Thanks for all the suggestions. As I said, I have some bass wood on the way and a beginner book but no knife so far. I have taken everything said and shown here into account, and I have a much better idea of what a whittling knife not only looks like but why it has the blades it does. There are a lot of three/four blade knives on the net, but I think I need to hold it in my hand. I really like that un-X-ld in the photo. Sweet.

I'll let you know what I wind up with and keep you posted on any projects. I saw a video of a guy with a really long chain he made from a 2x4. It would be kinda cool to have one lying around and have friends say, "You made that?"

It would be even cooler to give friends hand-made ornaments this Christmas.