I have been loving the Flexcut roughout knife and beaver craft kit i have. Just ordered a drake knife a few days ago since they opened their shop back up. Super excited for that to come in!
Hi Brian! I just wanted to say thank you for your wonderful work on this channel, I had been wanting to try whittling! As a French person, turns out I already owned a carbon Opinel :D I also got two Flexcut knives, and so far I made two little caterpillars hehe! I'm on a mission to watch all of your videos :D Have a lovely day!
Thanks. I used a variety of knives over the last 30 years. I've been looking for a Helvie for the last 14 years, but haven't seen them for sale. I like the larger OTTC you showed... I've been using the Mora 106 and 120 forever for spoon and flat plane carving. Picked up a specially modified for carving Henckel's 4 blade Congress back in 1989 and that became a workhorse for me. The Oar CArver's from Queen are sweet knives. I have a few Flexcut and other specialty knives. Whatever works for you and the piece you're carvin🙂g!
4:30 I literally was thinking about buying that knife, only the one I found has double bevels. I too was looking for knives one day and stumbled onto it also😂
I have a couple of OCCT knives that I keep on a stand on my bench, and they are great, but to be honest the knives I use the most are the Beavercraft C15 whittling knife and C16 roughing knife. I have a couple of C15s and one I reshaped into a flat grind. That also thinned out the blade. It's by far my favorite knife and since I don't mind throwing them into a toolbox and taking them with me they get far more use than my OCCTs (probably cause I don't carve at my bench as often). The Beavercraft are an amazing value for a $12 knife. Some of the Beavercraft designs seem odd to me, but the C15 and C16 are solid choices in my view. For a Sloyd knife I use the Morakniv 122 - I really like the straight blade for carving and this is the knife I'll grab if I'm starting with anything big or rough (like a branch). I have the Morakniv 106 too, but the shorter blade of the 122 suits me better. I have RH and LH versions of the Morakniv 164 for spoon carving, although I prefer to rough out with gouges (OCCT bent spoon, or Beavercraft L7 22). I bought the same Flexcut set you have for my wife (two knives, palm gouge and palm v-tool) and she likes them but I already have my favorites. The only good thing I can say about Flexcut is they are easy to get and reasonable quality. Definitely not my favorite, but it could just be not a good fit for me. I really don't like the palm tools, for example. This is totally subjective, but I feel like I'm going to chip the edge so I avoid them. Whew. I didn't think I had a lot of knives but I guess they have a tendency to multiply over the years.
My knife collection just keeps growing too! I have several dozen other wood carving knives laying around that just didn't make it into the video. Found one the other day that I dont remember buying too!!
You may remember I’ve made a few comments on your posts, my last being about knives, and how disheartening it’s all become, and you’ve replied, thank you. Well I’m here just to say, I don’t have any presents to buy, so my final plunge, is to have treated myself to a triple pack of Flexcut knifes, got a great bargain at £49.99 here in the UK. So they arrived today, and I just want to say to all beginners like me that lose heart, just buy a decent knife. I got my half finished bad attempt at the fox, the wood felt hard, my knives just went nowhere. So I just have one of these knives a quick go, and omg, the difference is a million miles different. I heard the noise, my stop cut , actually went in the wood. So it’s now rekindle my massive enthusiasm for this amazing looking hobby. I have plenty of wood, so I’m looking for the best and easy beginner video, is it the fox? Anyway gone on too much, but guys , don’t waste money on bad knives, it will put you off. Thanks again for your superb channel.
I use my Occt knives the most, Helvie knife I have is good also. Beaver craft are good. Mostly when I carve I grave the sharpest, when they are all dull I stop strop and start again.
Hey Brian I must say if I ever hear someone say they don't like Damascus steel I don't know what I would say to it Damascus blades are amazing Oh and I figured out why y'all are so careful about cutting yourself figured I would be careful enough but bout took my thumb of with a decently sharp buck knife while whittling
Another great video Brian! Thanks for sharing your personal favorites and reasons why you like them. I’ve learned so much from you. If you get a supply of your portable leather strops, please know I would like to be on your waiting list to purchase one.
Great video! Thank you for sharing! I'm definitely keeping an eye out for getting some helvie knives in the future. :) For me, my go-to knife is actually my flexcut tri-jack! I looked into the flexcut folding knives from a previous video of yours. :) While the grip isn't quite as comfortable as a fixed blade handle, it's still pretty darn comfortable. But I like how it gives me a couple options all in one place. I live in an apartment and so I don't really have a good setup where I have my knives laid out. I have a box to catch my wood shavings. haha. So it's nice to just grab the box, my glove, knife, and some wood and just start carving. :) It's great that there are so many options that work for all sorts of people and situations!
I just start carving and found your channel. You are the most so far give information about carving knives and details the way you carve your piece. I tried to get a Helvie knife on their web site but they are sold out. Do you know where could I get one. More power to your channel and thanks for sharing your talent with us.
Thanks! If you want a Helvie knife, you may have to email them to see if you can get on a waitlist, but expect it to take up to 6 months. Otherwise you will be buying from the gougers on ebay. I also may ir may bot have a special thing coming up where you have a chance of winning one... but details for that are coming out later ;)
I have a question on sharpening. I saw a person keep their knives by using a buffer wheel with compound applied to it. His knives looked great, cut great. Is the an alternative to a strip, at least in the shop?
Correct, a powe strop is faster than doing it by hand. However you do have to make sure you dont strop at the wrong angles or over time you will put an odd edge on your tool.
Great video! My favorite knives are my OOCT Scout knife and my Flexcut Tri-jack, due to the fact that even though I'm 30 woman, I still have child sized hands. The OOCT scout knife has the exact same blade blade as my OOCT 1 3/8" detail knife but with a comfortable handle. Do you know of any other good knives for very small hands? I'm contemplating getting the Deepwood Ventures kids carving knife, though I'm not sure I will like the Safety Tip on the end of the blade.
If you can pick up a Lee Ferguson wood carving knife that may be a good choice! Their handles are a bit small for my hands but are well made (www.fergusonknives.com/) The Butz carving knife is also a good choice if you can find one.
Cool video! What compound do you have on the strop? I see this is an older video. Did you ever create a stop like that for sale or know if a product like that for purchase? Thanks!
I've been looking to get some carving knives for some time now, I finally decided to go with flexcut and the cheapest delivery option I found, after hours of searching, was 75$ :-\
Just finished the prototyping, due to the low run manufacturing process they won't exactly be cheap. It will cost me a good chunk of change to make em.
@@CarvingisFun stuff is awesome!! Any updates on things or did it end up cost prohibitive? If it did would you ever consider selling the CAD model so those of us with access to 3D printers could make our own?
@@CarvingisFun that or honestly it might be worth pursuing a patent on! I'm sure company's would be interested in making their own to sell if you pitched it to them!
Im still exploring options and a patent is on the list to check out. I already own a patent and have an accout with my local patent attorney. Just need to make the time to do it :)
@@CarvingisFun ayy! Wish you the best of luck with it ^^ hope things go nice and smooth for you! Thank you as well for creating these videos and providing the information you do! Been a huge help! Cheers!
Depends, the flex knife is thin and can easily break if mishandled but just glides right through basswood. Their roughout knife is a bit thicker and more resilient allowing you to use it on harder woods but is just a bit less easier to slice through the wood (very small difference).
Just found your videos! Amazing! I got a WHOLE set of used flexcut knives but I really wanted the helvie! Someone I know has one and they don't care for it AND they don't even know what they own!!! Ahhh! Well unfortunately due to illness they are no longer making their incredible knives (praying for them) so I'm wondering whats the knive that would be the next best thing?
Well, the next best thingnI would recommend is Deepwoods Ventures knives. They are outstanding and only take about 1 - 2 weeks to get made and head out to you!
Brian how did forced patina went and remember knife dont make you wood wizard but practice i see your carvings are better than mine i only been carving 3 years hiw ling you been at it i dont use them knives only barlow two bladed and modifed opinel dshortend and warncliff point put on for cheapness👍🇬🇧🦊🐾
Unfortunatly Helvie has about an 18 month waitlist and you cant buy them regularly, or you can buy the 10x price gouged ones on Ebay but I wouldn't reccomend it. I also don't sell any knives.... yet. That may be something I look into next year but no capacity for it this year.
@@CarvingisFun I´m having C2, C8, C15, C16 and others from Beavercraft and also Morakniv 122 and I would like to compare or Helvie (completely out of stock) or similar to C2 and C15 (small and middle streight blade) from OCC. But OCC have no distribution to Europe. And if yes, the transport price is so high.....
@@robert.santore OK fine. It´s what I´m using. I´m sharpening a knives, so some of them were modified as well ;o) Mora 122 at first because the blade was to long and very wide and the grip to round ... if you are using WhatApp or Messenger I can send you some photos ;o)
The past few years, yes. Their popularity has increased so much that last I checked, they had over a year wait. Not 100% sure if they are taking new orders at the moment but their website will give up to date info if anything
Links to tools mentioned in the video:
Helvie Knives: helvieknives.com
OCC Tools: occtools.com
Flexcut: www.flexcut.com
Beavercraft: beavercrafttools.com
Kakuri Tools: kakuritools.com/collections/japanese-knives
JP’s Bladeworks: th-cam.com/users/JPsBladeworks
Beckwith Forge: instagram.com/beckwithforge
That dragon looks very nice. Looking forward to the video!
I'm excited to play around with it some this weekend if time permits.
That travel kit you have with your custom fold out mini strop is elegant. I love it.
Great video
Glad you enjoyed it!
I have been loving the Flexcut roughout knife and beaver craft kit i have. Just ordered a drake knife a few days ago since they opened their shop back up. Super excited for that to come in!
Your custom mini strop is sick!!!
Thank you!! Im making a small run to see if anyone would be interested in em.
Thank you
Hi Brian! I just wanted to say thank you for your wonderful work on this channel, I had been wanting to try whittling! As a French person, turns out I already owned a carbon Opinel :D I also got two Flexcut knives, and so far I made two little caterpillars hehe! I'm on a mission to watch all of your videos :D Have a lovely day!
Howdy!!
Im glad you are enjoying the videos and that they have helped you start whittling!!
Thanks. I used a variety of knives over the last 30 years. I've been looking for a Helvie for the last 14 years, but haven't seen them for sale. I like the larger OTTC you showed... I've been using the Mora 106 and 120 forever for spoon and flat plane carving. Picked up a specially modified for carving Henckel's 4 blade Congress back in 1989 and that became a workhorse for me. The Oar CArver's from Queen are sweet knives. I have a few Flexcut and other specialty knives. Whatever works for you and the piece you're carvin🙂g!
4:30 I literally was thinking about buying that knife, only the one I found has double bevels. I too was looking for knives one day and stumbled onto it also😂
Glad you liked the knife. But i must say that pocket strop is a cool idea. Id be open to buying one if they are ever available to purchase.
I'll gladly send one your way :)
@@CarvingisFun alway good to have a strop on hand in case a wild dull knife crosses my path 😁
I have a couple of OCCT knives that I keep on a stand on my bench, and they are great, but to be honest the knives I use the most are the Beavercraft C15 whittling knife and C16 roughing knife. I have a couple of C15s and one I reshaped into a flat grind. That also thinned out the blade. It's by far my favorite knife and since I don't mind throwing them into a toolbox and taking them with me they get far more use than my OCCTs (probably cause I don't carve at my bench as often). The Beavercraft are an amazing value for a $12 knife. Some of the Beavercraft designs seem odd to me, but the C15 and C16 are solid choices in my view.
For a Sloyd knife I use the Morakniv 122 - I really like the straight blade for carving and this is the knife I'll grab if I'm starting with anything big or rough (like a branch). I have the Morakniv 106 too, but the shorter blade of the 122 suits me better. I have RH and LH versions of the Morakniv 164 for spoon carving, although I prefer to rough out with gouges (OCCT bent spoon, or Beavercraft L7 22).
I bought the same Flexcut set you have for my wife (two knives, palm gouge and palm v-tool) and she likes them but I already have my favorites. The only good thing I can say about Flexcut is they are easy to get and reasonable quality. Definitely not my favorite, but it could just be not a good fit for me. I really don't like the palm tools, for example. This is totally subjective, but I feel like I'm going to chip the edge so I avoid them.
Whew. I didn't think I had a lot of knives but I guess they have a tendency to multiply over the years.
My knife collection just keeps growing too! I have several dozen other wood carving knives laying around that just didn't make it into the video. Found one the other day that I dont remember buying too!!
You may remember I’ve made a few comments on your posts, my last being about knives, and how disheartening it’s all become, and you’ve replied, thank you.
Well I’m here just to say, I don’t have any presents to buy, so my final plunge, is to have treated myself to a triple pack of Flexcut knifes, got a great bargain at £49.99 here in the UK.
So they arrived today, and I just want to say to all beginners like me that lose heart, just buy a decent knife.
I got my half finished bad attempt at the fox, the wood felt hard, my knives just went nowhere.
So I just have one of these knives a quick go, and omg, the difference is a million miles different.
I heard the noise, my stop cut , actually went in the wood.
So it’s now rekindle my massive enthusiasm for this amazing looking hobby.
I have plenty of wood, so I’m looking for the best and easy beginner video, is it the fox?
Anyway gone on too much, but guys , don’t waste money on bad knives, it will put you off.
Thanks again for your superb channel.
Im glad you were able to get a hold of some nicer tools and had a much better experience! It's amazing how much of a difference nicer knives can make!
Did you stick with it?
Nice video! I've been wanting to branch out and try other knives so these recommendations are very appreciated 🙂
That strop looks very useful! 👌
Oh lordy it is.
@@CarvingisFun I've send you a message on Instagram.
I use my Occt knives the most, Helvie knife I have is good also. Beaver craft are good. Mostly when I carve I grave the sharpest, when they are all dull I stop strop and start again.
Hey Brian I must say if I ever hear someone say they don't like Damascus steel I don't know what I would say to it Damascus blades are amazing
Oh and I figured out why y'all are so careful about cutting yourself figured I would be careful enough but bout took my thumb of with a decently sharp buck knife while whittling
Sometimes those pesky thumbs just get in the way of the blades! I know that I loose track of my fingers while carving every now n then.
Another great video Brian! Thanks for sharing your personal favorites and reasons why you like them. I’ve learned so much from you. If you get a supply of your portable leather strops, please know I would like to be on your waiting list to purchase one.
I'll let everyone know in my channels community tab when they are ready. Currently making a snall run of them now.
Great video! Thank you for sharing! I'm definitely keeping an eye out for getting some helvie knives in the future. :) For me, my go-to knife is actually my flexcut tri-jack! I looked into the flexcut folding knives from a previous video of yours. :) While the grip isn't quite as comfortable as a fixed blade handle, it's still pretty darn comfortable. But I like how it gives me a couple options all in one place. I live in an apartment and so I don't really have a good setup where I have my knives laid out. I have a box to catch my wood shavings. haha. So it's nice to just grab the box, my glove, knife, and some wood and just start carving. :) It's great that there are so many options that work for all sorts of people and situations!
I just start carving and found your channel. You are the most so far give information about carving knives and details the way you carve your piece. I tried to get a Helvie knife on their web site but they are sold out. Do you know where could I get one. More power to your channel and thanks for sharing your talent with us.
Thanks!
If you want a Helvie knife, you may have to email them to see if you can get on a waitlist, but expect it to take up to 6 months. Otherwise you will be buying from the gougers on ebay. I also may ir may bot have a special thing coming up where you have a chance of winning one... but details for that are coming out later ;)
I have a question on sharpening. I saw a person keep their knives by using a buffer wheel with compound applied to it. His knives looked great, cut great. Is the an alternative to a strip, at least in the shop?
Correct, a powe strop is faster than doing it by hand. However you do have to make sure you dont strop at the wrong angles or over time you will put an odd edge on your tool.
Great video! My favorite knives are my OOCT Scout knife and my Flexcut Tri-jack, due to the fact that even though I'm 30 woman, I still have child sized hands. The OOCT scout knife has the exact same blade blade as my OOCT 1 3/8" detail knife but with a comfortable handle. Do you know of any other good knives for very small hands? I'm contemplating getting the Deepwood Ventures kids carving knife, though I'm not sure I will like the Safety Tip on the end of the blade.
If you can pick up a Lee Ferguson wood carving knife that may be a good choice! Their handles are a bit small for my hands but are well made (www.fergusonknives.com/)
The Butz carving knife is also a good choice if you can find one.
Just ordered a Helvie, expecting delivery in about 15 months 🤪
15 months!!!!!!!!!
All I can say is wow, but they are worth it!
Cool video! What compound do you have on the strop? I see this is an older video. Did you ever create a stop like that for sale or know if a product like that for purchase? Thanks!
This one was a strop and compound from Beavercraft. The compound has changed and is less waxy but still works the same
I've been looking to get some carving knives for some time now, I finally decided to go with flexcut and the cheapest delivery option I found, after hours of searching, was 75$ :-\
Ooch!!! That is some serious hefty shipping charges!!!
Hi Kamil, are you from Poland? There is one shop selling flexcut based in Poland in Warsaw - Intertools. You can check this one.
@@juliamarekwierzchowscy7862 ooo, dzięki, muszę zobaczyć
👍👍👍
You have one of those 3d printed leather strops for sale?. You should sell those
Just finished the prototyping, due to the low run manufacturing process they won't exactly be cheap. It will cost me a good chunk of change to make em.
@@CarvingisFun stuff is awesome!! Any updates on things or did it end up cost prohibitive? If it did would you ever consider selling the CAD model so those of us with access to 3D printers could make our own?
@@CarvingisFun that or honestly it might be worth pursuing a patent on! I'm sure company's would be interested in making their own to sell if you pitched it to them!
Im still exploring options and a patent is on the list to check out. I already own a patent and have an accout with my local patent attorney. Just need to make the time to do it :)
@@CarvingisFun ayy! Wish you the best of luck with it ^^ hope things go nice and smooth for you! Thank you as well for creating these videos and providing the information you do! Been a huge help! Cheers!
What would you recommend for a first Helvie knife? Would the flex knife be the better option?
Depends, the flex knife is thin and can easily break if mishandled but just glides right through basswood. Their roughout knife is a bit thicker and more resilient allowing you to use it on harder woods but is just a bit less easier to slice through the wood (very small difference).
@@CarvingisFun Thank you! Keep up the good work!
Those Helvie knives look so beautiful! But they're always sold out whenever I check the online shop :c
You gotta set up a pre-order with em :) Send em an email and see if you can get on the waiting list.
@@CarvingisFun good to know! Thank you so much! :-)
@@CarvingisFun update: just wanted to let you know that I've finally got my order up. I'm already so excited!
Yay!! Much enjoyment to be had :)
Just found your videos! Amazing! I got a WHOLE set of used flexcut knives but I really wanted the helvie! Someone I know has one and they don't care for it AND they don't even know what they own!!! Ahhh! Well unfortunately due to illness they are no longer making their incredible knives (praying for them) so I'm wondering whats the knive that would be the next best thing?
Well, the next best thingnI would recommend is Deepwoods Ventures knives. They are outstanding and only take about 1 - 2 weeks to get made and head out to you!
Thank you!
Brian how did forced patina went and remember knife dont make you wood wizard but practice i see your carvings are better than mine i only been carving 3 years hiw ling you been at it i dont use them knives only barlow two bladed and modifed opinel dshortend and warncliff point put on for cheapness👍🇬🇧🦊🐾
I didn't like the first attempt (it was a bit boring) so I polished it off and will be doing some experimenting this weekend (if time permits).
@@CarvingisFun try it exactly way i said or stick blade point first all way in lemon 👍🇬🇧🦊🐾
Where to buy a helvie knife...its out of stock in many places...do you sell those kind of knives...
Unfortunatly Helvie has about an 18 month waitlist and you cant buy them regularly, or you can buy the 10x price gouged ones on Ebay but I wouldn't reccomend it.
I also don't sell any knives.... yet. That may be something I look into next year but no capacity for it this year.
Unfortunately you couldn't buy them in Europe.... or somebody can help me please??? I' m using Beavercraft.
What knife are ya looking for specifically?
@@CarvingisFun I´m having C2, C8, C15, C16 and others from Beavercraft and also Morakniv 122 and I would like to compare or Helvie (completely out of stock) or similar to C2 and C15 (small and middle streight blade) from OCC. But OCC have no distribution to Europe. And if yes, the transport price is so high.....
@@jarekkorinek8619 The Beavercraft C15, C16 and Morakniv 122 are my most-used knives even though I also have a couple from OCCT.
@@robert.santore OK fine. It´s what I´m using. I´m sharpening a knives, so some of them were modified as well ;o) Mora 122 at first because the blade was to long and very wide and the grip to round ... if you are using WhatApp or Messenger I can send you some photos ;o)
@@jarekkorinek8619 sorry I don't use many apps. It would be nice if you could post pics on TH-cam comments
Everything on the Herbie site is sold out. That must mean they no longer making knives
They are, but its on a commission basis. Also Holli currently has cancer and they ramped down production for a bit.
@ “commission”? Does that mean you have to place an order to have a knife made?
The past few years, yes. Their popularity has increased so much that last I checked, they had over a year wait. Not 100% sure if they are taking new orders at the moment but their website will give up to date info if anything
@
I guess that’s a good problem to have.
Helvie Knives are all sold out😞
Try contacting them and see if you can get on a waiting list :)