Popular Wood Carving Tools

Wood carving can be a fun hobby and a rewarding career. You can make toys, tools, decorative items, plus much more. If you want to become a wood carver, then you'll need to select the right wood tools. Investing in good sharpening tools and a strop should be your first priority. Make sure that your wood carving tools are sharp, because if they aren't then they're useless. A sharpening stone is used to get edges sharp. A strop removes any micro-bits still remaining on the newly sharpened edges, leaving the blade smooth and sharp.

• Carving Knives: Carving knives are your most basic wood carving tool. There are bent knives, straight-edged knives, chip knives, skewed knives, special pocket knives, detail knives and micro-knives. Carving knives come in all shapes and sizes.
• Chisels: Wood chisels can be ground on both sides, or can be beveled only on one side. The head is usually slanted in a square shape. It can either be struck by a mallet or pushed by hand to carve wood.
• Gouges: Wood gouges are "U" shaped tools that cut grooves in wood. Their cutting edges are round, not flat like a chisel.
• Mallets: Mallets are small little hammers that are used for chip carving. They are used to strike wood without causing major damage to it. They are perfect for making small indents.

Wood carving is a fun, detailed craft to develop. With just these few basic tools, you can create intricate wood pieces that showcase your skills. There are more advanced wood carving tools, including power tools that can help you create more large-scale projects, but if you're just starting out then these four basic tools should suit you perfectly.

by David Wayne Naylor