Blade Thickness

Notice the mustache and the end of the gnomes nose.  Some of the wood has chipped out.  The detail is gone.  This did not happen after the knife cuts were made.  This happened during the knife cuts.  The knife used has a blade that is a wee bit too thick for such a small knife cut that was attempted.  I should have moved to a different knife; a knife with a thinner blade at the tip.  As a knife blade cuts/slices through wood, it spreads or displaces the wood at the cut.  The thicker the knife blade, the more spreading and wood displacement takes place.  On small pieces, this spreading and displacement will can cause the wood to chip out.When whittling or carving small items that have small details, make sure your knife has a smaller and thinner blade tip.