Many people that are interested in wood carving, will ask, “What do I need to get started carving wood?”. The answer to that simple question can be debated and will probably be different from wood carver to wood carver. I will tell you what I found to be the answer to that question, when I began wood carving. I started out with a beginner wood carving set that included a kevlar glove, leather thumb guard, small leather strop, small piece of stropping compound, a Murphy bench knife and 6 palm tools.
I found that obviously, a wood carving knife is the absolute necessity tool and to start out wood carving properly, you have to have a good glove and thumb guard. The strop is also needed to keep a good edge on your wood carving knife and tools. The set of 6 palm tools, was comprised of a v-tool, a skew, a flat chisel, and 3 gouges that varied in the degree of sweep or curve of the blade. Of the palm tools, I found the v-tool and gouges to be the most important. Continue reading »