Whittling, draw knives and fine detail carving

Jodiejodes

Jodiejodes

Joined
Oct 9, 2018
Messages
13
Hey...this is my first post on the forums :)
Can anyone recommend a thread to put me in the right direction to find information about fine detail carving knives etc.

Thank-yooo
 
Ahh that’s perfect too, thank you so much.
I’m attempting to carve designs into stripped down walking sticks, it’s not so easy working on a rounded surface!
I’ve never used any carving tools before so just looking for guidance on which ones are the better selection to have to hand. Usually just persevere with my little Opinels but they aren’t quite right for the detail I’d like to achieve - some day. Need a shorter blade to start with I think.
 
Flex cut make a decent array of dedicated carving knives that are relatively affordable. It might be worth checking those out.

I like to rough in the initial cuts with a scandi grind, then use a Swiss Army knife with small pen blades, along with the awl for holes. Traditional knives are popular for whittling, you may also want to peruse through the traditional forum to see what’s available.
 
I have a lot of carving knives from different makers. Here's an old photo that show some of them:

UDiKBTV.jpg


I prefer working with a straight blade, even for carving round things, and my favorite carving knife is a cheap folder from Cold Steel, the Tuff Lite (and it's smaller sibling, the Tuff Lite Mini):

3tbo2Ds.jpg


I use a sanding block to break all the edges but the cutting edge (e.g. along the blade spine, along the finger choil, and all sharpish bits on the plastic handle). I also wrap the ones I use most, they currently look like this:

yiDLpdf.jpg
 
Mikke said:
Get something like a Mora Woodcarving 106 http://morakniv.se/en/product/woodcarving-106/ or make something similar yourself (buy a similar blade and put your own handle on it, but buying a complete knife is probably a good start).
Click to expand...

That looks a great place to start, the website says the 106 is out of stock but I’ll sit down with a cup of tea later this evening and look at some others on that site.
I think I’d prefer to just buy the knife and get started. Perhaps blades and handles will come later on (probably as I’m nursing blisters and callouses!)
Thank-you for that :)
 
evilgreg said:
I have a lot of carving knives from different makers. Here's an old photo that show some of them:
Click to expand...

Excellent anti-blister techniques there!! I’ll remember the wrapping - when it’s too late most likely!
That’s a lovely little collection you have, looking forward to shopping around now :)
 
Some sources for woodcarving-specific knives are: Highland Woodworking -- Mountain Woodcarvers -- Nicholas Woodcarving -- Sculpture House -- Texas Woodcarvers -- Traditional Woodworker -- Woodcarvers Supply -- Woodcarvers Warehouse -- WoodCraft Shop -- Woodcraft -- Stadtlander -- Deepwoods Ventures .....

I believe providing links for vendors who aren’t supporting vendors here is verboten, so you’ll have to dig out the websites yourself. If I’m over the line with listing the names, mods please tell me and I’ll delete this post.

My personal experience is that the Pfeil products are among the best. Flexcut is pretty good but not as robust as Pfeil. Woodcraft is a good source for both and a good baseline to compare other offerings to. Happy shopping!
 
I really am going to have a happy time shopping! Coincidentally I’ve already got the woodcraft page open, so that is where I’ll begin.

Previously I’ve looked at Helle Knives, they’re pricey but some are exceptionally beautiful too. Has anyone else used them?
I think they are more suited to hunting rather than craft but I’m quite taken by them.
 
Jodiejodes said:
Excellent anti-blister techniques there!! I’ll remember the wrapping - when it’s too late most likely!
That’s a lovely little collection you have, looking forward to shopping around now :)
Click to expand...

Lately I've been using some self-merging silicone tape from the big river site (x-treme tape or somesuch) that works great. I've taken to progressively making the handle wrap fatter and fatter until it ended up like the photo above--it's so comfortable now I can carve for hours without making my hand ache.
 
Jodiejodes said:
I really am going to have a happy time shopping! Coincidentally I’ve already got the woodcraft page open, so that is where I’ll begin.

Previously I’ve looked at Helle Knives, they’re pricey but some are exceptionally beautiful too. Has anyone else used them?
I think they are more suited to hunting rather than craft but I’m quite taken by them.
Click to expand...
Helle make beautiful knives. Absolutely fine for crafting. The model I have might be a bit big for artistic work, but it's my wife's first choice to use outdoors.

RtW4F1V.jpg


The Helle Gaupe [meaning 'Lynx']

Enjoy the journey. :)
 
There are a lot of good suggestions above. A lot of it comes down to what feels good in your hand and matches the size of the work you want to do.

I’ll add Helvie Knives and Deepwoods Ventures to the list of companies making high quality, reasonably priced carving knives, many of which are suitable for general whittling. For the size of projects I usually do, I like the Helvie Donald Mertz Signature Series #1 Universal Whittler and the Deepwoods Ventures Slim Carver with 1 3/4” upswept blade.

Also, you may find this thread in the traditional knives forum to be of interest.
 
Lots of good books on whittling and wood carving are available (magazines, too). My favorite is E. J. Tangerman's Whittling and Woodcarving, if you can find a copy.
 
I grabbed the stuff I used most and shot a quick photo with my phone. It's an assortment, a pile of Moras, a Deepwoods Ventures, a Helvie, a Drake, a custom from a maker on reddit, my Pfeil gouges and a chisel, and the Cold Steel folders I actually use most of all for whittling:

fU4JSgw.jpg
 
Jodiejodes said:
I really am going to have a happy time shopping! Coincidentally I’ve already got the woodcraft page open, so that is where I’ll begin.

Previously I’ve looked at Helle Knives, they’re pricey but some are exceptionally beautiful too. Has anyone else used them?
I think they are more suited to hunting rather than craft but I’m quite taken by them.
Click to expand...

I first thought you said "Helvie" but I'll answer anyway.
No experience with Helle but Helvie carving knives are stellar. Sharp as heck and lots of blade shape options.
I have a ViperIII and it is the sharpest knife I own.
 
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