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Fancy Firewood

Hank Ivey · Decatur County, West Tennessee

Chainsaw carvings, 100% custom. No two the same.

Hank turns logs and dead tree stumps into bears, eagles, Bigfoot and just about anything else you can dream up. Carved in his shop, or right where the tree stood in your yard.

Painted bald eagle carving in a steep dive, wings swept straight up
Standing tree trunk carved into an eagle perched above a leaping fishCarved on site
Life-size black bear carving walking on all fours
Carving since
2017
Competed and carved in
8 states
Newspaper and TV coverage
Press
Original. No reproductions
100%

Stump carving in West Tennessee

Don't grind that stump. Carve it.

Lost a tree to a storm, disease or old age? Before you pay to have the stump ground out, picture what it could be. Hank carves it right where it stands: an eagle over the driveway, a bear by the porch, the family farm in the front yard.

  1. Send a photo

    Call, or text a picture of the stump or tree and tell Hank where you are. He'll tell you what it could become.

  2. Settle the design and price

    Price comes down to size, detail and the wood itself. A small deposit books the job.

  3. Carved where it stands

    Hank brings the saws to you and carves it in place. The balance is due when it's finished.

Based in Decatur County, West Tennessee. Not sure you're close enough? Call or text and ask.

Front-yard tree stump carved into a barn and tractor with sunflowers around the base

The family farm, from a front-yard stump

Tall standing trunk carved into an eagle perched above a leaping fish
Eagle and its catch, beside a driveway
Large standing bear carved from a rooted stump, with two men beside it for scale
A standing bear to greet visitors
Tree trunk beside a house carved into a landing eagle with an owl tucked in a hollow below
Eagle above an owl in its hollow
Wide stump mid-carve showing a bald eagle and a painted American flag
Eagle and flag, taking shape
Slim trunk in a front lawn carved into a house-number post topped with an eagle
House-number post with an eagle on top

Tree coming down soon?

Call before it's cut. Ask your tree crew to leave the trunk standing as tall as they safely can instead of cutting it flush. More wood means more to carve.

Tree services and landscapers

Got a customer who hates to see a tree go? Leave the trunk standing and pass along Hank's number, 731-733-0635. A removal turns into something they'll show the neighbors.

Commissions and sales

Tell Hank what you want carved.

A bear for the cabin, a bench with your name on it, a sign for your business, a memorial for someone you miss. Hank takes commissions regularly, and whatever you can describe, he can find in a log.

1

Get in touch

Call, text or email with what you have in mind. A photo or a rough idea is plenty.

2

Talk it through

You and Hank work out the subject, the size, the wood and the finish, natural or painted.

3

Small deposit

A small deposit gets your piece started.

4

Balance on completion

You pay the rest when the carving is done and you've seen it.

A tall carving of a face in a feathered headdress, unpainted and in progress in the workshop

Good to know before you call

Price
From around $100 to several thousand. It depends on the piece, how complex it is, the wood, and how soon you need it.
Payment
PayPal, Venmo, Square or cash.
Shipping
Carvings can be shipped. The buyer covers shipping.
Originals only
Every piece is carved once. No copies, no reproductions.

After something ready-made? Hank sells finished carvings at arts and crafts shows, competitions and demonstrations. Ask what he has on hand right now.

Start a commission

About Hank

“I'm going to try that.”

Hank Ivey grew up in Bath Springs, Tennessee, the son of a timber man. On family trips to Gatlinburg he would watch men with chainsaws turn logs into sculptures, and the idea stuck.

It took a while. In 2017, at fifty years old, he got hold of a piece of wood, watched a few videos and went at it. When he was done he called his son over to see the bear. The verdict: “I can't tell that it is a bear, but it's some kind of animal.” Hank was thrilled. The bears are easier to recognize these days.

A year later he set up his first booth at a craft show in Centerville. Since then he has carved at shows, demonstrations and competitions in eight states, been covered by the newspaper and on television, and made pieces for local causes including the Carl Perkins Bass Classic, the CASA Red Shoe Gala and a St. Jude benefit, along with a commemorative carving for the Linden bicentennial.

“It's easy. Just cut away the parts that don't belong with a chainsaw, and there you have it!”
Hank Ivey, in The News Leader, March 27, 2019

Competed and carved in eight states

  • Tennessee
  • Arkansas
  • Mississippi
  • Kentucky
  • Indiana
  • South Carolina
  • Pennsylvania
  • Minnesota
The workshop: a small western-style storefront with carved bears on the porch and roof
The shop, with a few regulars on the porch.
Red cedar angel carving standing outside the workshop

100%

custom. No two are the same.

Get in touch

Got a stump, or an idea? Call Hank.

The fastest way to a price is a phone call or a texted photo. Hank will tell you what he can do with it.

Based in Decatur County, West Tennessee. Carvings can be shipped; on-site stump work depends on where you are, so just ask.

Rather write it down?

Fill this in and it becomes an email to Hank.

Opens your email app with the message filled in. Attach photos there before you send.

Call HankText a photo