Need advice on carving sets

[Matthew Dworman]

Hi There,
I just signed up for some carving instruction and was wondering what you guys use? I'm looking at the pfeil swiss made 12 pc. set, but didn't know if there is anything else I should be looking at instead? The pfeils are pretty pricey, but I own a set of their bench chisels and am completely impressed with the quality, and would assume that their carving tools are the same if not better. what are your thoughts/reccomendations/advice?
Matt

[Mark Singer]

Ashley Iles are very good too

[Greg Heppeard]

Yes the Pfeil is a quality tool...you might look at the Henry Tailor also. It's a slightly less expensive tool but definately needs sharpening before initial use. The company says this is to prevent damage during shipment. The older Henrys aren't polished like the new ones are, they show the heat treatment this way.

[Steven Wilson]

I use Two Cherries carving tools which work well for me

[Wolf Kiessling]

Hi There,
I just signed up for some carving instruction and was wondering what you guys use? I'm looking at the pfeil swiss made 12 pc. set, but didn't know if there is anything else I should be looking at instead? The pfeils are pretty pricey, but I own a set of their bench chisels and am completely impressed with the quality, and would assume that their carving tools are the same if not better. what are your thoughts/reccomendations/advice?
Matt

You can't go wrong with the Pfeil tools, they are well worth the money. I own several myself.

Now, I am guessing you are just getting into wood carving. If this is true, I would not buy a "set" of anything. You should probably start out with a few well chosen individual tools. Are you going to need palm tools, long handled tools or both? Are you going to be doing architectural carving, sculpting, chip carving or relief carving? I would suggest contacting your instructor and see if he/she recommends or requires certain tools for the class.

Again, depending on what type of carving you will be doing, I would recommend a good quality carving knife, like a Helvie, and a #3 sweep gauge, 1/4" veiner, and 1/4" v-tool to begin with. You can always add tools as you find you need them. Good quality tools, besides the Pfeil, are Flexcut and Warren. IMHO, the Harmon (palm) tools are a waste of money unless you can get them for about 7 or 8 bucks apiece. Unless you know how to sharpen your tools, I would stay away from the Henry Taylor. They are fairly good tools, I have about a half dozen, but you better know how to sharpen. There are some other good brands available, such as Stubai, that I, personally, have no experience with.

You might want to look into power carving also. That is getting to be more and more popular all the time. It might even be appropriate for your class.

[Matthew Dworman]

Thanks for the responses, everyone. I guess I should have gone into more detail about what I'll be doing. I'm not taking a class per se, but rather some one on one training from a true master. I guess I'll primarily be focuses on ornamental and architechtual carving. He reccomended the 12 pc. set from pfeil to start, and then add a couple pieces at a time as I need them. Woodcraft has a set which include:

"5mm and 8mm straight chisel
8mm skew
12mm No. 5 gouge
20mm No. 5 gouge
6mm No. 7 gouge
10mm No. 7 gouge
4mm No. 8 gouge
10mm No. 8 gouge
10mm No. 9 gouge
3mm No. 11 veiner
6mm No. 12 V-parting tool
Overall length of tools, 10". Complete with deluxe canvas tool roll containing individual pockets for each tool, soft Arkansas multiform slipstone for preliminary sharpening, hard Arkansas multiform slipstone for final finishing, and a 14-1/2 ounce beech Brienz mallet with 3-1/8" diameter head."
For about $300
I have also found a set which includes:
12/6 6mm V tool
1/8 8mm Double Bevel Chisel
1S/8 8mm Double Bevel Skew
5/8 #5 x 8mm Sweep Gouge
5/20 #5 x 20mm Sweep Gouge
7/6 #7 x 6mm Sweep Gouge
9/10 #9 x 10mm Sweep Gouge
11/3 #11 x 3mm Veiner
8/4 #8 x 4mm Sweep Gouge
8a/10 #8 x 10mm Spoon Beng Gouge
7/14 #7 x 14mm Sweep Gouge
and 7L/20 #7 x 20mm Long Bent Gouge.
for about $250, but with no stones....
So what are your thoughts on these...?
Thanks again
Matt

[Joel Moskowitz]

Buy the set the teacher recommends. A main part of the reason for studing with anyone is to learn their methodology. When the teacher says Take your #4 10mm (or whatever) sweep and do this - if you don't have it and need to substitute you are missing part of what they are offering and making it more difficult for them to explain why they are doing what they are doing. also chances are the exercises are geared for specific tools and having them you don't have to waste energy trying to adapt the exercises.

Incidently even if the teacher refuses to recomment specfic makers and brands if you show up with soemthing else it causes confusion.

Later down the road you will hopefully develop an informed opinion about what tools you need for the work you want to do. Then you can experiment with different brands and find out what works for you.

As for cost the few dollars one way or another compared to the cost of instruction is minor.

[Wolf Kiessling]

[QUOTE=Matthew Dworman]Thanks for the responses, everyone. I guess I should have gone into more detail about what I'll be doing. I'm not taking a class per se, but rather some one on one training from a true master. I guess I'll primarily be focuses on ornamental and architechtual carving. He reccomended the 12 pc. set from pfeil to start, and then add a couple pieces at a time as I need them. Woodcraft has a set which include:

Ditto what Joel said. Buy what the instructor recommends. You can't go wrong with Pfeil. Having said that, I would buy the set without the stones because I JUST CAN'T STAND to sharpen like that. I use the John Burke system and sharpen a lot. If I have to sit there and sharpen/hone with stones, I would be constantly carving with dull tools.

From what you stated, you will probably be using everything in the set anyway. Normally, when you buy these tools in a set you get a little break on the price. I haven't bought gauges, etc., in quite a while but it seems to me that I never got by under about 25 bucks a piece. By buying good tools, you will generally get something that will hold an edge better than a cheapo, and then you can concentrate more time on carving than sharpening.

[Matthew Dworman]

Hi Wolf,
Can you explain to me what is the John Burke system? For my chisel and plane blade sharpening I Use a combination of the "Scary Sharp" sandpaper method and diamond stones. I figured I would do the same for the gouges, etc on the bevel and then use the stones to remove the wire edge & hone the flat side? (Of course if anyone wants to send me a Tormek, I'll gladly switch my method.. )
But I'm not fammiliar with the John Burke system...
Thanks,
Matt

[Wolf Kiessling]

Hi Wolf,
Can you explain to me what is the John Burke system? For my chisel and plane blade sharpening I Use a combination of the "Scary Sharp" sandpaper method and diamond stones. I figured I would do the same for the gouges, etc on the bevel and then use the stones to remove the wire edge & hone the flat side? (Of course if anyone wants to send me a Tormek, I'll gladly switch my method.. )
But I'm not fammiliar with the John Burke system...
Thanks,
Matt

Matthew, here's a link to the John Burke site. It tells you everything you ever wanted to know about his sharpening system. It's a little pricey (IMHO) but I use the B-200 (?) unit, the one with the lower shaft included, because I think the paper wheels are invaluable in sharping the small tools.

http://216.106.57.170/~burkes/product1.html

[Matthew Dworman]

Hmmmm.....
I didn't realize it was a machine... For that price, would I be better off with a Tormek which seems to be a bit more versatile as it has nice jigs for chisels, plane blades as well as jointer and thicknesser blades?

[Wolf Kiessling]

Hmmmm.....
I didn't realize it was a machine... For that price, would I be better off with a Tormek which seems to be a bit more versatile as it has nice jigs for chisels, plane blades as well as jointer and thicknesser blades?

Yeah, the only thing I sharpen with the Burke machine are the carving tools. Everything else goes to the grinder.