Rifle stock carving has a long history, but a talented wood carver from Melbourne has gone a step further and is creating entire display guns out of wood — using a chainsaw.
Brandon Kroon is an accomplished chainsaw carver who has been active for several years but recently attracted attention for his incredibly detailed and skilled 1:1 scale chainsaw-carved artworks depicting iconic Australian service rifles, topped with a helmet or slouch hat.
So far, he has made works for veterans and their families depicting WWI and WWII-era SMLE Mk III .303 rifles, Vietnam War-era L1A1 SLR rifles, and even the turn-of-the-millennium F88 Austeyr rifles.
Brandon is a shooter himself, but said he fell into making carved rifle displays almost by accident, as his bread and butter for chainsaw-carved artwork was actually native animals as well as machinery and vehicles.
“I had a couple of military commissions and I did a full size WWI soldier for Rosebud RSL,” he said.
“From there I started to get a few military-themed carvings, got a few slouch hats for veterans. Then they said they’d like their service rifles depicted — it all snowballed in the space of about six months.”
He said requests for service firearms came from both veterans and their family members or descendants who were looking to have something commemorating an ancestor’s service in the military.
“It’s been amazing getting contacted by service people and families from all different generations wanting rifles from different periods,” he said. “I got to learn a bit more about our history, too.”
Brandon said that even before he fires up his chainsaw, a lot of work goes into making sure the resulting artwork will be the most accurate and best depiction it can be.
“First, I try to research what the specific gun was — there’s so many variants so I try to make sure I’m getting the right one for the era and place where it was serving,” he said.
“I try to get as many photos as possible and measure it up. Then I select the log that’s going to work best — nice straight grain in good condition.
“I’ll make sure the proportions are there in the log, then it’s the process of whittling it down from there.
“I’ve had a lot of fun with all of them, but the SLR had a lot of variation with the stock and grip; it’s got different colour tones — it was a really nice, balanced carving.”
The displays have no moving parts and are life-size carvings, although some concessions need to be made for structural integrity purposes such as having bolt-handles or triggers or sights be thicker than they are in real life. The finished product weighs about 20kg.
While Victoria has fairly strict laws against replicas of firearms, there are exemptions for artworks, which includes Brandon’s works, as the rifles are on a pedestal and generally include an attached slouch hat as well.
His artworks — not just of firearms, but everything from native animals to cars to boats — have become extremely popular, to the point where there is a months-long wait on commissions.
Brandon’s passion for chainsaw carving dates back to his childhood, and was bolstered by the support of his family and friends when he became serious about the art form.
“I saw [chainsaw carving] done as a little kid at country shows and ag festivals,” he said. “It stuck with me; I decided to try it myself about 15 years ago.
“I had one chainsaw and firewood logs. By no means were my first carvings any good, but it ignited my passion.”
From there, he started meeting other carvers, making artworks for family and friends, attending events and then watching everything grow from there to where he is today.
Brandon’s carving skills have attracted international attention and recognition. He recently secured first placing at the Sedro-Woolley Loggerodeo in the US, where he also won the Carver’s Choice and People’s Choice awards.
He said while chainsaws might seem like an unusual tool for wood carving, they allowed him an incredible degree of flexibility and artistic style that was not available with a traditional hammer and chisel.
“It’s a different beast to hammer and chisel carving,” he said.
“What I can do with a chainsaw, with the texturing and the way I carve, is totally different to what I could do with a hammer and chisel — it’s a different style and different approach.”
Firearms can be works of art in their own right and Brandon’s work shows they don’t have to be made out of steel for that to remain true.
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