carving knife recommendation

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phantomknives

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Mar 31, 2016
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Iv'e been doing a bit of carving lately, and I discovered the knives i use aren't very good for carving, could i get a recommendation? the knife needs to have a blade at lest 2" long and at most 3", and above all, the blade MUST have a rounded spine. Preferably would have a round grip too. Oh yeah, under $50 please.
 
Morakniv makes some really nice carving knives for not a lot of cash, you can probably get a crook knife and a straight knife for that budget. Flexcut also makes a lot of different styles and are all good, but a bit pricier.
 
You might need to narrow it down a bit more than that. If you want a straight up wood-carving knife, then go get a Flexcut with the blade shape that most appeals to you, and the chip-carving knife is the one I use the most. It is hard to beat the comfort of the swelled handle, and the small, sharp blade gives you a lot of control. With a good handle and small blade, you really won't need to double up with a thumb on the spine at all. A 2-3" blade is useful for shaping and roughing in, and that would take an aggravatingly long time with the little blade though. For that sort of task, I use a couple of different blades depending on mood and location--and I guess none of them really meet your criteria. In public, I use a Boker War Toad (over the $50) budget, and on my porch I use a BK 14 (3 1/4", spine not rounded) with handle scales installed. If you are looking for a folder for carving, than a lot of the classic folders would do just fine, Grampa's Old Timer works well for me, too. I would probably use it more, but I don't want to risk wearing it out because it's the last Grampa knife I am ever gonna have. I would stay away from folders with a lock or fancy innards that are going to wear out quicker with the wear you are going to put on them, but that could just be my Luddite tendencies coming through. If you repost this question in the Traditionals forum, I bet you would get some good responses.
 
Do you want a dedicated knife for general wood carving? Or an EDC/multi-use knife that you can carve with.
I started out using traditional patterns like Stockmen for carving but once I got serious and interested in more than just whittling you will probably want a different tool.
One great knife to start out with is a "Sloyd" type knife from Mora. The #120 is a great one to choose. Flexcut makes a Sloyd type knife as well as some other blade shapes that work well. Here are there good choices.
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The Mora 120 at the bottom, Flexcut KN12 Cutting knife in the middle and the Flexcut KN34 Skewed detail knife.

I also have a Flexcut JKN89 Pocket Jack with 4 blades/gouges/v-tools. Here with a Mini Grip for size reference.
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I prefer dedicated tools with wooden handles unless I am traveling light then I grab the Pocket Jack.
 
billym, how do you like the scorps on the Pocket Jack? I keep looking at one and holding off because I was leery of using a folding scorp, and that's half the blades on that thing. I like the idea of having them available without sticking a whole tool roll in my pocket, too. In hindsight, I suppose I could have found a knife forum and posted that question a long time ago, but I blame the kids for rotting my brain.
 
I use anywhere from a stockman and small rounded carving childless to 1/4 1/2 inch chisels, a mallet and vice depending on what I'm doing. Stockman will do a lot. Or a mora companion is nice too


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BitingSarcasm said:
billym, how do you like the scorps on the Pocket Jack? I keep looking at one and holding off because I was leery of using a folding scorp, and that's half the blades on that thing. I like the idea of having them available without sticking a whole tool roll in my pocket, too. In hindsight, I suppose I could have found a knife forum and posted that question a long time ago, but I blame the kids for rotting my brain.
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The scorps are small so good for small spoons but more useful for carving faces and figures. I bought it last December when at the last minute decided not to bring carving tools back east for the holidays. Found a woodworking shop in NC that stocked them. But as soon as I got home it went into a tackle box of folders and I went back to the single hand tools. I woiuld say unless portability is a premium concern buy separate tools/scorps. The V-tool however worked pretty great for cutting outlines and stuff.
 
hmm, never really thought of a knife like a flex cut, I was kinda thinking opinel makes rounded spine knife, btw i just like to use a thumb on my blade for more control. But i guess i wouldnt need to with a smaller blade, billym, best carvings iv'e ever seen.
 
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phantomknives said:
hmm, never really thought of a knife like a flex cut, I was kinda thinking opinel makes rounded spine knife, btw i just like to use a thumb on my blade for more control. But i guess i wouldnt need to with a smaller blade, billym, best carvings iv'e ever seen.
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Thanks for the compliment. I really enjoy it. Opinels carve OK but you will notice the dedicated carvers have short, thin blades. Gives you more control as well as removing less material at a time which is actually a benefit. Try that Mora 120 or check the 106 which has a longer length blade buy same geometry. Remember Scandi grinds are specifically for wood.
 
Hi! The Roselli little carpenter knife can also be one. Can work as an EDC one can carve with. No rounded spine though :).

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(Not my picture)
 
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