Hey everyone! I'm diving into wood carving, specifically focusing on carving in the round, like figures and animals. The subreddit wiki is currently inaccessible, so I'm reaching out for help here. I'd love to know which **3-5 essential tools or knives** you'd recommend for this type of work. I'm looking for tools that can handle everything from roughing out to shaping and detailed work. I'm based in South Africa, and my main brand options look to be Pfeil, Narex, and BeaverCraft. If anyone knows how to get Flexcut or Mora tools without breaking the bank on import fees, that would be super helpful too. Thanks in advance!
2 Answers
For carving in the round, I swear by my Mora 106 straight knife—it handles about 99% of my carving needs! BeaverCraft also makes some similarly shaped straight knives that should work just fine. I find my chip carving knife, a BeaverCraft C6, helpful too; I use it for more than just chip carving. If you're into making spoons, add a couple of hook knives to your toolkit. For roughing out, I use a small carving axe and a Silky PocketBoy for efficiency. You'll be set with these essentials!
The wiki's back up and working! But if you're looking for insights about brands, Pfeil and Narex produce quality chisels and gouges, although I haven't seen much feedback on their knives. If you're able to afford a bit more, consider MStein. For knife carving, any knife shaped like Flexcut's KN12 should work well; beginners often love the Morakniv 120 for its practicality, albeit for less detail work. If you choose chisels, I'd recommend a large and narrow chisel paired with gouges. Don’t forget about sharpening tools; they really make a difference!
Thanks a lot for taking the time to write all this out, super helpful! I’ll look into those options and also double-check the wiki link again. Appreciate the advice!
Thanks for the reply, really appreciate it!