Best Wood Carving Tools

Best Wood Whittling and Carving Tools for Beginners | Read Reviews and Choose!

Given the wide selection of available wood carving tools beginner might get lost. No wonder it’s not easy to make a choice when there is so much out there and you know so little about what are the best wood carving tools. Prior to checking out wood carving tools for sale it is best to decide what are your aspirations, what do you wish to create, what do you want to start with. Moreover, there are different wood carving kits for beginners with the essential tools beginner carver might need. Usually, such whittling sets for beginners include the most common and useful tools for a beginner carver, but you can always go for separate tools instead and make your own kit of best wood carving tools.

To ease the painful choice, we have prepared for you a list of 10 best wood carving tools for beginners for the most different purposes.

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BeaverCraft S01 Spoon Carving Kit

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Flexcut SK07

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BeaverCraft S13 Wood Carving Kit

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Flexcut KN700

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BeaverCraft DIY04 Completed Spoon Carving Kit

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BeaverCraft C4 Wood Carving Knife

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Morakniv Hook Knife 164

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BeaverCraft C2 Chip Carving Knife

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Flexcut Chip Carving Knife

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Opinel 08

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WOOD CARVING KITS

1. BeaverCraft S01 Spoon Carving Set

This is one of the best wood carving kits for beginners that want to try themselves in spoon and bowl carving. A Ukrainian-based manufacturer BeaverCraft has thought it all over for you and made a simple, yet very useful wood carving knife set that consists of a straight knife and a hook knife (also called spoon carving knife). With only these 2 tools you can create an infinite number of excellent pieces of art that will find their place at your kitchen cupboard or at your friends’ shelf with the souvenirs. Spoon and bowl carving is considered to be one of the easiest wood carving techniques for a beginner. BeaverCraft S01 is the best wood carving set that is very well made out of quality materials and sharpened for you to start carving right away.

Pros

Cons
  • The handles may be uncomfortable for those carvers, who’s got large hands
  • Covers only the very elementary needs

If you are looking for the best beginner wood carving kit, do not hesitate to check out Amazon on the web for BeaverCraft’s latest pricing and availability.

Wood Recommendation

As long with the tools, you need wood to carve, right? I always recommend starting with basswood. It’s light and soft. It doesn’t have that rich coloring as cherry for example. But if to compare their structure, basswood is much easier to carve. So if you’re just making first steps in the world of wood carving, then basswood would be the best bet. It’s not that easy to choose the right basswood though, especially online. On Amazon, you can often find some wood from Chinese sellers. For some reason, it’s not soft, probably it’s dried badly. This is why I always stick to one or two sellers. I have one offline, in a local shop near me. And whenever I buy something online, I take some wood from BeaverCraft as well. They get that wood from Ukraine, lovely quality, good price. Check it out!

 

2. Flexcut SK107 wood carving tools

Flexcut SK107 best wood carving set may be the love at first sight for those of you, who have the urge to carve out pictures in wood, interested in leaf carving or want to add intricate design to different objects. Basically, this all-in-one is everything you will need for carving out simple pictures on a beginner level. The set includes a quick-change handle, 10 interchangeable blades of various shape and purpose and an 11 pocket tool roll. Although, these are the wood carving tools beginner may find not very easy to work with, this is a really good offer among other wood carving tools for sale. Additionally, you can purchase extra handles for the blades you use the most, so you don’t have to change them that often, but, on the contrary, this will not be light on the wallet, for sure.

Pros
  • Extremely sharp blades
  • The most complete set of blades that covers all of the needs for leaf carving
  • The tool roll is a very useful bonus

 

Cons
  • Pricey
  • Extra caution should be taken when changing the blades, as it’s not very easy and can be dangerous
  • The blade is thin, so it may bend when too much pressure is applied

If you are looking for the best wood carving set, do not hesitate to check out Amazon on the web for Flexcut latest pricing and availability.

 

3. BeaverCraft S13 Spoon Carving Kit

It seems that BeaverCraft masterfully hits the target bringing together both: professional carvers and novices when creating products very useful and worthy for both groups. S13 Spoon Carving Kit is not an exception as it consists of the best wood carving tools for beginners and professional woodcarvers too that are fond of spoon and bowl carving. Moreover, this wood carving knife set is comprised of a general carving knife, spoon carving knife, detail carving knife, leather strop, and a green polishing compound. All that wrapped into a tool roll. What else a beginner would ask for? S13 is a multi-purpose kit. You will enjoy quality materials.  In addition, the knives with the carbon steel blades in this best beginner wood carving kit have proven to be very strong and durable. So you wouldn’t have to worry.

Pros
  • Best value for money invested
  • Durable carbon steel blades that hold their edges well
  • Comes with a tool roll, leather strop, and a polishing compound

 

Cons
  • According to a couple of reviews, some knives came not as polished as expected and required some additional stropping
  • Without proper care and maintenance may rust since the tools are made of carbon steel

 

If you are looking for the best wood carving tools for sale, do not hesitate to check out Amazon on the web for BeaverCraft’s latest pricing and availability.

 

4. Flexcut KN700 Deluxe Palm & Knife Set

For those of you keen on artistic wood carving the USA brand Flexcut has a special wood carving knife set of 9 different best wood carving tools that can perform the most intricate cuts and come in a sturdy and durable wooden box. The kit includes 4 knives and 5 palm tools. All tools are extremely sharp, the manufacturer even adds Band-Aids to the kit, so you have to be very careful when working with them. Everything about this wood carving knife set is astonishing, including the price tag. But if you are the beginner this would really be the best wood carving set for you, since buying each knife individually is actually going to cost more.

Pros
  • Perfect to try out artistic wood carving
  • Very sharp blades with ergonomic handles
  • Comes in a wooden storage box

Cons
  • Expensive
  • Takes up a lot of room
  • There were some complaints that the lid of the box doesn’t seem to open and close properly

If you are looking for the best wood carving set, do not hesitate to check out Amazon on the web for Flexcut latest pricing and availability.

 

5. BeaverCraft DIY04 Spoon Carving Kit

One more of the whittling sets for beginners that want to have it all ready at hand. BeaverCraft DIY04 is a superior quality wood carving knife set that consists of 1 whittling knife and 1 hook knife with a bonus of leather strop and polishing compound, spoon blank, safety tape, pencil, sandpaper, pattern, booklet, and video guide. All of that stored nicely in a bright box.

With the blades made of high-carbon steel and very comfortable to hold and work handles made of oak wood, this is one of the best wood carving kits for beginners. And a leather strop with green polishing compound are there for you when you need to give your blades an extra polish. BeaverCraft DIY04 best beginner wood carving set is created for the artists that like to go beyond carving ordinary pieces.

Pros
  • Includes everything a beginner or professional carver needs
  • Comes with a tool roll for compact storage
  • High-quality product
  • Trustworthy brand

Cons
  • Costly
  • Some tools might be unnecessary if bought to execute only simple tasks

 

If you are looking for the best wood carving tools for sale, do not hesitate to check out Amazon on the web for BeaverCraft’s latest pricing and availability.

WOOD CARVING KNIVES

6. BeaverCraft C4 General Best Wood Carving Knife

If you are absolutely new to woodworking and you’ve never held a carving knife in your hands before, you should get a general knife (also called a sloyd knife). BeaverCraft general best wood carving knife is a basic woodworking tool of excellent quality that does the job right and costs much less than comparable wood carving tools amazon has to offer from most other manufacturers.

This is a great sharp general knife works great for roughing out, cutting through both: soft and hard wood and performing any other tasks expected from a sloyd knife. Most of the customers note that the oak wood handle processed with the linseed oil has the shape that fits in the hand most comfortably.

Pros
  • Best value for money
  • Shows great performance on any kind of wood
  • Ergonomic handle
  • Trustworthy brand

Cons
  • Some reviews point out that the handle may discolor hands when used for long periods of time
  • Blade made of carbon steel requires adequate maintenance

If you are looking for the best wood carving tools for sale, do not hesitate to check out Amazon on the web for BeaverCraft’s latest pricing and availability.

 

7. Morakniv Hook Knife 164

Most professional carvers are familiar with Morakniv best wood cutting tools originating in Sweden. And it is one of the wood carving tools, beginner should take a closer look at. In addition, you can use Mora 164 is a hook knife for carving out spoons, bowls, kuksas, and any other hollows and concaves. Smooth birchwood handle feels good to hold while single-edged top grade stainless steel blade is sharp enough to cut through any kind of wood. Above all that, the blade holds its edge and is not too hard to sharpen. With a total length of 6.3 inches, you can be confident your cuts never get out of control. This best wood carving knife is not the cheapest one. But it’s worth every penny spent on it.

Pros
  • Supplied with a leather sheath
  • Corrosion-resistant
  • Trustworthy brand

 

Cons
  • Expensive
  • Some knives may require additional sharpening before starting carving
  • The handle may feel too small for people with larger hands

 

Searching for the best wood carving knife? Do not hesitate to check out Amazon on the web for Morakniv’s latest pricing and availability.

 

8. BeaverCraft C2 Chip Carving Knife

Another bright star among the best wood carving tools for beginners is BeaverCraft’s chip carving knife. You can use this tool for cutting out small details. The size of the blade, which is only 1.6 inches long is perfect for these tasks. It is properly sharpened and is ready to be used straight outside the box, no additional stropping required. It is # 4 in wood carving tools amazon chart, which means that this best wood carving knife has already gained recognition and appraisal on the market. The shape of an ash wood handle repeats the shape of a palm of a hand, so it fits perfectly and it is very comfortable and easy to work with this carving knife for hours without any tiredness. Meanwhile, with its durable carbon steel blade, BeaverCraft has made sure that their best wood carving knife serves you a lifetime.

Pros
  • Extremely sharp and ready to be used upon arrival
  • Ergonomic wooden handle
  • Reasonable price

 

Cons
  • Although some customers don’t like the finish of the handle
  • Can be used only for carving out small details
  • However it does not come with a protective sheath

If you are looking for the best wood carving tools for sale, do not hesitate to check out Amazon on the web for BeaverCraft’s latest pricing and availability.

 

9. Flexcut Chip Carving Knife

For those of you, who want to try yourself in chip carving Flexcut has a special chip carving knife to offer. It is one of the wood carving tools beginners might need to carve out very small objects and tight areas. With only a 1-inch-long blade Flexcut best wood carving knife can do what many other knives cannot.

Above all blade is made of high-quality carbon steel and is curved downwards specifically to fulfil the knife’s purpose. The ash wood handle will fit comfortably in the carver’s palm of a hand. For sure, Flexcut chip carving knife is not one of the wood carving tools beginner may find easy to work with and it is more suitable for carving on soft wood, but every wood carver eventually gets to a point when he needs more and this tool is definitely worth taking place in every tool box.

Pros
  • Inexpensive, yet great quality tool
  • Certainly short blade is perfect for chip carving
  • Durable materials

Cons
  • Needs to be sharpened a little before starting carving
  • Although some find the handle to be rough
  • Can be used only for carving out small details

 

Looking for wood carving tools for sale? Please check out Amazon web site to find out about Flexcut’s latest pricing and availability.

 

10. Opinel #8 Folding Knife

Moreover, it’s not exactly a wood carving knife, at least it’s not what the manufacturer declares to be its intended purpose. Moreover, it is more of a pocket knife. But still, we have decided to add this knife to our review, since some beginners like to try out the wood carving with a more of a multipurpose tool. As they can keep it for other uses in case they decide that wood carving is not their thing.

Even though it is a folding knife it has got a locking mechanism that once locked prevents the blade from folding up. What makes this knife to be one of the tools is that it’s extraordinarily sharp as for a folding pocket knife. Above all, the carbon steel blade is very solid, durable, holds its edge and is easy to sharpen. So if you are unsure whether wood carving is really for you, this folding knife might be a good option.

Pros

 

  • Hair shaving sharp blade
  • Subsequently handle is comfortable to hold
  • Can be used for any purposes other than wood carving

 

Cons
  • The blade is not as stable in the handle even as partial tang, let alone full tang knives
  • The shape of a blade is not appropriate for wood carving
  • Although it may be dangerous if the lock gets loose
  • Can easily cover with rust if not taken care of

Searching for the best wood carving knife? Do not hesitate to check out Amazon on the web for Opinel’s latest pricing and availability.

 

Now you see that there are quite many wood carving tools and wood carving kits for beginners. In conclusion, all you have to do is to pick out a few that would be just right for you and we hope that our review was helpful.

What set to choose for a beginner, we figure out why

 

Hey there and good afternoon to each and every one of you! As you might have noticed already, I’ve been quite hung up on one topic recently, more or less, and that topic is various wood carving kit for beginners options. Why would I be so fixated on it? Well, the answer is quite easy indeed – because purchasing a kit has its own perks and may be greatly helpful, especially for newbies. Let’s decide why.

First of all, a wood carving kit can have countless things included, however, they mostly vary from sets with instruments only, such as a knife set, a chisel set and so on, to the sets that also include additional accessories that are required to successfully fulfil a project, from start to finish. If the first option would be more suitable for a carver that more or less knows what they are doing (or at least understands how those instruments would be useful), the second one is ideal for beginners. It could be a nice gift for a kid, your spouse who doesn’t know what to do for fun after work or a friendly neighbour.

Complete kits like that also contain different things – those could be stropping accessories, finishing ones, paints, patterns, so on and so forth. That you’ll have to be attentive with, but all in all, that’s indeed a nice solution for people who don’t really know where to start. A wood carving kit like that could be a great learning source and an amazingly fun pastime when you don’t have to worry about what exactly I need to buy in order to make the whole project after all.

It’s also a good way to economize a little. If you sum up the separate costs of all instruments and accessories that come in a kit, you’ll see that it’s more than what you pay for a kit altogether. One more point into the pros column! A good way to delegate the responsibility, as well. You don’t choose for yourself, you don’t need to worry on the topic of finding correct instruments for this or for that. You just get a wood carving kit and begin having fun!

Now that I’ve hopefully convinced you to at least look into it, what I’d like to touch upon is the fact that not all manufacturers are good at concocting such kits. There are a lot of great options when it comes to instruments only, but much less great options if we talk about the completed ones. So I’ll share with you the manufacturer that has become my personal favourite (or, at least, one of them) when it comes to the sets of various whittling instruments: BeaverCraft.

You’ve already seen them quite often in the reviews that I share, and that’s because I find trying their tools always exciting. They have style, the company obviously cares of their brand and quality, so there is no eligible reason for me to not try, at least. Let’s take a look at the wood carving kit options they have (some of them), shall we?

Best Wood Carving Kit  DIY01 Comfort Bird Kit

Well, first of all, that’s an incredibly thoughtful and heartwarming idea, don’t you think? Creating a comfort bird for yourself or somebody you love that will calm them down in the stormy times, will remind them of your love (or the love they would like to feel themselves if they carve it out on their own). Just a very warm and kind thought that has translated into a great whittling set.



This wood carving kit won’t let you feel lost and not knowing what to do. It has basically everything: a couple of wood blocks to carve, a whittling knife, small stropping kit to keep the knife sharp and smooth, a booklet with instructions, a safety tape (the blue thing that you put around your fingers to prevent small injuries that may occur) and a wax to cover your wooden bird once you’re done.
This would be a great gift, both made or just as a kit: warm, cozy and caring. Find out more here:

 

Best Wood Carving Kit DIY03 Wizard Kit

Another lovely wood carving kit. To my eyes, it is a perfect pastime to spend with your children or grandchildren. Creating a wizard together, then maybe watching a Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings movie to continue the topic of magic: what could be better? This old man will help you have a great time with your family or on your own and probably inspire you to re-read or re-watch something that warms your heart.



Also a great set with wood, knife, safety tape, measuring instruments and instructional booklet included. These guys really care about what they can do to make whittling easy and affordable for anyone, so why not become a part of it and try some things out?
Check what they offer here:

Best Wood Carving Kit S15 Wood Carving Kit

This kit doesn’t include anything over the top, but it has the main thing there is for whittling – instruments. Here you’ll find three knives to achieve different goals. There is a roughing one for simply shaping your wooden blanks into something more resembling a workpiece, a general carving one that can be somewhat used for detailing as well and a chip carving tool, just in case you enjoy that style as well.

It also has a stropping accessories set and a canvas pouch to keep all these things in, compact and secure. Comfortable to use, practical instruments included as well as the kit to keep them sharp – what’s not to like? This can become your basic knife kit for carving.

Best Wood Carving Kit S16 Whittling Kit

This set is what I would’ve called a little mixture of two options above. So, it is not simply tools, but it doesn’t have a lot of accessories, just instruments and wood. You get 5 wooden blanks of two sizes and two knives, one roughing&detailing and the other for chip carving. However, with this wood carving kit you’ll end up having 3 tutorials! Not one, but three tutorials that you get to carve right away with this exact set. Isn’t that a great learning opportunity?

Best Wood Carving Kit BW10 Basswood Blocks Set

Finally, this is not going to be a kit that comes into any of those two categories I’ve described earlier. Though you can’t disagree: there won’t be any result in carving without using great wood and great tools. And BeaverCraft offers basswood blocks separately in a set of 10 (they also have bigger options, if you are interested) for you to carve with as soon as you receive them! Basswood is known to be the best wood for carving, especially by beginners: it’s soft, has almost no grain, can be painted and turned into whatever you want it to be and doesn’t have any strong smell so won’t be bad for allergic people as well.

This can be a great wood carving set just to fill up your stock and feel comfortable knowing that you’ll always have wood in case you get a carving craving. Take a look at it here:

All in all, I just wanted to share with you what I have found to be a reliable seller with great ideas, creative and practical, that thinks about their customers’ comfort. So take a look at these options, find if there’s anything that feels close to your heart and make a choice if you decide so. I hope you’ve enjoyed this article and it will be useful to you! 

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best wood carving tools?

1. BeaverCraft S01 Spoon Carving Set

2. Flexcut SK107 wood carving tools

3. BeaverCraft S13 Spoon Carving Kit

4. Flexcut KN700 Deluxe Palm & Knife Set

5. BeaverCraft S10–Wood carving Tools Set of 12 Knives

6. BeaverCraft C4 General Best Wood Carving Knife

7. Morakniv Hook Knife 164

8. BeaverCraft C2 Chip Carving Knife

9. Flexcut Chip Carving Knife

What’s the best wood carving knife?

BeaverCraft Wood Carving Knife C4 is manufactured in Ukraine. The BeaverCraft brand itself has earned a good reputation among woodcarvers worldwide producing high-quality wood whittling tools. This top whittling tool for beginners is not an exception.

What is the easiest wood to carve?

Basswood has proven itself to be a very flexible, multipurpose wood carving wood that is a pure pleasure to work with.

What are the tools used in wood carving?

Chip carving tools, spoon carving gouges, different chisels, wood whittling knives. You make your choice depending on your budget and purposes.

What do you carve wood with?

It depends on your carving purposes. If you want to make a spoon, you definitely need a hook knife, check BeaverCraft SK1. If you’re more into chip carving, Flexcut tools would be helpful enough. You can start with a general carving sloyd knife by BeaverCraft though and then decide what type of carving you would prefer.

What are the best wood carving tools for beginners?

1. BeaverCraft S01 Spoon Carving Set

2. Flexcut SK107 wood carving tools

3. BeaverCraft S13 Spoon Carving Kit

4. Flexcut KN700 Deluxe Palm & Knife Set

5. BeaverCraft S10–Wood carving Tools Set of 12 Knives

6. BeaverCraft C4 General Best Wood Carving Knife

7. Morakniv Hook Knife 164

8. BeaverCraft C2 Chip Carving Knife

9. Flexcut Chip Carving Knife

Steve Jefferson

Three words that describe me the best: - OBSESSED with wood carving; - DETERMINED to make the best source of information about wood carving - HAPPY husband, father, and dreamer I started this blog with my friend Chris. But Chris needed to move to another country and couldn't work on the blog anymore. So for now, I write articles, do the promotions, try out new tools, discover new carving projects and so on. I would really appreciate your feedback on my work.

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