[revnate]

I got some Christmas money for Woodcraft. I have a small set of Flexcuts, dockyards, and some Palms. I want to carve some bigger busts, or spirit faces in cottonwood. What kind of chisel would be best for that. Size and brand. Maybe something I can get both hands on or use a mallet? What do my woodcarving friends suggest? Thanks!

[Thor]

I use my pheils (swiss made) that woodcraft sells. I have been very satisfied with them.
You'll get a lot of feedback on this subject, and most folks agree that as long as you're buying quality tools, you'll be happy with them. Any width with a 5 sweep seems to be my favorite to pick up for most uses, but I also grab the V groove and my veiners quite often.

I also use a neoprine (sp?) mallet. Mine is only 12 oz, and works well for me. It gives me more control than trying to guide the chisels by hand alone.
Thor

[Irishman]

Thor's correct on the Pfeil tools - they have served me well over two years. I believe it is woodcraft who sell a set of large pfeil tools at a good price. It has a large V tool (great for hair and whiskers), a large spoon sweep, a large gouge, a large chisle, and another large low sweep. I looked at that set but I have a few already in the set. There are no doubt other good tools out there but I've been happy with my pfeil and I use a very large mallet so they take a lot of abuse. Good luck with your purchase.
Patrick

[pallin]

I would agree with Thor. At Woodcraft, the Pfiel Swiss-made carving tools are among the best. I like the #3 sweep gouges, and started with a 12 mm on a large project several years ago. I now have a fairly extensive set.
Phil Allin

[wood-whittler]

revnate,


i agree also you cant go wrong with the swiss made, i have swiss palms and swiss intermediate tools and love them all.


bart

[mdallensr]

Pfeil offers full-size mallet tools as well as their intermediate or European style tools. The intermediate tools are the same steel and sweeps, but they're smaller and a little less expensive. If you know you're not going to use a heavy mallet with some of your tools, you might consider the intermediate size. They're big enough to use two hands. Mike

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

I have Stubai and Ashley Iles....both are outstanding, but I really prefer the Ashley Iles.

[Plain_Ol_Ed]

You in the "What's the best deer rifle" category here. Tools are like girl friends and wives/husbands. Everybody taste is a little different. Just stick with the major brands and you'll be o.k. Size is really dependent on how large a carving you are doing. If it's hand held palm or maybe the intermediates are what you need. In a fixture with a mallet full size or intermediate/Euro. Sweeps and sizes, once again, the size of the carving will determine that. Confusing, I know, but after awhile you'll be like the rest of us, with half a dozen favorites and a couple hundered laying around seldome if ever used. Just hang in there.

[revnate]

Thank you guys. You have been a big help to the rookie here. I will go drop some cash at woodcraft today.

[chuckt]

Yeah - I did a LOT of research on this topic last year at this time and finally decided to go with Swiss Made. Many of the carvers I greatly admire have used them and at the time I got a GREAT deal from Woodcraft on them. ($25 gift card for every $100 spent. Effectively a 25% discount, and their prices were already better than most of the other high quality tools out there.)

So far I am very happy with them, though I've not been able to use them as much as I'd like due to time constraints. Anyway - point is, I think you will NOT go wrong with them.

As far as which sweeps and sizes - I followed Chris Pye's recommendations that he has listed on his web site to guide my initial choices. Basically a range of sizes from approx 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 of an inch in a flatter sweep (#2), a medium sweep (#5), and a deeper sweep (#9), as well as a V tool or two in similar sizes. That should give you a pretty good basic set to start with and then you can fill in as needed and $ allow.

Good luck!
ChuckT