ORNAMENTAL WOODCARVER Patrick Damiaens: November 2025

Crest (Heraldry) carved in wood

Heraldic sculpture

2024, a commission from a Canadian client to craft a crest in lime wood. What is a crest?

This carving/sculpture is part of an existing family coat of arms and, as the word suggests, is depicted/placed on top of the helmet.

It can be something very simple, such as a star, tree or flower... ... or something more complex, such as a lion, dragon or griffin... The choice of crest designs seems limitless.

To give you a better visual impression, the image below shows a number of family crests that I have created in the past, with the black arrow indicating the crest.

The black arrow indicates the crest.
(Bas-relief | family coat of arms carved in wood)

It is rare for a client to order a helmet crest as a freestanding sculpture.

This requires a completely different technique and approach than creating a helmet crest in bas-relief, which I have done many times for traditional family coats of arms.

A heraldic sculpture is carved all around, it is a freestanding object and it requires a completely different carving technique and approach than I am used to.

A sculpture naturally requires thicker wood and, as my studio (and machines) are not suitable, I had to use the services of a furniture maker.

Securing it to the workbench (a workbench that is lower than normal) is one such variation. For carving bas-reliefs, “at elbow height” (115 cm, for me) is most recommended, and carving a sculpture at (80 cm) height (for me) is most ideal.

Securing the block of wood to be worked on to the workbench also requires a completely different technique than for bas-relief and low-relief carving.

I always start with rough cutting, at this stage I sometimes use a chainsaw, securing it to the workbench with a figure screw.

Large pieces can be removed without much effort and, for an initial rough design, this figure screw, which is attached under the sculpture and through the workbench, is, in my opinion, the most ideal start.

A figure screw. Securing sculptures to your workbench.

Figure screw for statues

Heraldic sculptures are secured to the workbench

using a figure screw.

At a later stage (refining), we switch to the ball-and-screw clamp system. This clamp allows the sculpture to be rotated in all directions, enabling the woodcarver to refine the sculpture in the most ideal way.