Get Inspired by These Hand-Carved Wooden Neckerchief Slides
You can create your own neckerchief slide. All you need is a pocketknife, a piece of wood and some imagination. Before you begin, make sure you are properly trained, and remember to follow pocketknife safety rules.
Once you’ve carved your neckerchief slide, make sure to share a photo with us.
Now let’s check out some awesome slides!
POCKETKNIFE
Bill Macfarlane started a blog chronicling his recreations from an old Scout Life magazine staple: Whittlin’ Jim’s “Slide of the Month.” He carved this one out of a piece of pine. People would sometimes stop him to see if it was real.
OLD SCOUT
Macfarlane made this slide from a scrap piece of maple flooring. The material was very hard, so he had to sharpen his knife often. He also used a carving vise to hold the slide still while he carved.
PHILMONT GATE
Macfarlane recreated the iconic gate at Philmont Scout Ranch with boots hanging from it. For this slide, he needed reclaimed pallet wood, dowels, an ice-pop stick, leather and thread. He finishes every slide with acrylic paint and a couple of coats of polyurethane.
DARTH VADER
The Force is strong with this slide. John Alexy carved this slide with a piece of basswood and painted it black. He chose not to sand it smooth to show it was carved.
ORION SPACECRAFT
Alexy shaped a block of Alaskan yellow cedar into this model of the Orion module from NASA’s Artemis program. He also used straight pins, parts of a plastic food takeout container and red thread to complete the slide. He researched the module on NASA’s website so he could replicate the details.
TROOP NUMBERS
Troop 396 has been represented in several of Alexy’s slides. This one is made with a piece of basswood. Inspired by the May Trucking Company logo, which uses interlocking letters, Alexy used PVC pieces and ice pop sticks to give the carved wood more support.
BASEBALL GLOVE
When a Scout in Alexy’s troop earns the First Class rank, he carves the Scout a slide. This one looks like a baseball glove that one First Class Scout had. Alexy used basswood and leather lacing to complete the slide.
SQUARE KNOT
Don Riley also used Whittlin’ Jim’s instructional magazine stories to craft wooden neckerchief slides. He has created slides that look like knots, animals and the Scout sign.
SCOUT
Chris Gardea has been teaching the Wood Carving merit badge for almost 40 years. As a 10-year-old Cub Scout, he first got his woodcarving inspiration from watching his brother whittle a canteen slide from the “Slide of the Month” feature. He has since taught woodcarving courses at National Jamborees and the Philmont Training Center and has made projects for the National Scouting Museum in New Mexico.
You can see more slides that Gardea and others have made in this video from the National
Scouting Museum:
If you’re planning to attend the 2026 National Jamboree and you want to try woodcarving, there will be a booth where all the tools, projects and instructions are provided.
NECKERCHIEF SLIDE PHOTO GALLERY
Click on an image to scroll through the neckerchief slides in a larger photo gallery. If you have an amazing slide, send us a photo of it!
Important Note: Please only upload photos of your neckerchief slide. Because of privacy rules, we can’t post any photos that show people’s faces. Always ask for your parent’s permission before uploading anything to a website.
Leave a Comment