Reddit reviews Flexcut Cutting Knife, High Carbon Steel Blade, Ash Handle, 1-1/4 inch Blade Bevel Length (KN12)

I've been whittling for a few years now and used a few different knives but I always come back to the first I used: Flexcut Cutting Knife

The shape of the handle makes it extremely comfortable to use and the blade is very good quality. Another essential purchase for a beginner is a strop or some means of sharpening the blade. A dull blade makes the whole process painful.

Some people would recommend safety gloves and a thumb guard too. But in my opinion they're not necessary if you keep in mind where the blade is and where it's going, just keep the wood between you and the blade. Although I do sometimes tape a bit of rubber or paper to my thumb to make pushing the blade a bit less painful when working on harder wood like cherry.

A blade that I've really been considering buying is the Flexcut Carving Jack because I've read a lot of good reviews and it has all the essential blades, although it's expensive and probably more than a beginner needs.

Good luck with the carving. It's a great hooby to take up. Nothing better than sitting outside on a sunny day with a drink and whittling the afternoon away.

I like this knife for cutting on thick or thin leathers. It comes sharp, and strops nicely - handles curves decently well, but I also think it is best to cut curves using a guide and making a series of small, straight cuts around the guide in most cases; rather than trying to pull a blade through a curving path (which tends to make the cut less square to the face of the material in my experience).

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000ZRZQ1G/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0018N9Z72/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Well, if you are looking for a wide variety of tools: i started with these

Though to start you would probably do fine with just a knife

or if you want to spend a little more you can't go wrong with drake

It's tough to recommend a knife as a starting point though. Obviously I don't want to say "You need to go out and spend a bunch of money, or you'll regret it" Because the truth is you would probably be fine with the knife sets you were looking at before.

I would say 1 good quality knife is better than 5 poor quality knives though. I have no personal experience with the sets you were looking at, but I have seen a few random posts where people have expressed that the sets they found at hobby lobby didn't hold their edges very well, which can be a frustrating experience.

At the same time, spending 10 dollars on a set of knives, might be all you need to decide if you are into the hobby or not and want to spend more money on it. It's tough. I would however go into that situation knowing that if you spend 10 dollars on a set of 5 knives, odds are good in a short amount of time if you decide you are into the hobby, you will feel their lack and want better knives.

https://www.amazon.com/Flexcut-Cutting-Carbon-Handle-KN12/dp/B000ZRZQ1G

In order of purchase, here's where I started:

BeaverCraft Carving knife

Strop

Detail knives

Flexcut Cutting knife
Flexcut Detail knife

Mora 106 carving knife (upgrade from the beavercraft)

Good detail knife. http://www.amazon.com/Flexcut-Tool-KN12-Cutting-Knife/dp/B000ZRZQ1G/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1427171416&sr=8-5&keywords=flexcut

Good palm set for gouging. http://www.amazon.com/Flexcut-Beginners-Palm-Set-FR310/dp/B000ZU9V1Y/ref=sr_1_38?ie=UTF8&qid=1427171522&sr=8-38&keywords=flexcut

Upsweep for the roughing in of your project. Big long strokes. http://www.amazon.com/Flexcut-Tool-Upsweep-Knife/dp/B00BONMGV8/ref=sr_1_59?ie=UTF8&qid=1427171536&sr=8-59&keywords=flexcut

Two cherries double edge knife...one of those must have's! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000B91OW8?psc=1

A little pie in the sky..but put it on the list anyway combo set...http://www.amazon.com/Ramelson-Helvie-Flexcut-Cherries-Carving/dp/B00RFX9H3Q/ref=sr_1_81?ie=UTF8&qid=1427171829&sr=8-81&keywords=two+cherries

Big bummer that your tools were stolen. I always keep my eye on craigslist for those estate sale things were some poor old woman is practically giving away her deceased husbands golden collection of woodworking tools. Wouldn't that be a great thing to come across? Not to take advantage of a widow, but some woodworkers are hoarders of their antique tools.

That's not expensive at all. Sorry but come on man. You're considering the linoleum cutter? Buy one good knife and treat it well and look after it and it will far outlive its price tag and you won't become discouraged by poor results from crap tools. You should spend from $20 to $40 on a good starter knife IMO.

Here is one a couple of bucks cheaper, and generally considered the entry level go to knife. Flexcut are decent, good steel, the handles are comfortable and people tend to like them but then move on to fancier knives with shapes / sizes that fit the work they do.

You can't just buy the knife either, unless you only want to carve one time, you'll also need honing compound and a strip of leather to glue to a flat board to strop your knife with every 20 minutes or so of carving. Here it is on amazon