How to Get Started into Hand Carving

Posted by PJ Peery on Jun 18th 2020

We love helping people get started into hand carving as we know just how addictive and fun carving can be. Quite often people will ask, “What tools and supplies do I need to start hand carving?” There are certainly some basic tools that most hand carvers use all the time. We generally encourage woodcarvers to get a good knife, a few gouges, something to sharpen their tools with, safety supplies (glove and thumb guard), good basswood, and then instructions. This is what we would consider as the basics that most woodcarvers should get initially. We know that additional tools will be purchased over time, but those tools would probably be more project specific. These tools will be quite helpful for many forms of carving.

In this video we demonstrate using the following tools and supplies.

1 3/8” Knife

#9 ¼” Gouge or #11 6mm Gouge

¼” V-Tool

Knife Strop

Slip Strop

Red Armor Carving Glove

Leather Thumb and Finger Guards

Basic Hand Carving Kit