Basic Tools for Wood Carving and Sculpting

Whether utilized as artistic creations or as industrial products, wood carving and sculpting projects require a variety of tools depending on the type of cut, shape, and design each woodwork needs. Each tool is meant for a more specific task. The use of each one depends on the kind of figure needed for a project, the intricacy of the designs, and the shaping and styling requirements of a particular wooden piece.

Carving Knives

A carving knife uses its pointed blade to pare, cut, and smoothen wood. There are knives used for basic cutting, deep cutting, shaving, rounding over the edges, and creating elaborate designs on the wood. These wood carving tools are designed for comfortable grips for many hours of carving and sculpting. Available carving knives in the market include those for general carving needs and those for more specialized carving and sculpting works.

Chisels

Chisel is a carving tool with a flat cutting blade. It forces itself into the wooden material either through manual force or with the aid of a mallet or a hammer to apply more force. Some of the popular types of chisels include: carving chisels for creating complex designs; corner chisels resembling a punch with an L-shaped cutting edge to clean out square holes, mortises, and corners; bevel edge chisel that allows the user to get in acute angles with the bevel edges; mortise chisel with a thick and rigid blade for straight cutting of slightly tapered sides and for making mortises and joints; paring chisel with a long blade ideal for cleaning grooves and accessing tight spaces; skew chisel using its 60-degree cutting angle for trimming and finishing; and dovetail chisel made specifically for cutting dovetail joints.

Gouges

A gouge is a carving tool with a curved cutting edge. Available in a variety of forms and sizes, it is primarily used for carving hollows, rounds, and sweeping curves. A straight gouge is used to remove large chunks of background wood. It can also be used to cup and curve the wood's surface through its specifically curved blade. A back bent gouge or front bent gouge cuts along curved areas using undercut strokes. This tool works well when extending towards hard to reach places in a wood carving project. A v-gouge is used to crisp corners and add more detail lines.

"Basic Carving Strokes," Carving Patterns.
"Carving Tools Close Up," Carving Patterns.
"Wood Carving," Sculpture House.
"Sloyd Knives," Using Tools.
"Gouges," Using Tools.
"The Chisel," Using Tools.