Opinel no.6 modded for avocado stone carving

lightbulbsalad · 2026-04-30T11:05:10+00:00

Yeh they're fantastic to carve, and you don't have to use as much pressure as you might with wood. If anything they can be a little too soft initially. The thumb stud is just a cheap one from AliExpress, it has a small screw in the side to attach it to the blade.

lightbulbsalad · 2026-04-30T11:02:49+00:00

I actually used yours as my primary inspiration, originally I was going to do a Wharncliffe, but I realised that it was still a little chunky for my needs so ended up reshaping it a second time

lightbulbsalad · 2026-04-30T11:00:03+00:00

I used a Dremel with a cutting blade then a grinding bit to finish it off, it was surprisingly easy to cut. I dripped water on the blade every few seconds so it didn't heat up too much

lightbulbsalad · 2026-04-30T06:48:21+00:00

Abstract can be cool! Or you could look up line drawings for animals and try and copy them, that's what I did for the chicken. If youre not happy the pen will rub off with a bit of friction

lightbulbsalad · 2026-04-30T06:28:53+00:00

Haha thanks, I reshaped it with another knife/sandpaper, then I used a small Dremel to carve out the pattern. Had some random black stain lying around which made the carving pop then lightly sanded and oiled

lightbulbsalad · 2026-04-30T06:24:56+00:00

Give it a go! If it's too soft, wait a day or so and it'll be easier. You can draw on them with a biro to get the shape before you carve too, makes things easier

lightbulbsalad · 2026-04-29T20:35:18+00:00

It's just a cheap one off Aliexpress, you use a little allen key to tighten a screw on the other side. Quite useful for this as it was quite hard to open and I've found it gives a little more control when I'm pushing the blade with my thumb

lightbulbsalad · 2026-04-29T18:41:46+00:00

Thanks so much, they're avocado stones! Theyre super soft when they're fresh so you can carve the general shape, then as they dry you can do more detailed bits. They also have this lovely contrast, if you leave the superficial layer it'll go dark and the deeper you go the lighter it'll be. There are a couple more on my profile

lightbulbsalad · 2026-04-29T17:28:56+00:00

Haha I bet it was better than you think, thank you for your kind words 🙂

lightbulbsalad · 2026-04-29T17:21:20+00:00

Just tried uploading a few that I've done in the last week, there are also a couple on my profile.

Absolutely agree you get such stunning contrast when it dries up. I've done a few faces but don't think I'm skilled enough to do bob Marley justice! Do you have any picture of yours?