When I first started wood carving, I fired up my Dremel tool and never looked back. A few months ago, I decided to get back to the basics and learn how to wood carve with traditional hand-carving tools & knives.
As I was researching different brands, I discovered BeaverCraft, a wood carving tool company from Ukraine. I reached out to them and got my hands on some of their wood carving tools which you can find on Amazon here.
As I began studying traditional wood carving
methods, I began noticing other well-respected wood carvers using BeaverCraft tools.
The amount of wood carvings you can make with just a block of wood and one knife is amazing!
After I discovered BeaverCraft tools, I reached out to them to see if they would write a short introduction to traditional wood carving for us.
Please welcome Irene, from BeaverCraft tools!
Hey there!
This is Irene from BeaverCraft!
Wood carving is a great way to escape from boredom and a daily routine. You don’t need a lot of tools, just one knife and a piece of wood! This will help you to create many, beautiful woodcarving projects.
Whittling as a therapy
Whittling can be therapeutic because it requires attention and concentration on the process. Many people often say that whittling it is one of the most relaxing hobbies!
Types of Wood Carving
There are many types of wood carvings you can do. We suggest figuring out which types of wood carving is the most interesting to you. Here are a few common ones:
Spoon Carving
This involves carving useful utensils for the household. While spoons are among the most popular carvings, it is not the only utensils you can carve. There are many talented wood carvers that carve full utensil sets!
Chip Carving
Often called geometric wood carving, this implies working with a small wooden plank.
This very popular style of carving allows for endless creativity with various patterns, shapes and designs.
Caricature Carving
Caricatures are character carvings that are expressive and humorous in nature. You've probably seen some projects by Fred Cogelow, a talented caricature carver. You can carve many subjects, such as a favorite fairy tale character out of wood.
Best Wood to Start With
I recommend starting with basswood as your first wood to carve with. Basswood is affordable and extremely soft, making it easy to carve. The light grain structure of basswood also makes it an easy wood to stain and also paint.
Wood Carving Tools to Start With
BeaverCraft offers a variety of wood carving tools at a fair price that many people trust and use. Click on the pictures below or links to view the products on Amazon.
Best Carving Set for Beginners:
If you are just starting out, the BeaverCraft S16 Whittling Kit for Beginners is a great choice. It includes:
Chip carving knife
Whittling knife
Basswood blocks
Find it on Amazon here
Spoon Carving Kit
Want to carve a spoon?
This spoon carving kit comes with everything you need to get started including:
Sloyd Knife
Chip carving knife
Hook knife
Strop + Polish
Canvas roll-up bag
Free e-mailed e-book
Find this kit on amazon here
Whittling & Chip Carving Kit
The Whittling & Chip Carving Kit offers a lot of functionality for those wanting versatility in their carvings. This kit includes:
Whittling knife
Chip carving knife
Roughing knife
Leather strop + Polishing compound
Canvas roll-up bag
Three video tutorials
Find the Whittling & Chip Carving Kit on Amazon here
To view all the full Amazon BeaverCraft Products Catalog visit here
Some tips
-Always make sure to wear gloves or at least a thumb guard to protect yourself while carving.
-Make sure to strop them before, during and after each use.
-BeaverCraft tools are made of high carbon content in the blade, which makes it great for wood carving, but it is prone to rust.
-Never wash the knives. Oil the blades and store them in a safe dry place when not in use. (Wipe the blades with a dry cloth before using the knives again to avoid oil getting in the wood)
Final thoughts
Wood Carving is extremely relaxing. You can have a great pastime learning to carve.
It’s recommended to start carving with softwood, try to avoid hard woods until you gain more experience.
Always keep the knives sharp by stropping.
Store the knives in a safe and dry place.
Choose the type of wood carving you’d be most interested in and give it a shot.
Stay safe. All the best to you and your family! I wish you enjoyable woodcarving!
-Irene
"HowToWoodCarve participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. HowToWoodCarve currently holds affiliation with Dremel. HowToWoodCarve currently holds affiliation with Amazon. HowToWoodCarve currently holds affiliation with BeaverCraft."
When working with very small details (relief carving) they are simply rocked. But I've been working with cedar for about 8 years so it will go:) Cutting turns out quite well, but not everything turns out from the intended, because of the tree. I'd like to work with lime, but I'll probably never try it. My main problem is colouring, not all wood species are well aware of painting, what kind of paint do you use? I read reviews about best wood stain and I'm still afraid to experiment on my wooden wares
I look forward to getting acquainted and experiment with new woods and extending my skills with additional knives and power tools. I loved the rabbits you carved with knives. My first rabbit I carved with knives I had one straight ear and the other ear a flopping ear with the head curved. Now I want to try to do more action and putting character, emotion in the projects I try to do.
Very informative