Case Family Reunion Tour-Roachdale Hardware, Indiana
June 1, 2024 from 9am to 12pmShepherd Hills Eddyville Case Event
May 11, 2024 from 9am to 12pm
The online community of knife collectors, A Knife Family Forged in Steel
Suggested readin' - CARVING PEACH PITS by R.V. Dietrich.
We've also agreed to host the "Whittling and Woodcarving" group here also. Discussions from June 20th-June 29th are from that group.
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OH no!! That is one happy deer. Wish I had a peach tree to save pits for you
Things are starting to look "PEACHY" round here. Looking to score some peaches this weekend. Local Peach Festival is on Monday.
If I ever get the home computer fixed(replaced) I'm thinking it's now time for our third lesson...
JJ,
I hope your getting some pits on this trip (and a new whittler or two)
Jan Carter said:
We are waiting patiently, kinda
Sorry for the delay, Jan. Mannaged to put togather a short lesson on pits. Hopefully, if we have a connection in PA, I can do the next lesson from there. Maybe you can bring that Great Eastern whittler?
Lesson 3
The Pit.
Here in my corner of the world, the middle of July is the best time for buying fresh, local, peaches. While peach season has been in full swing for several weeks, the best pits are to be found at this point in the season and there are many roadside stands that sell fresh , local peaches.
Now is the time to enjoy some fresh peach ice cream, cobbler, fried pies, preserves….
About got myself sidetracked there for a minute;
Peaches come in 2 distinct varieties; Freestone, where the pit is easily removed from a cut peach; and Clingstone, where the pit is much harder to remove. Cleaning the pits is definitely easier with a freestone than a clingstone, though I seem to like the shapes of a clingstone better. This is why I keep a set of picks in my carving kit
Peach pits (or stones) are simply the hard seed covering from a peach.
I did say seed COVERING, as the actual seed is inside of the pit. While peaches themselves are great, DO NOT EAT THE SEED CERNAL INSIDE OF A PIT, THEY ARE POISONOUS. Some folks think that the inner seed is an almond, it’s not.
For the most part, you’ll want nice shaped, whole pits to work with. The best pits should be tan to brownish-red color.
Some pits may be a much lighter color, almost white,, but they tend to be softer and not as strong after they are carved. They are also lighter in weight.
Now that you’ve gathered your pits and cleaned them, you need to put them out to dry. If you put them in a zip lock bag, or something airtight they could mold.
After they’ve dried out, it’ll be time to do some carving. Now is a good time to look over “Carving Peach Pits“, by R.V. Dietrich once again.
If you come across some earlier season crops, which have been exposed to late winter frost and freezes, they tend to have damaged pits. Most times the pits from early crops will be split or even broken within the fruit.
If I find pits that are split open, but not broken in two, I like to make pit characters with them.
For the next lesson, you’ll need 3 things, your knife, a thumb guard and a pit. (If you forget the thumb guard, be sure to bring band-aids. Might want to have some "on hand", anyway.)
Till next time…
JJ
I have notice the difference is how easily some pits clean that others. I have an old toothbrush that will take most of the peach off and then others I have to remove them by hand. Fingernails work great for that. I certainly will make sure I have bandaids on hand
Yep,
A freestone comes out fairly clean, but you'll definately need "something extra" to get a clingstone clean.
Have you tried to carve into one yet? Just to test it?
You'll do fine, I'm sure. I can't draw a strait line either. I think that I'm the only one that can cut a circle with a skill saw.
With any luck, I'll be able to connect to some wi-fi, in PA. Hope to show the process of a simple basket.
Can't remember who it was here at iKC that carved a face. I've been looking, but I can't find the old posts...
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