When I began really pursuing this hobby 9 months ago, I thought I should start with some actual carving knives (vs. whatever pocket knife I happened to have handy). Did some research and settled on the Flexcut Beginner Palm & Knife Set this set covered the basics was affordable and are really quite good tools. I was extremely happy with them…for a while.
With any hobby or interest, the more time you spent with it the more you discover what’s available and what does, or does not, work for you. This is very much the case with whittling! You will quickly discover many different blade sizes and shapes that work better, or worse, depending on the size and style of carving you are doing. Then there are the custom tool makers with their many handle styles, colors and blade choices. There’s a slippery slope…good thing they are amazingly affordable when you consider these are often individuals or couples that are making and finishing these knives by hand one at a time!
I do 90% of my carving with just knives, the remaining with a few select gouges and V tools (a gouge that make a V shaped cut rather then a U shaped one). The picture above is of my two favorite knives (at least for the last several months), they are from different small makers.
The one in back is a Pinewood Forge 2” Harley Knife, a fantastic knife for the Scandinavian Flat-Plane carving style (such as the Hare and Squirrel projects). The other is a Drake Detail Knife with a curved fine blade and an ergonomic handle. The blade is about 1 1/4”, thin and pointed, when it comes to detailed work this is the knife I grab!
Strangely, like many things during this pandemic, carving knifes and tools are currently in high demand and fairly hard to come by unless you stick with the commercial brands. Popular small maker brands are virtually all out of stock at this point.
Thankfully, you really don’t need more than a single good knife to whittle, the rest just makes things easier and/or quicker.
I have talked a good bit about tools to shape and remove wood. I would be remiss to not end this post with a note about safety. A cut proof glove (for your holding hand) and a thumb guard (for your cutting hand) will truly save you some literal pain and suffering. A good strop and some compound to keep your edges sharp is a must (a sharp blade is much safer than a dull one). Finally, always remember you are pushing razor sharp metal through a fibrous material that would prefer to stay in one piece, better to have something between that and any of your more tender bits.