Rune-carving.
by beanalreasa
So I spent yesterday morning hand carving runes for my shop:
…and goodness, was it an adventure!
You see, I’d never carved runes to be used by someone else before, so I wasn’t entirely certain how they would come out.
As well, I hadn’t used this particular set of wood carving blades/chisels to carve runes before, so there was a learning curve there as well.
Surprisingly, I had to sharpen them halfway through the process. (They were brand new so I don’t know how or why they dulled so quickly. Hmmm.*)
At any rate, the only rune I seemed to have difficulty with actually carving for some reason was Ansuz, (the fourth rune).
Even galdring Ansuz felt somehow strange, as well.
and even though I made offerings to each of my own stone runes** as I carved each new rune on the wooden blank:
…it was rough going for the next few runes.
However by the time, I’d reached Eiwhaz, (a rune that feels most like an old friend), I was feeling more confident, having reached a sort of rhythm in both the carving and the galdring.
So, after Eiwhaz the rest of the runes came to rather nicely.
And the next thing you know, I had Othala on the carving block…
And I realized I was finished with the ‘carving’ part.
Overall, I am feeling pretty good about the whole process…and one step closer to having a rune set ready for my shop.
~~~
Though I cannot help but recall that in the summer of 2014, I had a psychic tell me in a reading that I would find satisfaction in woodcarving, and I had to laugh.
I hadn’t attempted to carve anything in wood since I was a child.
But I bought my first wood carving blade shortly after that, so I think I can admit that she was right.
I did enjoy that process 🙂
~~~
* I was using ash blanks, if that makes any difference…
* * Since I’d been told by several runecrafters that one should not ‘feed’ a rune set if it is going to be given to someone else – that should be left for the purchaser/user to do – I found much to my surprise that my own runes were quite hungry… O.o
bloodteethandflame 
What an interesting post! Are you going to dye/paint them or will you be leaving the entirely blank?
Heh.
Y’know, I’m not quite sure what I’m going to do, as I have yet to post them to my shop.
As I said in the post, in talking with others who carve runes, I’ve been told that if one creates a rune set, intending to give them to someone else, one shouldn’t dye or paint them *at all* – as that process should be left to the person who will ultimately use them.
or
the ‘TL;DR answer’: It is likely that I will leave them blank.
Thanks for your comment!