Wood Carving Knives

What is a good carving knife for wood? That question has been asked many times and we need to dispel some myths. Among all the wood carving knives on the market less focus should be placed on the brand and more on what it offers.

There are a few critical key elements that you need to know. These elements will impact safety and the confidence in your carving knife. For beginners I would recommend staying away from X-Acto blades and rather trust what makes a good carving knife.

What I offer you here will help select the better knife whether you are a serious wood carver or a hobbyist who enjoys whittling. I hope that you will consider a good carving knife rather than what is found in a wood carving kit.

For the love of safety, if you plan on carving with a knife wear a Kevlar glove!!! I will also save what I believe is the best of the best blades for last in the article.

It Must Be Sharp

A carving knife must be sharp. One of the greatest dangers comes from a dull blade. A dull blade is also one of the greatest frustrations. It will turn away anyone quickly and they will swear off wood carving forever.

Aside from the carving knife being sharp, you also must know how to sharpen it. This is not something to shortchange on. Invest the time to know how to properly get the edge to what it needs to be. This point includes knowing what kind of edge the blade needs.

There are some steels that are easier to sharpen than others. Yet most Western made knives are not too difficult especially when compared to Japanese options. There are tools that can aid in this endeavor and allow for it to be done with speed.

Good Steel Is Required

A good carbon steel is really required. Why? A carving knife will face pressures that can cause a lesser steel to break. Razor blades for example are stainless steel and are too thin for beginners.

Those who are experienced can have success with such blades. Yet the experience is also what helps them to know what the blade can and cannot do. A carving knife should have more body to it than these thin counterparts many attempt to use.

In my opinion it is best if the steel has a full tang. Yet note that many Western blades do not have this and it is not required. With a full tang the steel should run all the way through the handle. This helps in balance as well as safety.

This option is usually found in Japanese carving knives or custom made blades. With this option the price goes up. There are also other differences which these knives have that I will discuss later.

You do not need to buy the most expensive blade on the market especially when starting out. The upper end in Western knives can range between 30 to 40 dollars. That is expensive for a carving knife.

You will need to experiment with what you enjoy in the feel of the blade. Some will flex more than others. In my taste I prefer to have minimal flex in the blade.

A Solid Handle Is Essential

A quick note on folding knives. I personally dislike a folding carving knife for many reasons. Among them is the lack of ergonomics which is commonly found. For a beginner I would suggest a fixed blade instead.

The contour and size of the handle is important and helps. A handle that is not comfortable in the hand will cause fatigue rather quickly. This is why some carving knives can appear to have a beefy handle with a small blade.

What works for one person may not do as well for another. The size of your hands and fingers matter. You really need to have solid control through the dexterity as if the blade is a natural part of the hand.

Due to the size of many handles the knife may feel handle heavy. This is out of balance for a regular bush knife. Yet for carving you desire this.

A full tang helps create the handle heavy balance that you desire. It also gives assurance that the blade can handle multiple tasks that could require some pressure. While I prefer this option you must decide what feels best for you.

The one possible exception to these ideas about the handle is a marking knife. This blade should have a handle much like a pencil.

Its use intends that it be held much in the same way as you would a pencil. The knife makes small cuts tracing a line which will be used as a guide for larger tools.

What Size Carving Knife Is Needed?

You need different sizes. There is no one right size. Additionally you may need different types of knives for different cuts.

There are carving knives for spoons if that is your thing. A chip carving knife has its special uses as well. Each can offer a solution to a need that you have.

Nonetheless the general bench knife can often be picked up by many who are experienced and be used for many tasks. Yet when you decide to do dedicated carving an assortment of options help.

Longer blades can perform larger tasks with greater ease. The length of the blade offers a longer push or draw. A shorter blade offers more fine control across a smaller surface.

When starting it may be a good idea to have what is called a draw knife to be used in conjunction with a vise. On larger projects it can aid in getting started with some speed.

In my opinion a blade much beyond 5 inches is already too large. If I need something of that size it is time for the smaller draw knife.

What size blade you decide on really depends on what you enjoy working with. There is no right or wrong answer to this, other than to say that you will definitely need different sizes.

How Thick Should The Carving Knife Be?

Generally speaking the average carving knife is going to be thinner than the typical fixed blade you see. This does not mean that they are weak. Yet at the same time you are not going to be chopping wood with a pocket knife.

If you buy a knife that is made for wood carving then it will be within industry specs of what is commonly found. Use it according to accepted practices. But what if you decide to create your own blade?

I once knew a guy who decided to make his own carving knife from a broken putty knife. He was notorious for re-purposing anything. So I asked him this same question as I present it here.

From his experience the thickness of a putty knife is “about right”. Not all putty knives are equal though. His was a stiffer blade of heavier material that was used in drywall work.

After it broke he took the blade and ground it down so it could be used in wood carving. I hated the feel of it in my hand, but he liked it. This idea is not recommended for beginners yet it gives one the idea of about where a blade should be in thickness.

What Brand Carving Knife Is Best?

In the next section I will share my personal favorites yet they are not for beginners. In Western made carving knives I do wish to give you an honest perspective.

There really is no best brand. It depends on you and the feel of the blade in your hand. I can understand your frustration when looking for that right answer. Yet I would rather be honest than just promote a brand.

The answer really falls back into the above essentials for carving knives. The handle is among the most important. Yet what is critically important is that it is sharp, and you must keep it sharp.

If you can find a feel that you like and a blade that you can easily resharpen then you have a winner. There really is not a single brand which stands out from the pack.

Some love Mora. They do have an excellent blade and it performs. There are also things I do not like about them. Flexcut also offers some decent solutions but I hate the multi-knife packaging and handles.

BeaverCraft has a good starting Sloyd knife with a nice feeling handle and it is cheap. Yet part of the problem here is the very fact that it is cheap. Yet it works. So what is my favorite?

The Japanese Carving Knife

I love Japanese carving knives. I love all their woodworking tools, and especially their chisels for that matter.

The philosophy of Japanese woodworking has produced tools which simply work and can be fine tuned to your needs.

Yet in this specific instance the carving knife is definitely not for beginners.

The Higonokami for example is among the most versatile blades and can serve many purposes. Yet the best part is almost all genuine Japanese carving knives are full tang unless it is a folder.

If you decide to go with a Higonokami know up front it will be a folding knife and finding authentic ones can be a little challenge.

As for the full tang blades you can put whatever handle you desire on them. When you shop for this style of knife you will notice that some will have no handle at all. The reason why is so that they can be customized.

Japanese blades are not cheap and most Westerners expect something out of the box to arrive fully functional. Their authentically hand forged knives typically do not come to you sharpened. This too is so that you can customize the edge.

Needless to say unless you are serious about a set of carving knives you most likely will not be buying a Japanese set. Yet they are my favorite. In my opinion they outperform any Western made options.

There is a hidden cost to these kinds of blades. You will need to invest in a series of water stones to sharpen them. It is also nice to use a sharpening guide, in fact it really is preferred that you do.

The costs of the water stones do add up. Yet I will say that once you use them they will most likely replace every sharpening stone system you own.

There is nothing else that can give you the kind of edge one can obtain from these systems. Your only limitation becomes what the steel and design of the blade can accept in sharpness.

A Serious Woodworking Knife

Just as a heads up. If you are in the market for the best of the best in steel and sharpness I can tell you what to look for. Mr. Nago is a fifth generation knife maker in Miki City Japan. His blades are exceptional.

Know you will have to sharpen it properly!!! Research this please. Yet the blade will perform for near a lifetime if that is what you are looking for. You can at times find them over on woodcraft when in stock.

For Beginners Start Cheap And Small

For a beginner you need to seriously ignore the Japanese blades and stick to the Western options. Many experienced woodworkers do not like Japanese blades simply for what they are. Its a flavor you acquire.

You will do fine with many of the far cheaper options that can be sharpened with what we are accustomed to using. No matter the selection you make the most important thing is comfort and keeping the edge of the carving knife sharp.

Consider your first set disposable. You will most likely ruin them in a short amount of time. You may even get frustrated. Just do not give up.

It might be a good idea to try a few different options. With this instead of buying a package deal where multiple knives come in one pack, try selecting different individual carving knives.

Once you get them then test drive to see what you prefer. It is a good way to start learning both how to carve and what you like in the tool. It will not take long to discover what works best with your hands and dexterity.

There are many tools that can help you along the path to wood carving. It would do well to research what tools may help you. Do not be afraid to use power tools as you learn, the point is to have fun.

For The More Experienced

If you are experienced then most likely you have your favorites. Yet I would dare to offer you an idea. Give the Japanese versions a try if you are willing to spend a little in investing.

What will make it worth it or not will depend on the kind of woodworking you do. If you are after precision, beauty, and are more obsessive about your work then they may be for you.

It definitely is a different feel when you discover that you must break in the blade by sharpening. In some cases you must even find a handle for the knife. Yet that is part of the hidden beauty behind the idea. It is about customization.

Local knife makers will usually have the best options in handles for customizing a carving knife. You will be able to have that set of specialty tools for fine work outside of the daily beaters we become accustomed to using.