High End Whittling Knife Comparison - Best Whittling and Wood Carving Knife Review
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ก.ค. 2024
- There are a lot of really good whittling and wood carving knives on the market, and in this video, I review some of the best whittling and wood carving knives available!
Timestamps:
00:38 - Lee Ferguson
01:43 - OCC Tools
03:05 - Drake Knives
05:33 - Deepwoods Ventures
08:05 - Helvie
Check out more of my whittling knife reviews:
• Whittling Knife Review
For a complete list of the best knives to choose from, check out my website: carvingisfun.com/best-whittli...
Places where you can find the knives:
Lee Ferguson
- ebay.to/3oJpGBL
- www.fergusonknives.com/
OCC Tools
- treelineusa.com/traditional-c...
- mountainwoodcarvers.com/searc...
- thewoodcraftshop.com/occ-tools/
Drake Knives
- drake-knives.myshopify.com/co...
Deepwoods Ventures
- deepwoodsventures.com/
Helvie Knives
- helvieknives.com/
Links to Ebay above are affiliate links, for more information click here: carvingisfun.com/affiliate-li...
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Hey @carving is fun. Just wanted to say thanks for all the videos. I finally decided I was going to give whittling a try and just placed an order for a couple Deep Woods Ventures knives, a glove and some bass wood. Your videos were very helpful in me deciding on which knives to spend my money on!
You're welcome! Glad they helped guide you into this wonderful hobby :)
Great choice on the Deepwoods Ventures tools, you'll enjoy em.
Thanks for video. I just ordered my Ferguson knife. Can’t wait for it to come in.
Welcome! The Ferguson knives are wonderful, you're going to love em!
Because of this video I purchased the exact same drake knives that you showed. So thank you very much, I absolutely love them. And I’m very careful with the tips
Excellent! You made a great choice, Drake knives are among my favorites :)
A very interesting video on a good range of knives - Thanks.
Awesome video, very helpful. Thank you very much.
Glad you found it helpful!
Very helpful, thank you! Really looking forward to my helvie arriving now 😊
They are really nice!
Where did you buy yours? I can't find them anywhere, all sold out.
Directly from Helvie, you may want to send an email to see if they are taking orders.
@@CarvingisFun thanks! I sent an email 👍
Fantastic video! Thank you
You're welcome! Glad you enjoyed it!
Hello there. First off, love your content. Just a bit of a correction, the Helvie flex cut is the thinner of the knives at about 0.035 in while the rough out is about 0.050 in. That’s about 0.889 mm vs 1.27 mm. The “flex” being indicative of it being more flexible steel as opposed to flexible in a versatile sense. Anyway, keep the great content coming. Be well.
Thanks! Sometimes if I don't have the information directly in front of me I get myself confused :)
@@CarvingisFun 🤔
Love the design and colors of the Helvie set
I'm form Europe ... have to find a way to get my hands on a set of these! Thxs for sharing
They are indeed really nice looking!
If you can get your hands on a set, you will not be disappointed.
I would love to know, how you got your hands on the knives in Europe ^^, i'm looking for them aswell.
Lots of digging into each countries woodworking stores :) Im still working on this right now.
Heavies are out of stock! Yours is beautiful 😍 down the line maybe…🙏🏽👍🏽
It would be worth noting that Paul at Deep Woods Ventures hand forges all his knives, he's a blade smith and certified blacksmith. I agree with you about the Deep Woods handles, they're beautiful but takes a bit getting use to the feel in your hand. Helvie's are great but as of Oct.6,2023 a 15 month wait isn't worth it. Too many great knives like the ones you mentioned. Thanks again for a great straight forward review.
All true!!
If you can, give Silvern Works a look. They are new, super comfortable handles, and I see a bright future with him.
Nice video. One thing I would add is that carvers should learn how to grind and sharpen knives for carving. Most any knife can be made sharp for carving.
Pinewood Forge makes great knives for basswood carving
I keep seethem around, just need to get around to picking some up!
Hey James, I stumbled across your page by accident and I find myself hooked. I've been looking for a hobby! I'm in Australia, so prices are a lot different here. I was wondering, do you have any opinions on Beavercraft and Two Cherries, please? I've been finding it all a bit overwhelming. In your opinion, what would be the minimum I would need to get started? In the mean time, I'll keep working through your vidz. Cheers from Downunder, Stew.
Hi Stew!
While I haven't had any direct experiences with Two Cherries tools (yet), I believe them to be a decent quality tool that will last you a long time. Beavercraft is what I would consider to be a great budget friendly brand made for beginners who want to give whittling and wood carving a try without hurting their wallet.
The bare minimum you would need to get started would be a good knife (pocket knife or dedicated whittling knife), sharpening tools (stone or sandpaper with 1000+ grit plus a leather strop with polishing compound) and some wood to carve. That's all you really need to get started. It also wouldn't hurt to pick up some slice resistant gloves to protect your fingers as well.
This video right here will guide you through what you need to know th-cam.com/video/KlxFIzSV-Zc/w-d-xo.html
Have fun!
@@CarvingisFun thanks for your reply. Thanks Brian. No idea why I called you James, sorry mate!
It's all good! Maybe James from Alaska Woodchuck? I would happily get confused with him any day :)
@@CarvingisFun ah yep, I was watching his videos yesterday as well. That'd explain it...... that's my story anyway. Cheers!
Should I start with a detail knife or rough out knife? Ill be carving out wood spirits to start with.
The distinction between a detail knife and roughing knife can get a little fuzzy and confusing at times, instead look at blade length. I would suggest starting out with a knife between 1 - 1/2" and 1 - 7/8" in length. Many people find that a 1 - 3/4" knife is a perfect length to cover both detail work and removing large sections of wood.
Some good examples to look for and links to amazon, ebay, or webstores :
Flexcut KN14 Roughing Knife (1 - 3/4" blade) - amzn.to/3oY8J5j
OCC Tools 1 -3/4" Grip Handle Knife - treelineusa.com/1-3-4-grip-handle-knife/
Lee Ferguson 1 - 3/4" woodcarving knife - ebay.to/2YOM7ts
Ray Iles Whittling Knife (~2" or 5cm long) (note, have not yet tested myself) - ebay.to/3aDD9ER
Beavercraft C2 Bench Knife (1.56" or 4cm long) - amzn.to/3jsTHUa
The last are pretty,however i have no idea what handle I would like. Is there a way, cheaper to find out what feel of handle I like?
Ive taken reusable non drying sculpting clay, like monster clay, to shape random handle shapes and see if I like it.
@carving is fun since you mentioned the sheath, what are the chances of you doing a video on whittling knife caps? I recently built my own whittling knife steel handle and all. I didn’t like The way it set on the table when not in use. So I split a one by one and half, gouged out a channel in each piece inset stropping leather and reglued. Now I’m looking for ideas of what to carve the block into just to make it a little more showy
Thats actually a neat idea! I will add it to my list of video ideas
@@CarvingisFun sweet. I love following your vids. Keep up the great work
Hi I just stumbled across your video! How much better would you say the Deepwoods are compared to Beavercraft?
Night and day difference in feel, finish, and cuts. 100% would go Deepwoods over Beavercraft if you can afford it.
@@CarvingisFun thank you! I actually pulled the trigger a couple days ago after watching your other video where you made you wife try all of them out. Her reaction to the last one sealed it.
Hey, what do you think about Kirschen Carving Knifes?
They are a very old Brand from Germany.
I like them quite a bit, they are more refined than similar shapes from pfeil, but still need a good sharpening before use.
Curious, the Drake knives don't seem to have a secondary bevel ??? yes/no
I'm gonna say no. They do have what seems like a very slight covex grind (appleseed grind I think) but it does look flat at a glance
Hello, what do you think about Brisa Crafter 70 finnish knife? 14C28N steel, 58 HRC
Thanks
Never used it, but it looks promising.
I'm surprised you didn't have any flexcuts. The handles can't be beat. And the blades are high quality
Ah, I believe that my mindset on this video was focusing on handmade knives instead of mass-produced knives.
But yes, Flexcut is indeed a great brand and make wonderful tools!!
@CarvingisFun I actually work there. I hand polish and sharpen all the ruffing, chipping, and detail blades.
Neat!!
Well, I do have yalls tools in plenty of my other videos too and reccomend them frequently to my viewers for really nice tools that dont cost too much.
I'd like to see a comparison with Mora knives.
Since mora knives are considered to be sloyd style knives, it would be slightly hard to compare them directly to a bench/whittling knife. While both are great cutting tools, these knives in the video are far more capable at smaller cuts and detail work, while the mora knives excel at general purpose cutting and making large cuts.
The mora knives are still great knives, but depending on what and how you plan on carving one style will excel over the other in various tasks.
I do have some videos where I am comparing the moras to other companies and style of knives below:
Best beginner knives - th-cam.com/video/BI4d4y09tg0/w-d-xo.html
Sloyd knife comparison - th-cam.com/video/5yXa0QCFeDo/w-d-xo.html
10$ sloyd vs $100 sloyd - th-cam.com/video/ggwFpEjH-lE/w-d-xo.html
I was looking for a knife for whittling palm sized animals. I heard a swissknife is good for those, although I'm not sure. I was wondering which knife you think would be good for that type of whittling? Thank you!
are you looking for a pocket knife or a fixed blade knife?
Also, what country are you located in and what is your budget?
@@CarvingisFun I don't mind a fixed-blade knife, mainly whichever is best. I'm in the United States, and my budget is $50. I already have a long blade from Beaver Craft, and that one doesn't do well for details, although it works well for getting off big hunks of wood.
Ah, $50 and living in the US provides you some great options!
If you want a nice set of various knives, The Flexcut KN500 offers a detail knife, a roughing knife, and a regular cutting knife to fit most any palm sized whittling project. You can whittle nearly 100% of all palm sized critters with this set and never need another knife ever. They come in super sharp and have good quality steel as well.
For a little cheaper, you can get the 2 piece Flexcut KN300 detail knife set with a detail knife and a mini detail knife for those intricate cuts. You will probably still want a non detail knife for the regular cuts but this is still an option.
If it were me and I just wanted to get a set of good quality whittling knives that will last for a good while without feeling like I need better knives, the Flexcut KN500 would be my go to for what you are getting. This is coming from someone who has had literally purchased thousands of dollars of whittling knives in the past few years. The hand made and higher quality ones are indeed really nice and worth it, but you get some serious bang for your buck with the KN500 set.
Dont forget the leather strops and whatnot to keep your blades honed sharp so you don't have to take them to a stone and redo the edges when it gets dull.
@@CarvingisFun thank you so much! I will for sure use this in my next purchase!!
Dear sir,
i'm a bigginer to whittling. I heard about two cherries, kirschen whittling knives. Basically Model no 3358 and 3368. Please let me know about it. Is it a high end one ?
Thank you very much !
I have the 3358, its a really nice option and is more refined than the pfeil version. It just needs the edge refined and sharpened and you will be golden
Thank you very much@@CarvingisFun
What about victorinox swiss army pocket knife ? Is it a average good one after reprofile ?
Its a good option indeed. The steel is a little softer than what I would want but its a solid option.
Anyone know wheee I could order not the knife but the steel so I can make my own knife and what would it be called
Find some W1 or O1 (letter O) round stock. Keep in mind you need to know how to harden the steel after your done forging them.
@@CarvingisFun I’ve seen a few videos on that but if you have any recommendations
I personally have no recommendations but know there are plenty of knife makers on youtube with decades of experience that could help ya.
Just curious: how are the OCC knives any better than Flexcut? The handles don't look as good. Hardness is the same. They're just a boutique brand instead of a "big brand", right?
I'm not sure I agree with the idea that a beginner should start with a cheaper knife. It seems like anything cheaper than a Flexcut is a waste of money. Sharpening issues, dull out of the box, uncomfortable handles... These are all big drawbacks to a beginning whittler. Someone on a whittling group in facebook recommended I start out with a good quality 1.5-2" straight whittling knife, a 1/4" gouge and a 1/4" V-gouge. I ordered one each from Drake. I'm still curious about Flexcut, though. I avoided them because there were some reviews citing quality problems, and that's not why I want to buy US-made.
I'm a bit worried about the thin tips on the Drakes, as the tip of the straight knife does a lot of work in the corners. I appreciate the heads-up; I won't use them on "found wood". I like to whittle deadfall sometimes, and sometimes, it turns out to be a lot harder than I imagined it would be. Sometimes, the half-rotten stuff is actually better!
Howdy!
The difference between OCC and Flexcut may be down to personal preference. I know that the wider handles OCC offers fits my hands much better than Flexcut and feel like they both have similar cutting potential. And yes, it would be a boutique brand vs big brand.
Primarily, I see the idea behind using a more affordable set of tools as a way to allow people to start without looking at a large payment as a barrier to entry. This is true in many different activities where experienced participants tell people "spend money on the more expensive stuff" or they just simply wont have a good time. This isn't true, but doesn't mean that all cheap products are good.
The goal is to allow more people to jump in at a good price but still not buying complete garbage. This is why the only "affordable" brand I suggest would be Beavercraft as they come with a decent edge, decent tool, and allow users to get started at nearly half the price of Flexcut without getting absolute garbage tools. Beavercraft isn't the greatest and is outclassed by Flexcut, but they do allow people to start learning without hurting their wallet.
Flexcut is a good brand and they will stand behind their tools. If you have an issue just contact them and see what they can do for you.
Drake makes some excellent quality tools, just keep an eye on those fine tips and you will be all set.
It’s all about the grind. Drakes cut so well because of the extremely thin and flat grind. Flexcuts have bevel grinds which aren’t as good and comfortable at slicing. I’ve tried both and occ is a no brainer for me.
Been looking for some Helvie knives but they seem to out of stock.
Your probably going to have to contact them directly to set up an order.
@@CarvingisFun thanks , seems like many things are getting hard to find lately.
Yeppers, lots of shortages lately
@@CarvingisFun What two Helvie knives do you use most often , thanks.
j'ai trouve les couteaux beaver craft et j'ai commande les couteaux de detail merci pour avoir repondu
You're welcome!
All the custom Helvie knives are sold out. That tells me you influenced there sales. WTG.
Ha, I actually had very little to do with that. Helvie knives have been heavily sought after for years. I actually had to wait 3 months just to get mine!
Not only that, they just recently changed over to a new ordering system and are probably going through some technical growth pains.
Hello, I love all of your videos. I am just getting started and I am just researching things. I was wondering if you (Or other people) could answer a few questions I have.
I have a question about Helvie knives (Or non-beveled blades in general). Helvie states that their knives are specifically not for hardwood, since they do not have a beveled blade.
They also explain this here: th-cam.com/video/chqu47hFNZc/w-d-xo.html @ 14:13 mark.
1. Do you have a high end recommendation for a blade that can be used on hardwoods?
2. Do you still use Helvie blades for hardwoods and just sharpen it more often or something?
3. I have seen your videos on the different knives that are good to start with but I am still a little confused on if I should get a "Medium" detail knife or a detail knife as a starting knife and why?
4. I have seen high praise for "Sweep" knives or "Sloyd" which I assume are two different terms for the style of blade (please correct me if I am wrong), though I don't understand the specific advantage to the curved edge. What advantage do these curved edged blades have over a straight edge? (EDIT) I just saw your post here: carvingisfun.com/sloyd/ and that I think answers this question.
I have watched several of your videos on these topics, but I still am lost on these specific questions. I appreciate your help and all the hard work you have put into your videos. They are awesome!
Howdy!
If you are looking for knives for much harder woods like cherry and walnut, you can still use helvie knives but they will require more maintenance. For these woods I prefer using knives with a thicker blade like a sloyd knife or knives from Deepwoods Ventures. They are more resilient and can take some abuse while maintaining their edge.
A knife with a sweep is similar to a sloyd knife with the curved edge. The reason why some like it is that they promote more of a slicing motion while carving, which helps remove the wood faster and easier. If you just push the edge into the wood, you won't be able to take advantage of the sliceing action of the blade as it cuts through the wood, but you would just rely on the sharpness of the blade being pushed through the wood.
I wouldn't get too hung up on the classification of a knife, but the length of the blade in relation to what size carvings you wish to do. I personally like a blade between 1.5 inches and 2 inches in length for the carvings I work on. Detail knives are more specialized in creating small detailed cuts in the wood, but this effect can usually be done with a standard blade as well.
If you are going to be carving harder woods, my recommendation would be this one from Deepwoods Ventures deepwoodsventures.com/knives/126-detail-carver-carving-knives.html#/26-blade_length-1_3_4_inch/49-handle_options-plain_wood
It is a great all around blade that can remove large sections of wood and has a fine tip for detailed cuts. I suggest the 1 3/4" blade or the 2" blade, plus you can get the handle in some beautiful colors as well.
@@CarvingisFun This is awesome information! Thank you very much! Now that i have had a little bit of experience with carving (Only 4 figures or so) I think I agree with you about preferring hardwood (I think you mentioned you also prefer hardwood in one of your videos). I found some random piece of wood in the garage while I was waiting on the Basswood. I think it was hard wood, as it was much harder to carve than the basswood. The basswood felt like butter after trying to carve the wood from the garage lol.
It took a little practice with the strop to really get a nice sharp edge on the knifes but once I did, it was way easier to carve the hard wood but still pretty rough, where the bass wood was like carving into butter.
I will diffidently try your suggestion of the Deepwoods Ventures knife. I like the hard wood because it is a little more forgiving when making smaller cuts. I find that the Basswood is almost too soft. It seems really easy to break. So now I am looking into different hardwoods I can get locally here.
Thank so much!
Ordered the Deepwoods Ventures Rough-detail knife in the 1 3/4th blade. I will let you know how it goes. I am really excited!
As of 092623, all 49 styles of Helvie knife are sold out except for one - the weird chopping knives.
Ya, I've heard the waitlist on the knives is quite long! If you want a nice hand made whittling knife with little to no wait, give Silvern Works a shot. I have several of his knives and like them a lot! www.silvernworks.com/
@@CarvingisFun Thank you for the link. Roughly the same price point, but I was actually more interested in the aesthetic of the Helvie knives, to be honest. Very nice. :)
Are these knives available in Britain ?
Probably not, they are all made here in the US but some of the companies may be willing to ship internationally. I would contact them.
je sculpte depuis dix ans mais j'ai decouvert le wittling il y a deux ans j 'ai contacte Helvie et le canada mais c'est tres difficile de ce procurer vos magnifiques couteaux merci pour le partage
Helvie Knives are hard to get right now, maybe try Drake Knives?
Don't think the helvie knives are being made anymore. They are going for over $300 a piece now on eBay
They are still being made but there is a substantial wait time. The stuff you see on ebay are just over inflated prices by gouges
@@CarvingisFun I contacted them three times and they never got back to me.
Too had helvie stocks are all sold out.
Try contacting them directly, you may be able to place a custom order
I just checked and Drake knives are up to 6 months lead time now. So....that kinda sucks. But definietly understandable. The Helvie knives are 16 months lead time. So, good luck with that folks. Lol
Ya, I'm sitll waiting on my second set of knives from over 6 months ago. They are really good though!
Can someone just use one knife that does it all?
Most of us do!! The typical size blade that mosy whittlers use is between 1.5 and 2 inches. Many prefer 1.75 inches as it feels just about perfect for most whittling projects.
Just watched your video and jumped over to Helvies website…. Every single knife is sold out 😕
Yah, the are super popular. If you can email em thats the best way to get on a waiting list
that is indeed a poor whittler's dream
Yeppers it is! Even I have to constantly trade out some knives just to afford all the new tools to show everyone. If I were to have purchased everything and kept it all, I would have spent well over $2.5k on tools! Since I trade out knives and sell off the ones I don't plan on using long term, I think I have only spent $1.5k out of pocket so far.
I think if you complain about bulky handle you actually failed at this hobby and should try something else. It should be your first task in the hobby to make your own handle :)
Is helvie out of business!?!
Nope, righ tnow they have so much demand for their tools that they are having a hard time keeping up. Check out their Facebook page for updates.