Which carving implement brand to buy?

[john armstrong]

Going shopping for a new set of gouges/chisels. Should I get Two Cherries, Solingen. Who makes the best?

 

[George Holton]

Millers falls tools have always done well for me. Dont buy cheap,and learn how to sharpen. check out Scary sharp , google it. Bob :v

 

[Bob Riegl]

:bow: Two Cherries make good tools and use quite good steel---my tools are for Shore Birds and Ducks---and I have some two cherries knives---but the gouges are Pfeil. I know lot's of carvers who use Two Cherries and are very happy with them. :thumbsup:

 

[mudd turtle]

Just a question here about tools to buy for carving gun stocks. How many to buy ? What type to buy and how do you sharpen them right? mudd turtle.

 

[Allan Gray]

PFEIL "SWISS MADE", in my opinion are the best.
Easy to keep sharp if you keep a strop handy, very high quality steel.

I've found their palm set perfect for light jobs like stock relief carving.

The other brands you mentioned are also fine, but I'd at least check out Pfeil before you buy.

Keeping any carving tool sharp is critical to avoid misery and potential safety hazards. I prefer Japanese water stones to the oil version
The secret is to sharpen often...don't let them get too dull.

 

[Stophel]

I have several different kinds. I have Pfeil gouges and V tools, I have some Henckels chisels that I like very much, I have a few large Henry Taylor gouges that are outstanding, though I got a bum V tool. I use some old Buck Bros. plain chisels as much as anything.

A really good set of gouges/V tools is the Woodcraft house brand. They're relatively cheap, USA made, and "hand size" which I like. I almost never drive gouges or anything with a mallet, I push them with my hand. These are really nice steel and just work great. They are square shanked with round, brown stained birch handles.

For most of my relief outlining, and especially my incising, I use the finer "V" tool from Pfeil. I forget what the degree of the angle is, but it is sharper than the "standard" V tool.

 

[vikingsword]

Aside from Pfeil brand I would suggest looking at the Lamp brand, made in Germany. They are excellent quality, and can be had in a scaled down version, which I have found to be very nice to use on all my carving on rifles and knife handles, and no these are not mini's as one would think, but instead, a 2/3's scale tool, much easier to use than full sized on delicate carving designs. They can be found in the "woodcarvers supply" catalog. Wes

 

[Elnathan]

For decorative carving I would go with palm handles, I think. Beyond that, anything you can keep sharp. I did my first rifle with a 1 mm chisel made from an exacto blade, a pocket knife, and a couple of small chisels and gouges from a set that cost $10 for 12 chisels - nothing but dowels with a cheap blade stuck on the end (they were a gift, and I didn't have the money to buy better. I don't like them much, but I have to admit that they work pretty well if they were sharp.) The end result isn't too bad...

Having said all that, get the best you can afford. Buy some slipstones, too. The Scary Sharp method works well, but you need something to get the inside of your gouges.

edited to add: I haven't tried their chisels or gouges, but I do have a Flexcut drawknife that I love. Their stropping compound is superb, and well worth the money.

 

[George Holton]

The scary sharp modified and stuck to dowel sizes and hardwood V shape blocks work very well, they do get scary sharp and can be kept that way with leather strops formed to the inside shape. I gave my water stones away. Bob

 

[GobblerKnob]

Among a few I scrounged along the way and some I made, I use a set made by Robert Sorbey of England. They hold an edge well. They aren't cheap, though. I paid nearly $300 for this 12-piece set about 10 years ago. One place you don't want to scrimp is on your tools. Buy the best you can afford and you will never be sorry. Learn how to sharpen them properly and you be amazed at how easily you can carve. That's only half the battle, though. Design and layout is far more important, but that's another topic for another time. Good luck ~ Rick

 

[john armstrong]

Thanks guys, exactly the information I was looking for.