Both patterns need only a knife, a coping saw and a piece of basswood, the Wood Handbook's carvers' favourite. The cuts they use — the stop cut, the push and paring cuts, and cutting downhill with the grain — are explained in wood carving for beginners, and the knife itself in wood carving tools.
The two patterns at a glance
| Item | Heart token | Songbird |
|---|---|---|
| Blank | Basswood 1/2 × 1-3/4 × 6 in | Basswood 1 × 1-1/2 × 4 in |
| Finished size | 1/2 × 1-1/2 × 1-1/2 in | 4 in long, 1-1/2 in tall, 1 in thick |
| Grain | Along the stick: from the point to the top | Along the length: beak to tail |
| Tools | Knife, coping saw | Knife, coping saw or band saw |
| Holding | The stick is the handle until the last cut | In the gloved hand, the knife cutting away |
BenchRoot designs. Any soft, even-textured, straight-grained wood will do in place of basswood.
For a first knife, Morakniv suggests a short, thin blade for detail and a slightly larger grip, preferably with a finger guard. Keep it sharp: a dull knife needs force, and force makes a knife slip. Knives, gouges and sets are compared in choosing carving tools.
Pattern 1: a heart token
The heart is drawn, not traced. Two circles of radius 3/8 in, centres 3/4 in apart, touch in the middle and make the lobes, 1-1/2 in across. The point sits on the centre line 1-1/8 in below the circles' centres, and from it a straight line runs to just touch each circle. Each of those lines is exactly 1-1/8 in long — the distance from point to centre is √(3/8² + 9/8²) and the touching line is √(that² − 3/8²) = 9/8 — and the heart is 1-1/2 in tall from point to the tops of the lobes.
Carving the heart token
Draw it on the stick
On one face of the 1/2 × 1-3/4 × 6 in stick, draw the heart at one end with its lobes towards the end of the stick and its point towards the handle, the grain running along the stick.
Saw the top and sides
With the stick clamped, saw round the lobes and down both sides with a coping saw, leaving the heart joined to the stick across its lower part.
Round the edges
Holding the stick as a handle, round the lobes and sides with the knife, cutting from the middle of each face towards the edge and downhill with the grain. Make a stop cut down the centre of the dip between the lobes and cut into it from each side.
Free the point
Saw across below the point. Shape the point in the gloved hand with small paring cuts, a thumb guard on the thumb.
Finish
Ease any sharp edges, sand lightly if you want a smooth token rather than a faceted one, and finish.
Pattern 2: a songbird
Carving the songbird
Saw the profile
Draw the side view on the 1-1/2 in face of the blank and saw it out with a coping saw, the blank clamped, or on a band saw following band saw safety.
Draw the top view
On the sawn top, draw a centre line from beak to tail and sketch the top view round it: 1 in wide at the body, narrowing to the beak and the tail.
Rough the shape
Holding the bird in the gloved hand, cut away the corners towards the top-view line with push cuts away from you, working downhill from the high points of the back and breast.
Define the head
Make shallow stop cuts round the neck and slice into them from the body side, so the head stands a little proud.
Refine and finish
Round everything towards the centre line, keep the beak blunt, and mark the eye with a small drilled or burned dot. Finish with a clear oil or leave it bare.
Safety— Hands, and who the pieces are for
Keep the holding hand behind the edge's path, with a carving glove and a thumb guard for paring cuts — no glove stops a point. Neither piece is a toy: the CPSC bans small parts in children's products for children under 3 because of choking, and these are not designed or tested as toys, so keep them from young children. General rules are in woodworking safety rules.
When both feel easy, the next step is flat-surface work: a chip-carved rosette and a relief-carved leaf in wood carving projects. A burned outline or detail can be added with pyrography.
Before the first pattern
- Basswood blanks cut with the grain running the length
- Pattern drawn at size on the 1/4 in grid
- Knife stropped until it slices without force
- Glove on the holding hand and a thumb guard for paring cuts
- Pieces kept from young children when finished
Sources
Both patterns are BenchRoot designs, drawn exactly: the heart from two circles and two tangent lines, the songbird by its outline on a 1/4 in grid. Neither was carved for this page, and neither is offered as a download or printable file; the grid lets the pattern be redrawn at size. Neither piece is a toy.
- 1.
Chapter 2: Characteristics and Availability of Commercially Important Woods. USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory — Wood Handbook, FPL-GTR-282, 2021.
Used for: Basswood soft and light, of fine even texture and straight grained, easy to work with tools and a favourite of wood carvers.
- 2.
Find the right wood carving knife. Morakniv.
Used for: Short, thin blades for fine detail; a slightly larger grip, preferably with a finger guard, often recommended for beginners; a carving-sharp edge safer and more effective.
- 3.
Staff of Woodcarving Illustrated. Comparing Carving Gloves. Woodcarving Illustrated, 2026.
Used for: A carving glove on the holding hand, placed out of the knife's path; gloves stop slicing cuts but not punctures; thumb guards for paring cuts.
- 4.
Small Parts for Toys and Children's Products Business Guidance (16 CFR part 1501). U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Used for: Small parts banned in children's products intended for children under 3 because of the choking hazard — why carved pieces that are not designed or tested as toys are kept from young children.
About this guide
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