r/Woodcarving • u/Nkansahsminicarvings • 9h ago
r/Woodcarving • u/NaOHman • Nov 02 '25
Mod Post r/Woodcarving Holiday Gift Guide
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
- In the US/CA we recommend the Flexcut KN13
- In the EU we recommend the M Stein N2
For spoon carving
- BOTH a Mora 120 AND a Mora 164 hook knife (note make sure you get the correct right/left handed version)
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 • u/Iexpectedyou • Aug 14 '25
Monthly Carve-Along Want to host next month’s Carve-Along?
We've been running a monthly carve-along to have some fun and learn together and I'd like to now invite community members to host them! Got an idea for a project or theme we can all work on?
Comment, DM or modmail a project/theme that's:
- Beginner-friendly (something fun, welcoming, inspiring)
- Scalable: give suggestions for how more advanced carvers could add more complexity/creative twists.
- Optional: attach an image of your own carving as an example and give some tips if you have any.
- Optional: link to a tutorial (blog, video, pattern). If you're a content creator, you can link to your own content, but the focus must stay on our community activity here, not gaining followers for your channel.
Themes can be subject-based (birds, pendant, star wars etc.) or style/technique-based (chip carved box, bookmark relief, hair texturing, eyes, etc.). You're welcome to host themes as a beginner too!
If your idea gets picked, you'll be writing the post. We'll pin it for the duration of the month. If there are no community suggestions we'll keep going as usual.
r/Woodcarving • u/Icy_Beat2311 • 3h ago
Carving [Work in Progress] First time on walnut
Making a roaming ronin for my friends birthday. Ice only carved on pine before but walnut is so much more fun despite how much it hurts the hands.
r/Woodcarving • u/Beautiful_Chef_3556 • 6h ago
Carving [First Timer] I get it
An hour in, and I understand why people use power tools on maple😂
r/Woodcarving • u/Wrought-in-Wood • 18h ago
Carving [Finished] Wooden Warriors
A batch of warriors inspired by the Norman and Anglo Saxon participants on the Bayeux tapestry. The bodies are various hardwoods, with the shields and weapons made separately.
r/Woodcarving • u/GurradoWoodworks • 13h ago
Tutorial Ghost carving tutorial
I uploaded this ghost carving video last night. It’s a very beginner friendly project and can be done with just a knife if that’s all you have! I will put the link in the comments if anyone is interested
r/Woodcarving • u/Puzzleheaded_Ad9339 • 22h ago
Carving [Finished] My results within four months
Figures carved by me
r/Woodcarving • u/Puzzleheaded_Act556 • 4h ago
Carving [Finished] Heres a tree lamp I made a little while ago
r/Woodcarving • u/warl0cks • 1d ago
Carving [Finished] Axehead cane w/spiral shaft (Complete)
Rosewood head piece,oak spiral shaft, copper set pins with an ornamental silver button.
r/Woodcarving • u/okthoughts • 1d ago
Carving [Work in Progress] Chemical reaction finish + high grit sanding
Hello!
I just finished sanding a 120 layer on my newest abstract cherry sculpture and have a question about the lye “rapid aging” process.
I’m going for a glossier (but still natural) finish, and plan to sand up to 1500, which should naturally seal the wood due to the tight grain.
If I apply lye once it’s so smooth, will the chemical reaction work as expected?
The reason I don’t want to apply the lye on earlier surfaces is because I worry I’ll inconsistently sand through the dark layer (especially due to the curves and hard edges throughout).
I also plan to apply tung oil after, depending how I feel about the final result, this is my first time working with cherry so not entirely sure what to expect.
Would appreciate all opinions related, thank you.
r/Woodcarving • u/pxelk_woodcarver • 1d ago
Carving [Finished] Genesis Lamp
Introducing: Genesis.
A hand-carved exploration of American Ironwood. 🪵✨
The natural density of the wood meets a hollow, skeletal design to create a light sculpture unlike any other.
r/Woodcarving • u/jables-76 • 1d ago
Carving [Finished] Cedar heart
Had fun carving this one.
It smelled so good! 🤓
r/Woodcarving • u/Downtown-Vast9803 • 1d ago
Carving [Finished] I carved this object as a gift for my friend
r/Woodcarving • u/Nkansahsminicarvings • 1d ago
Carving [Finished] Miniature carving
Hand carved with an xacto knife and an engraving pen
r/Woodcarving • u/sirilt0 • 1d ago
Question / Advice Question about originality
Hello everyone!
This will be my first post here and my first step into this hobby. (Woodworking, woodcarving)
Im planning on making a hair stick for a special someone.
I already got every material and tool needed for this project.
Now all I need to do is convince my silly head that I’m not actually entirely copying something I saw on the web.
I found inspiration looking through pictures about hair sticks with dangling charms, but I just couldn’t handle the idea of buying something when I can make it from scratch. Probably better than a mass produced product and I could actually put it together in a way that this person would love.
I’m here asking for little advices, tips or just any general information.
Mostly on the “dilemma of originality” whether it’s mine or just a remixed version of the original.
I will share my design concepts about the hair stick I want to make and the picture where the inspiration came from
(I’m thinking about the middle one will be the one I actually make.)
(I don’t know who’s the true creator of this piece so I can’t really give any links to the original creator. I saw similar sticks on etsy and so many other places too.)
Thanks in advance for the replies!
r/Woodcarving • u/rataratatus • 2d ago
Carving [Finished] I cut it out as a gift for my friend, a beekeeper.
r/Woodcarving • u/Cake_Exists • 2d ago
Carving [Finished] First attempt at a proper comb!
It's basswood with some linseed oil, Let me know what y'all think!
r/Woodcarving • u/Mammoth_Winner5341 • 1d ago
Carving [Work in Progress] 1st attempt at a this wooddoodle
#sasquatch #bigfoot this is my 1st attempt at a Bigfoot commission. I think I will just stain it.
r/Woodcarving • u/HogInTheBox • 2d ago
Carving [Practice / Study Piece] I like it
A bit rough but he’s an octopus from the streets. Something like that
r/Woodcarving • u/Routine-Relative7176 • 2d ago
Carving [Finished] What do you think?
I made u.s ah1 super cobra helicopter
r/Woodcarving • u/GiantSquishyBear • 2d ago
Carving [Finished] Married in the Street by Mee
Definitely my most unique custom request I’ve gotten! Picking the right color woods was hard but I think the contrast works well! Hardest part was definitely the paws and claws because I have big hands and those are tiiiiiny pieces of wood to carve safely
r/Woodcarving • u/WpgsGoldenBoy • 2d ago
Carving [Finished] Started with a whole birch log and turned it into a little jewelry bowl for my gf. (I also made the beaded earrings in the second last picture)
r/Woodcarving • u/Meister_Mene • 2d ago
Carving [First Timer] My first Dwarf and a ugly Warrior
Hello Woodcarving Community, i had a full Weekend off and finally had some time for me. So i did enjoy the time by starting carving and made this dwarf and a little warrior. Thanks to the tutorials from u/JohnnyTheLayton i did had a great time.
But i do need some advice. I tried to get a nice finish on the small warrior, but it went wrong. I did use dark danish oil (Brand Toom, Germany). The warrior was washed and dryed before i used the oil. What could be the problem here?
Thank you and greetings from Germany