Christmas Time is in the Air!
Hey, Steve Jefferson is here. As Christmas is almost here, I made sure to create a shortlist of my favorite tools this year. 2019 is coming to end. I carved a lot of spoons, bowls, caricatures.I’m happy to start a new year. Who knows what may lie ahead. Anyway, I hope you’ll enjoy my article and find some wood carving Christmas gift ideas either for yourself or your friends and relatives.
1. Stropping Wheel
I used to hone my knives with the leather strop until I tried out a stropping wheel from BeaverCraft. This changed my whole life. Now it’s even easier to strop the knives; the result is pretty much the same as with the strops. But the ease of use does a good job. I noticed that some of the carvers found a stropping wheel not that quick to get used to it. But as BeaverCraft always takes care of its customers they handled this as well by making a guide on how to use it. They placed it right on the product page. This came out recently. Maybe they did it for Christmas, who knows.
2. Spoon Carving Kit
If you’re looking for some spoon carving kits that would contain everything you need to start carving bowls and spoons, then the BeaverCraft S13B1 kit would be a good option. I own a bunch of their tools already. And it’s good that they figured out to make an all in one kit. There are a hook knife, straight knife, detail knife, tool pouch, stropping supplies. I bought those knives separately as they didn’t have at that moment a complete set. But I think it’s a great gift for a woodcarver to get everything at once.
3. Caricature Carving Kit
A nice thing when sellers include some educational materials in the box. As guys from Chipping away did. They put inside a book on Caricature Carving. So besides a knife and wood, you get the direction you’ll need to follow now. I loved the book a lot. This is my book of the year that I read through a couple of times. Of course, I could buy a book separately, but why to pay more if you can get everything at once.
4. Gouge
Lovely gouge. I loved the handle, the size, the sharpness. It’s really easy to work with. And it helps a lot while carving bowls. I think it’s a good option if you’re into the minimalistic style of work. But I would not recommend starting carving with the gouge only. It leaves a bunch of questions to the newbie.
5. Wood Carving Kit
One more good thing from Chipping Away. I bought this kit for my niece to help her to start carving. Chipping Away guys put there three cut-outs of an apple, boot and a dog. But I wish they added there at least cut-resistant gloves or safety tape. My niece got hurt by the knife. Although, it didn’t come really sharp. But as you know, the most dangerous knife is a dull knife.
6. C15 Whittling Knife
I think something nice would come out, if guys from Chipping away and BeaverCraft started working together. For example, if Chipping Away included a C15 whittling knife in their kit, it would be much better. C15 Knife is crazy sharp. I’m happy with this one as it allows me to cover a huge range of carving projects. It has a thin tip but not that much. It comes well into some hard-to-reach spots. Basically, I’m using it all the time.
7. Spoon Carving Knife
This guy is my favorite hook knife for a few years already. I decided to include it on the list as well. I believe if BeaverCraft would add it to the kit above, it would be a rock star. Although, the price would come up drastically. The handle is a bit longer than an ordinary hook knife. But this makes a huge difference especially in regards to bowls carving.
8. Morakniv Kit
Well-known brand making outdoor knives. At the very beginning, they made a wood carving kit with a straight knife in the sheath and hook knife included. Honestly, I love their sheath. I wish they would sell it separately, then I’d buy just a sheath. But overall the quality is good. Just I don’t like the blade of a spoon carver, to be more specific, don’t fee that the curve is the best one actually. BeaverCraft does a better one. While a straight knife is really nice.
9. Draw Knife
Been looking for a draw knife for quite some time. Luckily found one from BeaverCraft. I think I could apply for the position of brand ambassador at BeaverCraft considering the number of tools I have. But honestly, I’m not that kind of person. I buy something, try it out, if I seem to like it, I can recommend it to others. But not in the way of promotion all around.
10. Paddle Strop
I started honing knives with this paddle strop. And I’m still taking care of my tools with this one. For a moment I thought of trying out the other one with the handle. But then I thought, that it’s good even without any handle, why bother? Leather is good. The wood base is good. Is it durable? Of course, it is, it has been serving me well for two years already.
Conclusion
Hopefully, you enjoyed my article. Although, I think Chris wrote better than me. He had that precise type of thinking that I don’t have.
Merry Christmas to you! And many hours of happy carving!