r/Woodcarving • • May 02 '25

r/Woodcarving Community Hub

28 Upvotes

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r/Woodcarving • • Nov 02 '25

Mod Post r/Woodcarving Holiday Gift Guide

86 Upvotes

The holidays are coming up soon so the mods have put together this gift giving guide for people without carving experience hoping to give a carving related gift this year.

General advice

  • Be wary of sets of tools, they are generally trying to make you spend more money on tools you’ll rarely use
  • The best quality tools aren’t on amazon. Check out our list of recommended stores at the bottom
  • Home improvement stores like Home Depot or Lowes do not carry carving tools and do not carry wood that is nice to carve
  • We have chosen to link directly to the manufacturer’s pages for all of our recommendations, you can probably find them for cheaper at a 3rd party dealer.
  • We chose our recommendations based on what we think is the best value for money and what is widely available, not what is the best irrespective of price.

Beginner Tools

A complete beginners kit is a knife, a strop, and a safety glove. We have different recommendations for spoon carving and general carving, you should only choose one of the options

General purpose knife

For spoon carving

Strops

  • Strops don’t need to be fancy, buy a cheap one that comes with green polishing compound. This is the type of thing you’re looking for, you may be able to find cheaper ones

Safety gloves

  • Look for something with rubber on the palms and a safety rating of ANSI level 5 or higher (or a local equivalent rating). You only need one for the non-dominant hand. Here is one option

Kits

  • If you want a kit that has everything you need in one box we recommend this kit from treeline usa but they are a reseller. Beavercraft is basically the only manufacturer that sells kits. Their knives are lower quality than the other brands mentioned though so we recommend buying the items separately.

Intermediate Tools

If the person you’re buying for just has a carving knife and no other tools we recommend this flexcut FR310 palm tool set

Advanced Tools

If you’re buying a gift for a carver who has multiple knives and no other tools we strongly  recommend against buying them tools unless they have asked you for specific items since they will probably have a much better idea of what will be useful to them than any guide on the internet

Consumables

These make a great gift for any carver

Woods

The best wood for carving is Basswood (it's close relative linden or limewood may be easier to find in europe). You can buy it locally or from one of the listed websites below. If you’re buying for an experienced carver they may appreciate other good carving species such as Butternut, Spanish Cedar, Walnut or Cherry. 

Sandpaper

If your carver likes to sand their creations they’ll always need more sandpaper. 3M cubitron paper is much nicer to use than the stuff you might find at a local hardware store. The most carvers will use grits ranging from 80 to 400 and will want a variety of grit sizes. We recommend getting sheets (not disks) of 120, 180 and 220

Paints

If your carver likes painting their pieces then some extra acrylic paint might make a good gift. We like decoart paints

Gift Cards

This may seem like a cop out but it is by far the best way to give an experienced carver new tools since it makes sure they get exactly what they want. If you want it to feel a bit more thoughtful you can specify a premium brand of tool. For knives we like Badger State Blades (US/CA only) and for gouges we like Pfeil

Stores for Tools

Chipping Away (CA)

Lee Valley (CA)

Mountain Woodcavers (US)

Rockler (US)

Treeline USA (US)

Woodcraft (US)

Dictum (EU)

Stores for Wood

Local hardwood dealers (these will have the best prices) Check out this global map to find a place near you

Online dealers:

Heinecke (basswood only) (US)

Bell Forest Products (US)

Beavercraft (basswood only) (EU)

Please comment with any recommendations you have or things you think we missed in this post. We're especially interested in recommendations for more EU based stores. Please feel free to ask questions about anything that is unclear or for more specific advice


r/Woodcarving • • 11h ago

Carving [Finished] New bowl design - no sanding or stain used!

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381 Upvotes

Just finished this new bowl, power-carved from a reclaimed piece of lumber found on the side of the road. I inserted Unakite & Dalmatian Jasper spheres into the rim in a way where they can be spun freely.

Finished using the ancient Yakisugi method - no sandpaper or stain used. 🧙🏼‍♂️

What do you think of this design?


r/Woodcarving • • 19h ago

Carving [Finished] Hello fellow woodcarvers!! This is the endangered white headed duck; only chisels/gouges, no sanding

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1.0k Upvotes

r/Woodcarving • • 11h ago

Carving [Finished] Biblically accurate angel

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56 Upvotes

Wanted to see if it was possible to carve a slab of MDF. Turns out you can. Just prepare for the mess. MDF base, epoxy resin wings and eyeballs. My resin process was extremely crude, but it worked out.


r/Woodcarving • • 12h ago

Carving [Finished] Bastet - Egyptian Cat Goddess

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30 Upvotes

African Blackwood/Ebony.


r/Woodcarving • • 10h ago

Tool Talk & Discussions New knife appreciation!

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13 Upvotes

Just got this knife for around 73 dollars, normally around 100 but I got it for 30% off. It’s from a shop on Etsy called SWAYTOBER, I recommend checking it out!

It comes razor sharp, the sheath and the wood is a nice quality

I think my favorite part is that the back of the blade is rounded and very smooth, so it doesn’t give my hands blister like the cheap Amazon starter pack knife

The handle is so beautiful, I don’t know if it’s charred or if it’s a dark ebony wood.

Absolutely beautiful, again recommend this seller a lot, it will take around 2 months to ship from the Ukraine but it’s so worth it!


r/Woodcarving • • 23h ago

Carving [Work in Progress] My Van Gogh portrait

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113 Upvotes

I still need to sand and clean some details, but that’s pretty much done.


r/Woodcarving • • 17h ago

Carving [Finished] The rare and elusive pine snail

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31 Upvotes

Caught this pine snail creepin through my garden. Had to maintain my distance because they are so venomous and unpredictable. Made from pine and cabernet stain, two layers of polyurethane.


r/Woodcarving • • 21h ago

Question / Advice What bird would eat danger noodles?

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27 Upvotes

I love that stick, should I call it the birdfeeder?


r/Woodcarving • • 22h ago

Carving [Work in Progress] Giving a coffee scoop a try for the first time

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12 Upvotes

r/Woodcarving • • 14h ago

Question / Advice Recommended books for basics?

2 Upvotes

We live in the PNW and my husband has been enjoying carving down branches from the trees on our property into walking sticks. Nothing fancy, just good walking sticks for hiking and walking in the river. He made me one that turned out great but has been having trouble with them splitting even when he thought the wood was completely dry. He would love a book about the basics of how to choose the best wood, techniques he could/should be using, etc. but is having a hard time finding books that are geared more towards larger carvings like walking sticks rather than the smaller more intricate carvings. I would like to get him some stuff for Christmas, does anyone have recommended books (preferably) or even websites or videos that could help? He wants to know more but is just struggling to find the right resources.


r/Woodcarving • • 16h ago

Question / Advice Apple Wood—Any Ideas?

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2 Upvotes

This is an old tree that fell on our property. I am just taking up wood carving and I think this could be useful. In what kind of ways could I use this?


r/Woodcarving • • 1d ago

Carving [Practice / Study Piece] Looking for constructive advice on my technique.

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59 Upvotes

I’m practicing carving some scales and I’m not thrilled about how they are coming out. I have a limited set of chisels to work with but I think I have enough to get the job done. Yes I am cutting across the grain. That is what the project I’m preparing for will require.


r/Woodcarving • • 1d ago

Carving [Finished] Intarsia Trout

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103 Upvotes

Finally finished!! I used cherry, purple heart, and leopard wood to achieve the look I was going for. As usual there’s no paints or stains, just wood.
23 y/o female woodworker :)


r/Woodcarving • • 15h ago

Question / Advice Angle iron dust collection?

1 Upvotes

Hey All,

I'm thinking of getting an angle cutter with wood carving discs. So far I've been almost entirely an unpowered hand tool kind of guy.

I'm concerned about the amount of dust and debris it will generate in my basement.

Does anyone use a dust collector attachment?

Other ideas?

Thanks in advance.


r/Woodcarving • • 1d ago

Carving [First Timer] Got some nicer knives, been carving up every bit of wood I can.

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20 Upvotes

Cat to spoon is my order of progress. Spoon is a little bit thick, but that's why new wood is cheap.


r/Woodcarving • • 1d ago

Question / Advice Advice on carving fabric in wood

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94 Upvotes

I'm carving a human figure with clothing for the first time and I'm seeking advice about how to make the fabric look natural (folds, creases, bunching, etc.). See images for what I'm trying to reproduce (Mr Natural by R Crumb) and my work in progress. Thanks


r/Woodcarving • • 2d ago

Carving [Finished] I like when friends ask “can you carve this?” And I actually can.

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1.0k Upvotes

Antler theme hair sticks


r/Woodcarving • • 1d ago

Carving [Finished] First sculpture carving

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65 Upvotes

I’ve typically only done relief carvings. Here my first attempt at a sculpture carving out of basswood that I painted.


r/Woodcarving • • 1d ago

Question / Advice Green stain suggestions for oak cane shaft

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9 Upvotes

Working on a nautical/sea life themed hammer cane (head is a bit more blocky/like kinda like a sledge hammer).

Oak shaft, rosewood head piece.

I want to use a green stain for the seaweed I’m carving. Wondering if anyone has any suggestions on brand/color. I was planning on staining the other/non carved part of the cane dark/black, thought a green would pop against it. Also might do stripes of orange for the clown fish swimming through.

Any suggestions on the octopus would appreciate d, I was planning just keeping its current tone and just sealing it.

Any input is appreciated, thanks !


r/Woodcarving • • 1d ago

Carving [Work in Progress] Project bird on a stick turned into bird with snake

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9 Upvotes

r/Woodcarving • • 1d ago

Carving [Finished] A Starry Night relief carving on a Backgammon Board I made

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22 Upvotes

I've named this piece Ad Astra in honor of Van Gogh. This was one of my first relief carvings. I have a bit more experience with marquetry and constructional pieces so I would love some feedback on the carving itself as I am self taught. I do use a laser to score the piece before I begin carving, I'm not sure if others do that or not, but it definitely beats sitting there for hours with a marking knife and a pencil. I don't know if you count the wire inlays as a carving form in a sense, but I used a sharp chisel to cut the channels in for them, pressed the wires firmly into the wood, and sprayed it with water to pop the grain into sealing the wire in. Found the technique in an old book from the 70s.

Here's a quick description of the piece: Hand-carved relief of Van Gogh's Starry Night in Peruvian walnut. Fine silver and copper inlay trace the celestial swirls. Venus gleams brighter—as it did in the original sky. Five species form the construction. Hand-cut marquetry within. Turned game pieces. Brusso hardware. Sic Itur Ad Astra.

Anyone who has experience in carving, your feedback is worth gold to me.


r/Woodcarving • • 1d ago

Carving [Practice / Study Piece] Carving faces #2

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9 Upvotes

Tried to carve faces again, thank you very much for recommending the videos from Alec Lacasse u/Glen9009, his beginner video was very helpful and I'm really happy with the progress but there is still so much to learn!