Wood burning tools are rare. Let’s be honest. However, if you know where to look, you can find them everywhere. This article will look at what types of wood burning tools are necessary to complete even the most basic sets and how to find alternatives and replacements that work just as well at half the cost.
Wood burning was developed at the dawn of time as a means of communication. The technique essentially consists of engraving or etching images, later languages, into a type of material. That material used to be leather, but then it became wood. As such, wood burning developed. And that is. There really isn’t much beyond the basic idea of carving something into wood using fire.
With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that the basic tools needed to complete a successful wood burning project are something hot, say a soldering iron, and wood, say a block of wood. However, there are kits for those who want it. These kits include a few more items to help you get off to a good start. This kit may also include an instruction book on how to get your first wood burning experiment off to a good start.
So what if you don’t have or can’t access a soldering iron? Okay, do not worry. Instead of using a soldering iron, why not use what our ancestors used? Fire. That’s right, fire. Simply build a fire, hold a piece of wood, char it a bit, and use the charred tip of that piece of wood to carve words, symbols, or images onto your canvas. Of course, using a charred stick won’t get you anywhere near the exact precision of a soldering iron, however it will at least leave a mark.
Now, what if you don’t have a block of wood or a leather canvas? Easy! Cut down a tree or kill an animal with the skin. Sure, this may sound a bit barbaric; After all, trees are sacred, but I assure you that no one will get hurt, except possibly yourself, if you don’t cut them properly when you cut down a tree. Skinning an animal is fine and shouldn’t bother anything. However, this is what our ancestors did. They cut down trees and killed animals for their fur. Of course, what they did was not a hobby for fun, but a means to stay alive… but think what you will do to keep their spirit alive!
Or you could save yourself the trouble and not go into burning wood at all.
