Welcome! You have arrived at the personal web site and on-line wood shop of Ernest Shaver, The Whittler. Ernest specializes in hand carving, painting and mounting true to life song birds and woodpeckers. He is also is highly skilled in the time-honored craft of "whittling" one of a kind walking sticks. Ernest Shaver's wood carvings are unique works of art as no two birds, mounts, or walking sticks are ever exactly alike. Find us in York County, South Carolina.

Ernest Shaver began carving wood with a pocket knife in 1980 when his wife’s grandfather instructed him in the technique of “whittlin’”. The very first items he showed young Ernest how to carve was a wooden chain and a ball in a cage from a solid piece of wood.  His favorite item to carve, which became Ernest’s favorite, was walking sticks that he would gather while hiking through the woods. He would carve what ever image he “saw” in the piece, never seeing or carving the same image twice.

Early on, Ernest concentrated on carving unique walking sticks that feature mammals, reptiles, human faces, vines, and abstract images.  He strives to develop an image on the stick or wood piece that is already implied by the natural shape of the wood. Each walking stick is unique not only in size and shape but also in the carved image.  He finishes most of the walking sticks with natural wood stain and tongue oil. Occasionally he will add natural colorings with acrylic paints.

Most recently, Ernest has begun the carving of song birds and woodpeckers. He uses several wood types such as bass, buckeye, and tupelo. He draws his patterns onto the wood block and cuts out the basic image using a band saw. He uses a carving knife to continue to shape the wood piece into the image of the bird. He uses a dremmel and a wood burning tool to add the detail of the feathers.  The eyes and feet are of glass and pewter respectively which he orders from a wood carving supply house.
Ernest mounts these birds on natural pieces he finds in the woods near his home in York County South Carolina or he gathers from the Down East region of coastal of Maine. These mounts are then attached on a stained and oiled wood base made from various hard and soft woods such as cedar, walnut, pine and maple.

Currently, Ernest sells his wood carvings from his home to customers that either know him personally or have heard of his work from those he knows or those who have bought his pieces at the various shows he has been in over the years.