How To Whittle Chess Pieces (Guide)

Whittling wooden chess pieces only requires a carving knife and a large enough piece of wood. Consistency is the word here, so take your time and try to make them as similar as possible.

The finishing touches should be made with wax or beeswax, which are easier to find. Don’t forget to set the expectation levels for your whittling abilities. The first try should barely deliver excellent pieces but the more you work, the easier it gets.

As for the color, the black set can be made of Red Cedar if you’re a beginner, Walnut for more experienced carvers, and even ebony if you’re highly skilled and want to make the set luxurious. For the white pieces, pretty much any kind of wood should do.

How To Whittle Chess Pieces

1. Pawns

Starting with the pawns, use the push-cut technique to round off the top part. Once the head is finished, move on to the rest of the piece, where you can use stop-cuts to mark the deepest point in every layer.

Drawing on the piece should make it easier. Pawns will definitely need to be sanded, as knife cuts will make them look too simplistic and two-dimensional.

2. Knights

For knights, the balance between the base and the body is extremely important. If you carve too much, they might look too weak and, the opposite, too disproportional to the base.

Highlighting the mane, using a V-cut to outline the ears, and making sure the head is not leaning should make the work look more professional.

3. Bishops

Unless you wish to give them a totally new design, the bishops should be somewhat similar to the pawns. Just make them a little taller than the pawns, and don’t forget to make the cut on the right side of the head. That is the key factor that differentiates bishops.

4. Rooks

Rooks are also fairly simple to carve. Mind the larger base and the few thinning lines on the top. However simple, it may be a good idea to carve the rooks out of a thicker piece than you did the bishops and knights.

That will give the rooks the imponent look they deserve. For the top cuts, it might be easier to make them after carving the middle.

5. Kings and Queens

Kings and queens are the most important pieces in the set; the biggest difference between them is what is on top of their heads. Start by rounding off the wooden blocks and make sure one is taller than the other. For the king’s crown, draw a small circle on top of the head before carving it.

Extra Tips

In general, rounder edges help pieces last longer, and thinning areas are helpful when making layers. The pieces’ upper quarter is where the tricky design kicks in, especially if you’re not so experienced.

If you want to add some fine details to the top of pieces, be extra careful not to ruin a piece right at the end of the work. Lastly, be careful not to let pieces vary so much in size.