothing, it was everything. I had some mixed feelings about the first book, but I entirely loved this one! It was so good! The inclusion of Eijeh and Cisi's perspectives really added a lot to the story and the world. We got to see so much more throu Space was not a finite container, but that didn't mean it was empty.
We got to see so much more through them than just through Akos and Cyra, and it was greatly appreciated. I got my more planets wish and got some awesome visuals along the way Ogra is my dream aesthetic The themes were great in this, and the pacing was also great. I was hesitant about the Lazmet death retcon, but it was done really well and added a lot to the story.
The plot twists were all super effective and the hard-hitting moments were pretty intense. Let me just say that I hate Isae Benesit and will never like her. An unresolved political drama is perfectly okay to leave hanging. Don't pull an Allegiant on us again! View all 5 comments. Dec 10, First off I need to start by saying that I like d the first book a lot. I rated it 4 stars. So you can imagine how much it hurts for me to say that The Fates Divide was an extremely, unbelievably, ohgodd First off I need to start by saying that I like d the first book a lot. So you can imagine how much it hurts for me to say that The Fates Divide was an extremely, unbelievably, ohgoddingly, painful read.
Is it even me? My tastes might have changed after reading all kinds of books after Carve The Mark. Or that pretty book you saw in store and was an instant-buy but ended up disappointing you afterwards true story. All my fangirling and love for the characters went poof.. What I so hopefully expected: More action, needed sacrifices which was hinted so clearly on the blurb , excitement, more ships and especially the unexpected. What I actually got: Nothing but plain disappointment. I also like books that teach or leave you an impression and so far this book has made no impact on me whatsoever.
Do something interesting maybe and new? I felt rather forced to read it. Also, there had always been controversy surrounding this series but only now do I finally get it. Is it unfair that I gave a rating without making it to the end? Feb 04, Gordana marked it as to-read. There is no way I can wait an entire year for this! May 16, Stacy rated it liked it Shelves: No spoilers in this review of The Fates Divide.
The Fates Divide (Carve the Mark, #2) by Veronica Roth
I give it 3 stars. Unlike many readers, I enjoyed Carve the Mark, the first book in this series. This sequel got off to an agonizingly slow start. Eventually, a plot development intrigued me enough that it was worth the wait. More about that below.
Will it be Isae? Will it be Cyra, who has taken the throne for her fallen brother? And how do the Oracles fit into the mix? At times, it seems they are merely using their visions to orchestrate the future they desire. Turmoil exists at every turn, and tragic mistakes are made. This may sound like a decent storyline, but I was slowly plodding along until Roth dealt me a surprise. It was the perfect kind of twist: This catapulted me through the second half of the book, and the final showdown was fairly compelling and emotional. I will give any book that shocks me a bump in rating.
In this case, I was wavering between 2 stars and 3, and that surprise pushed my rating to a 3. What else did I enjoy? This might sound silly, but I loved the names of the characters and the places.
They were original and cohesive. And I liked the two lead characters a lot.
Wood carving
I understand why we needed to hear from her, but I was bored in her chapters and ready to skip back to Akos or Cyra as soon as they began. I only recommend this book to those who enjoyed Carve the Mark. Read all of our reviews here. Check out our full book recaps here. I felt that this series over all was very disappointing. At the end of Carve the Mark , our main duo found themselves struggling to find out where they fit after the massive events that took place. And also struggling with their feelings for one another and what that means for their fates.
Now as Cyra begins to take her place as leader of the Shotet people, she must face the fact that her father may be alive and ready to start war. Meanwhile, Akos and Cyra are confronted with their actual fates a I felt that this series over all was very disappointing. Meanwhile, Akos and Cyra are confronted with their actual fates and have to decide what they will become. I really wished that I liked this more. It had an interesting plot but as the story went on, it became predictable, anti-climactic, and boring.
And I hold Roth at fault for most of this. I still don't understand why everyone's POV was told from 1st person except Akos - his was told from third. And because of this he seemed very one dimensional. Actually, I was never really felt attached to any of the characters. And because of this I couldn't really get into their lives. Another issue I had was with the pacing. For a book that was almost pages, nothing really happened. There was a lot of talking about plans and talking about fates and talking about families and just talking.
Then when it seemed like the war was going to happen And when she tried to wrap everything up in the epilogue, I just felt cheated with the way she handled the ending. It just makes me sad that now I will be approaching Roth's work with caution. Feb 18, Mary H marked it as to-read Shelves: I don't like this cover. I don't like that the title is now orange and a different font from CTM. Apr 21, Vathna Dany marked it as to-read. Okay, the first book sucks real bad but this sounds so cool and OMG, that cover! Op sommige momenten kon het verhaal mij niet bekoren, terwijl sommige stukken juist fantastisch waren.
Recensie lees je hier: Jul 23, Eleonora rated it liked it. Alla fine sono volata tra le pagine senza quasi accorgermene e a storia finita ho sentito un senso di incompletezza. Bellissimi anche il tema della perdita, del dolore di come fare pace e perdonare se stessi e gli altri. Sep 02, Mel rated it liked it Shelves: This is a strong 3.
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A bit too much going on and none of it detailed much. I think a few less tensions and those in here more detailed would have brought this book to a higher rating. Though I gave them the same rating, I preferred this book to the first one. I was expecting more from the climax it wasn't as intense as I expected, but still was good. Akos makes really bad life decisions for the majority of this novel TBH. Ending was beautiful and didn't murder me the way I expected it to. But really Akos, get it together!
Feb 18, Celine B marked it as to-read. It's so unfair to wait that long El Destino los hizo conocer. Y ahora los va a dividir. Uno no puede oponerse a su propio destino. No obstante, este segundo libro no me ha dado todo lo que yo esperaba me iba a dar, o buscaba que me diese.
Creo que todo sucede de manera muy precipitada y suave, demasiado light. Son cosas que parece no haber sido pensadas bien, una manera de dar un destino a esos personajes y de que hagan algo sin hacer demasiado, tampoco. Jun 10, Erin Clemence rated it liked it. Lazmet Noavek, the soulless tyrant who everyone presumed to be dead, is in fact living and ready to wreak more havoc on anyone who gets in his way. Cyra and Akos desperately try to work together to prevent this evil from taking back his throne and stopping a barbaric war.
However, Lazmet is the strongest opponent either have ever faced, and when a secret is revealed that has both Cyra and Akos doubting their fates and each other, both are faced with the challenge of their lives and the lives of the entire population of two planets. It was mediocre read at best. It was as if Ms.
The Fates Divide
And of course, two characters are combined into one, and the siblings of one character switch and then become the siblings of another halfway through the novel. Also, the book had lovely pages and the hardcover copy I borrowed from the library could be held in just the right way. There were far too many parties involved in this particular war, and I was quickly lost as to who to root for.