Top 7 Best Wood Carving Beginner Kits – Reviews and buying guide
Editor's choiceWood Carving Tools reviews 29.11.2019 Jeff Richardson 4
Best Wood Carving Kits for Beginners in 2021
I’ve been into wood carving for more than 14 years already. Good thing wood carving seems to be interesting for many people as new sellers come out in droves. And they like to offer discounts! – Wood Carving Tools for Sale: Best Black Friday Here in the article we made sure to point out some prominent names of brands and manufacturers of 2020. So, scroll down to find the best wood carving beginner kits. If the kit of your choice doesn’t include sandpaper, consider reading about it to purchase yourself. In case you’d love to dive into some wood carving knife’s basics before checking out tools reviews, make sure to read the following article where we cover some basic questions to start with. Hurry up to start your journey!
Why Wood Carving Starter Set is the Best Solution For Beginners to Start With?
Wood carving Starter Set is normally a smart choice for beginners. It will definitely serve as a better solution for beginners in the following way.
1. A Memorable Gift Option for wood carvers
Are you lucky enough to have a lovely woodcarver friend? If yes, make this year the best wood carving starter kit as a present on his/her birthday. Also, the friend who has shared with you his sympathy for wood carving, you can gift an adorable wood carving starter set. It is for sure a unique and memorable gift item.
A nice wood carving starter kit could be a great gift idea for other events such as Halloween, Independence Day, Christmas or New Year etc.
So, think a bit out of the box and be creative in giving gifts!
2. All basic wood carving tools for beginners in one kit
Whilst we are concerned about wood carving or whittling kits for beginners, you will get a versatile and incredible amount of tools all in one basic kit. This handy kit will serve your most purposes to make you feel more exploring in the area. On the other hand, you don’t need to purchase an individual tool to complete the full set as all the basic tools are available within one super-compact wood carving starter kit.
3. Number of tool options to begin with
What you will be getting are the more options to start with. So, if you want to master in one type of basic shape, it’s more of a choice here rather than a necessity. This advantage will not be available if you put your hands on buying a single tool. A good collection of chisels, gouges, chip carving knives or other basic tools will also let you feel happy with a multiple choice to begin.
4. Portable wood carving kit
Portability is another factor to provide you with ease while buying a starter kit. A perfectly designed wood carving kit is more of a portable set that you can carry it anywhere as a camper. So, it gives an awesome whittling experience even while camping and allowing you to carve nice cuts or hollows over different types of woods available in your camping area.
5. Gives a better learning experience
With a set of two or more wood carving tools, the better learning experience can be earned. This thing is entirely impossible if you are having a single tool and restricted to learning for only one tool. Wood carving is a wide concept to gaze deeply into and it’s a nice step towards this multi-level learning if you are initiating with a good start.
Thus, we can say that wood carving is not a very difficult task for beginners unless they begin with starter kits. Now because it’s worthy to select the best wood carving starter set, we have examined the Top 7 Best Wood carving Tools with pre-made kits. They are eagerly waiting to be your next best choice because of the exciting features available with them.
1. BeaverCraft S13 Wood Carving Tools for Beginners
We should start our review with an all-rounder wood carving toolkit by BeaverCraft. The brand is a master in fulfilling the requirements of both the professionals as well as the beginners. The company originates from Ukraine, which is rare thing, most tools are made in China. This tool set comes with three spoon carving knives and some stropping supplies. The full carving set provides a kind of shout out to the lovers of bowl or spoon carvers to think twice before ignoring this multi-purpose kit.
Features
- A set of three spoon carving knives
The package consists of a sloyd knife, a hook knife, and a chip carving or detail knife. All these spoon carving knives come with an impressive ergonomic wood handles finish. The build quality is also worth noting at high-carbon steel, the one designed exactly for wood carving. Get an intricate or sensitive small cut with its detail or chip-carving knife. While the sloyd straight knife is there to offer you the best rough out and whittling experience with 3.15” cutting blade. At last, its hook knife is nothing more than the top-notch quality spoon knife to get the desired spoon shape results.
- Maintenance accessories
To maintain your knives in razor-sharp condition, the kit comes with two maintenance accessories named the polishing compound and a leather strop. It comes with a sturdy canvas pouch to keep your knives safe and clean. Also, you can enjoy their polishing compound accessories to strop your knives.
- Ergonomic Handles
Along with the quality blades, the handles are quite eye-catchy. Their convenient design lets them fit easily within your palm and knuckles that you don’t have to feel any fatigue while holding them all day long. They just sit within your palm very well and allows flexible carving. The smooth and soft finish of wood handles also pleases the user to use the knife without any hassle.
- Covers most of the wood carving requirements for both beginners and professionals.
Simple to use spoon carving knives
Includes stropping accessories for improved maintenance
Canvas tool pouch included
Ergonomic shape and comfortable handles
Easy to use
- Knives may need additional stropping initially
May catch rust if not properly maintained
2. Flexcut KN500 Starter Set Carving Knives
Our next best alternative is the set of carving knives by Flexcut. They are provided in a set of three chip-carving knives and a polishing compound. The kit contains all the blades you require for chip carving. Its pre-sharpened blades also give you a facility to maintain them with the provided polishing compound. This set is a great opportunity for beginners wanting to explore their initial journey in chip carving techniques.
Features
- Set of three-chip carving knives
It’s a worth recognizable set for chip carving lovers. Two of the knives provided will help you to assist in carving both small as well as little big details. Whilst the third one available is a skew knife to get those inspiring vertical cuts.
- Razor-sharp blades
The set is pre-equipped with razor-sharp blades. And, in case of need, you don’t have to purchase additional polishing equipment as the set already contains one. With the sharp cutting edges, you will be able to get a smooth and nice carving experience. They are built with tough edge-holding steel to offer long periods of carving.
- Soft Handles
With their brand printing, the handles are also worth considerable within the set. Their soft finish allows for free and flexible usage of tools even for longer durations. Furthermore, the handles are full tang and good to go for a beginner.
- Set of three detail knives
Durable steel finish
Sturdy and soft to use handles
Razor-sharp blades
Contains a polishing compound
- No information about the measurements of cutting edge
No leather strop provided
High price for a starter set
3. Helvie Carving Knives Starter Set
This wood carving starter set by Helvie is much of an interesting kit to look at. Well, you will be provided with mainly four options to buy the kit. The knives it offers are mainly the detail knives, Roughout knives and Sweep knives in different sizes and designs. Its overall finish is also unique with colorful handles made up of Floyd Rhadigon. See its main features below.
Features
- Variety of options
In this starter set, you will get a variety of options to choose from. The first option will provide you with a Roughout Knife, Detail Knife, and a Mini Detail Knife. The second set contains a Roughout Knife, a Detail Knife, and a Medium Detail Knife. Its third option is offering a Detail Sweep Knife, Mini Detail Sweep Knife, and a Roughout Knife. Whilst the last set has a Medium Detail Sweep Knife, a Detail Sweep Knife, and a Roughout Sweep Knife. All the sets are also provided with the exact specification of cutting edges.
- Easy to fit handles
Its colored handles are easy to adjust within your palm. At the same time, they are comfortably designed to not give any kind of difficulty to your hands. Yet, if you are looking for knives with small handles, then this is not a set for you as all the handles made are bit longer as compared to the usual wood carving knife.
- Accessories
You can also enjoy the facility of the sheath with these sets by paying extra bucks. This Helvie starter set comes with an option to choose set with sheaths. Then, the resulting package will come with a leather sort of cover to protect your knives and keep them clean.
- Different sizes of chip carving knives
Comfy and smooth handles
Colorful unique design
The sheath is also provided after paying extra bucks
Sharp blades to get mini as well as medium details
- No polishing accessories provided
Very expensive
4. Xacto X5175 Wood carving Set Deluxe
If you love to do a hardcore wood carving, then this option by Xacto X5175 is the best choice with the required sturdiness and exact construction of different tools. This advanced kit will let you perform 3D carving, whittling, and relief carving. Moreover, you are getting all the tools in a handsome wooden chest that also calls for a good gifting option among other features.
Features
- Contains different wood carving tools
The product includes different carving tools such as a No.5 knife handle, 5 gouges, 6 assorted blades, and four routers within a wooden chest. Well, the kit is wholly different in itself as all the necessary equipment for good whittling experience is provided along. You will get a deburring blade, wood chiseling blade, large carving blade, whittling blade, and a saw blade. Some of them are round while some are diamond-shaped to provide thin as well as large detailed cuts.
- Precisely built
All the tools whether its gouges, blades or routers are precisely built with textured grip and tight magnets holding them. The blade quality is razor sharp and impressive to look at. This toolkit applies to professionals as well. And, it’s a good long term investment if you want to excel in a wood carving career.
- Well done operations in wood carving
Wooden box equipped with all the basic as well as advanced wood carving tools
Solid construction
Precise designs with textured grip
Budget-friendly
- May not be a good choice if you are just starting out
Plastic molds provided within are flimsy
5. BeaverCraft S14 Wood carving Set Tools
We again come with another best range by BeaverCraft. It’s basically a spoon carving set for beginners consisting of a whittling knife, spoon knife, and a long-bent gouge. Both the beginners as well as professionals are good to go with these precisely built spoon carving tools. The three different knives are known to be one of the best tools if you are learning the basics of wood carving and want to invest in quality tools.
Features
- Set of three different wood carving knives
This toolkit by BeaverCraft includes various kinds of spoon carving knives including a whittling knife, a spoon knife, and a long-bent gouge. The gouge and spoon knife provides more secure tang as compared to the whittling knife. However, all of these tools are built with full tang which is also a preferable structure for safety.
- Eliminates fatigue
Its ergonomic handles and design eliminate all the fatigue that may be experienced while long wood carving sessions. The handles also provide a smooth, clear finish along with razor-sharp blades. They will help you get desired carving shapes without facing any hassle. The handles are covered with linseed oil and made of oak to offer you a smooth grip while handling the knives.
- Pre-sharpened
Its razor-sharp blades are pre-sharpened with high-quality material of carbon steel. Unlike other brands, BeaverCraft is transparent and fully resembles its built quality in the material specifications. These blades are tough enough to carve on both hardwood and softwood.
- Three excellent quality spoon carving knives
Also includes a whittling knife for carving small details
High-quality carbon steel material blades
Soft oak handles covered with linseed oil
Razor-sharp blades
- Doesn’t come with any maintenance accessories
A bit pricey
6. Flexcut KN250 Knives Set Deluxe
This is a Deluxe Knives set by Flexcut KN250 featuring a total of 18 carving knives in different detail range. The range differs from a mini detail knife to a skew knife. It’s a good choice for new woodcarvers as the kit contains all the basic tools necessary for carrying on this exciting hobby. This big kit may prove to be perfect for large projects, relief carving, whittling and much more.
Features
- Variety of high-quality wood carving knives
The 18 knives provided in the kit are as namely cutting knife, skew knife, roughing knife, detail knife, pelican knife, chip knife, left-handed hook, right-handed hook, mini-chip, mini-pelican knife, mini-detail knife, detailed skew, skewed detail, mini skew, hooked skew knife, upsweep knife, hooked push knife and radius knife. So, you can determine that all are sub-categories of knives with regards to wood chiseling for beginners.
- Comfortable handles
Being made up of solid wood, all these knives present comfortable handles to be worth considering for the purchase. They are smooth, well-finished and soft for improved grip and enhanced performance. Well, the handles are built with full tang and standard size to fit the size of your palms or knuckles easily.
- Pre-sharpened within the box
Right out of the box, you will get pre-sharpened razor-sharp knives. Nevertheless, no maintenance accessory is provided but the quality of sharp knives can be looked into. To sharpen them regularly, you need to purchase additional maintenance kit for extra bucks.
- Edge holds for a long period
Carbon steel razor-sharp blades
Best for beginners with high budget
Wide range of wood chiseling knives
- Needs maintenance regularly
Some uncomfortable handles
7. Morakniv 164 Wood carving tools for beginners Set
Morakniv presents us a set of two wood carving knives including a hook knife and junior knife with a protection cover. Furthermore, the brand is famous for making great hook knives. It’s one wood carving 120 knife resembles a comfortable and ergonomic design provided with a protection guard. While another well-structured hook knife is best to carve hollows or do other similar activities in spoon carving.
Features
- Set of two stainless steel wood carving knives
You are going to get a set of two wood carving knives built with stainless steel and nice oiled handles. Its 120 knife has a thin and tapered 2.36 inches cutting edge of the blade while the other 164 hook knife is built with a 2-inch cutting edge of the blade and a 0.5-inch internal radius.
- Handles
The handles are sturdy and well-finished with softwood. Both the tools have small handles to fit easily within the palm and provide a great carving experience even for longer wood carving sessions. Furthermore, the product comes with a limited warranty.
- Sharp blades
Its blades are made with a good quality and are indicating a razor-sharp overall finish. The specific measurements of knives are also provided to get you the proper understanding of their functions and the different designs they can carve.
- Ergonomic handles and design
Razor-sharp blades
One knife with protection guard for additional safety
- No maintenance kit provided
Protection cover only for one knife
Final Thoughts
- If you are a beginner, not looking to spend to much on your first knife set, Morakniv Woodworking Knife Set is your way to go.
- My personal recommendation is BeaverCraft S13 for any carver: it includes everything you need in your everyday whittling and carving.
- When purchasing a knife kit, check out the special offers with maintenance such as covers for the blades and sharpening tools.
We hope that you understand now better the aspects behind the best wood carving tools for beginners and how they should be chosen. The high-quality knives with ergonomic design and ease of use should be the main focus while going for wood carving tools at the very beginning. As a novice carver, the better decision is to choose among wood carving starter sets as they are specifically made keeping in mind the psyche of starters. So, they would be more convenient and easy to learn relatively.
Well, our recommended best picks from the top list given above are BeaverCraft S13 and Flexcut KN250. The BeaverCraft S13 is a budget-friendly, multi-purpose and top-notch spoon carving kit along with maintenance tools. On the other hand, our next best pick Flexcut KN250 is a pack of eighteen wood chiseling knives ranging in different sizes and designs.
You make your choice now! Wish you luck in starting your journey to exciting world of wood carving.
FAQ
Who makes the best wood carving knives?
To make a good decision on what tools to buy as a beginner, you should consider the following factors before buying wood carving tools. It will help you to pick the high quality and durable wood carving tools:
- Quality Assurance
- Type of wood carving tool
- Number of tools in the set
- Sharpness of blades
- Versatility
- Security Grip
What is the best whittling knife?
The general sloyd knife C4 from BeaverCraft S13 Wood carving Set Tools. The brand is a master in fulfilling the requirements of both the professionals as well as the beginners. The company originates from Ukraine, which is rare thing, most tools are made in China. This tool set comes with three spoon carving knives and some stropping supplies. The full carving set provides a kind of shout out to the lovers of bowl or spoon carvers to think twice before ignoring this multi-purpose kit.
What are the best wood carving tools for beginners?
Wood carving Starter Set is normally a smart choice for beginners. It will definitely serve as a better solution for beginners in the following way.
Our top three pics:
BeaverCraft S13 Wood carving Set Tools
Flexcut KN500 Starter Set Carving Knives
BeaverCraft S14 Wood carving Set Tools
Jeff Richardson Editor
Passionate about wood carving since high school. Always been able to relax while carving. 7 years ago, I decided to dedicate my whole time to wood carving; this is when I started my blog. I am a fan of DIY, fitness, and crafts. Also, I love to spend time with my friends, carving something out of wood. I hope you enjoy my articles.
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16.05.2021 #3 AuthorI’m a beginner. Like many, I started with Flexcut but now want to try something better. Everything I read says Helvie is the best, but I can’t find them anywhere online or in stores. The company’s websites say all its models are out-of-stock at this time – any suggestions for where to buy
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