A piece of wood can be shaped into almost anything. We can carve a wooden block into many different things. Wood carving can help us to unleash the artist in us and we can create many different artistic things from a piece of wood. Wood carving knives are great tools for the expert carvers that help them to carve out almost anything. The knives that are used for wood carving are also used to make the wood pieces smooth, to trim them and to make them round.
A wood carving knife is a very important tool to fulfill the woodworking task, and to carve out useful things and beautiful sculptures. There are various wood carving tools available for the wood carvers. The real wood carving lovers love to have different kinds of carving knives that are available just like a woman who has an insatiable desire for jewelries of latest design.
Types of Woodcarving Knives
Wood carving knives consist of two main parts – the blade and the handle. It is very necessary for the blade to be thin so that it finely cuts and pares the wood to give it a sophisticated finishing. The long handle of a wood carving knife makes it possible to have a better grip of it so that it does not slip out of the hand while doing your carving job. There are different types of carving knives available depending on the kind of job the carver wants to do with it. The types of woodcarving knives include:
Rough-out carving knives– The rough-out knives are great for every type of wood carving. It is designed in such a way that it removes plenty of wood when the wood is hit with the carving knife. The rough-out knives have a pointed and sharp blade that has a straight cutting edge. These knives are not suitable for making fine designs but these can be used to chop of big chunks of wood from the block.
Detail carving knives– The detail knives are used to make fine cuttings to the wood after the bigger parts of wood has been carved out. This type of knife cannot be used to remove a lot of wood with each stroke but it can give a good finishing touch to the sculpture or whatever is made from the wood. The blade of this type of knife is comparatively small than the rough-out carving knife. The blade has either curved or with a straight edge. Both these types have different angles and shapes, and they can be used to do different work.
Spoon carving knives– The spoon carving knives are great for people with a do-it-yourself attitude. They can use it to carve out bowls from a block of wood. It can also be used to make wooden spoons as its name suggests. It is possible because of the curved blade of the knife that helps to scoop out a lot of wood with each strike. The spoon carving knives can be used to carve large pieces of wood but it is specially made to make curved carvings.
Bent carving knives- The bent carving knives are used to complement the spoon carving knives while doing a wood carving work. The blade of this type of knife is straight that can be used to carve out straight carvings. The bent carving knives are so named because their blades are bent at the top which can be used to take out the wood.
Folding carving knives- Among the different kinds of wood carving knives available, there are also the folding wood carving knives available. These knives can be folded and they also come with two types of blades. The blades have both a straight edge and curved tip that allows carving the wood anytime, anywhere.
All these different types of knives are singularly sold but they are sold as part of the wood carving knives set. If you do not want to buy the whole set of the carving knives then you can buy any one as per your requirement. If you want nothing but the best wood carving knives then you must make sure to read the wood carving knives review. The reviews are great to help you to find the best knife for your need.
Wood Carving Knives for Beginners
If you are a beginner to wood carving and you are not sure about the right type of wood carving knife that you need, there are some great options to help you get started.
Before novices at wood carving start carving out the wood, the basic things to look out for when buying a wood carving knife are the blade and the handle of the knife. Every beginner at wood carving uses his mother’s kitchen knife to carve out the wood. This not only upsets his mother but it also does not provide good results. It is recommended for beginners to use wood carving knives for beginners that are custom made for them. A beginner at wood carving should start off with a small carving knife that has a straight edge blade. The blade of the knife should also be comfortable so that the user can have a comfortable grip and the knife does not slip out of the hand.
A wood carving knives set is a great thing for beginners to start off with. As it contains different types of knives, they can try each one of them out in their endeavor. Whittling knives are also a part of the knives set that can be used to cut out small pieces of wood or to remove the pare shavings of the wood. These knives are not used to make refined carvings but they can be used to cut out of the wood little by little. The whittling knives are not termed as wood carving knives because they simply are not. They are used to whittle out the wood and give it fine details.
If you have bought carving knives for woodworking then you must take great care of them. This ensures the long life of the knives so that they can work efficiently for a long time. The knives should be kept in sheaths to protect it from external damage and continue working seamlessly for plenty of projects to come.