Tool Selection for Beginning Carvers

Question: I recently completed a class with Michael Cullen on making treasure chests, boxes, etc. Some of the carving work he showed us was absolutely fantastic.

I notice that you have a wide assortment of Two Cherries carving sets. Do you have any thoughts or suggestions as to where I would start with such a new area.

I’ve watched, the Beginning Woodcarving Video by Everett Ellenwood, so I have some basic ideas as to what a V-tool, a sweep, etc. are but I’m not sure how much I really need. Can you give me any feedback on these tools, what “kind-of-basic” tools do I need to get the job done?

Thank you in advance for any advise you can offer. - details4man

Answer: Lets start with the Two Cherries Carving Tool offering.

• Besides the Chip-Carving and Micro-Carving tools which are specialized in nature, there are Pro series, Euro series and Pear handle tools.
• Pro seriesfull size tools are selected by professional carvers to serious beginners because they are available in a full range of sizes defined by width in millimeters, and numbered sweeps for gouges. Vee tools are forged to specified angles. Handles are sized to the tool with larger tools double-hooped to withstand heavy mallet blows. Blades are longer than the other series.
• Euro series tools have octagonal handles of the same size. They are offered in a modest range of sweeps and are not built to numbered sweep standards, thus one might be described as shallow, or very shallow gouge etc. Intended for smaller work, they have shorter blades than the Pro series and are offered in widths of 10mm or less. Pear Handle tools use the same blades, sweeps etc. as the Euro series. The only difference is the handle.

You also mentioned Carving Tool Sets.

• Smaller sets are popular for gifts to the person who has an interest in carving and would like to start out with quality tools which will hold an edge and are properly designed.
• Those with a strong interest in carving often gravitate to the 12 and 18 piece sets because they are more economical than buying the individual tools, and there is a wide enough selection to experiment with different styles and scales of carving. These sets serve students taking classes or learning from books and videos well, because they can easily match the sweeps with those used by the instructor - something which is not possible with the Euro series tools.
• We don’t offer set recommendations for students because there are just too many options, but we do offer a discount similar to the one we offer on our 18 piece set for those who wish to compose their own set of 18 or more Pro series carving tools.

Originally posted Saturday, September 23rd, 2006