Flexcut SK series unhandled tools

[Dennis Taylor]

After using the kit from Rick, for about a year and a half, and having completed several in the round type carvings...I am looking to broaden my horizon's in tool selection...and am curious about the Flexcut Sk series, think about 16 tools, about the sizes I would expect to use for Spirits, in the round, and possibly relief type carvings....can anyone provide pro's and con's of the tool series....I seen them in this kit for about 180.00, and has both a palm & power type handle.....does anyone, surely you do, use this set and would this meet the needs of a middle of the road type carver, still new, but wanting to expand.....I don't think I will ever carve a totem pole or a life size horse, just small to medium items for fun!....tks in advance....and thanks to all the posts, I learn a lot from reading on the posts on the forum...tks again...Dennis

[Thomp]

this has been discussed on thread in the Woodcarving Tools & Sharpening
20 piece flexcut carving set

[sludgeguy]

Hello Dennis,

I have and use this set almost exclusively.
I do a lot of my carving around the campfire and space is everything.
I find it a good set, I purchased the smaller set and have added the tips I want to it.
The hold an edge pretty well, all your gouges have the same feel, and it's pretty reasonably priced. Great for carving on sticks and small in the round projects.
Take care and happy carving,
ZDoug

[Just Carving]

I tried Thomp's link without success, searched, and came up with this link:

20 piece flexcut carving set

BTW--I have Rick's starter set, and I added in some Ramelson tools which I got dirt cheap at the time, and a portable set of Flexcut RG tools of which I bought individaul tools I wanted rather than the set since I wouldn't use all the tools. I suggest you figure what you could really use and total up a price. Then compare with what you would pay for a set. That'll probably help you to decide. As far as utility and quality, Flexcut tools hold an edge, and as long as they're not pushed to do things they're not designed to do, they should last a long time. I've had them for almost a year, and I pick them up just as much as my starter set and the Ramelsons.

[Lynn O. Doughty]

I have a very limited set of those tools that I was fortunate enough to win as a door price at some carving show. I really like them. The only drawback is having to change the blades into the handle. That's dangerous! As a result, for the limited use I make of such tools I usually just grab the blade and use it without the handle. As that's just about as dangerous maybe someday I will make some simple handles for each of the blades. Overall, I like the Flex tools.

[Kenny_S]

I have several sets of the handled Flexcuts and they are nice. I would think the SK series set would be nice. I find that there are a one size out of each set I don't use often so maybe pick what you think you would want instead of a set.

[Eddy-Smiles]

Lynn... I sure am glad to hear that I'm not the only carver to use Flexcut blades without the handles!...whew! That feels better...now that I'm out of the closet! But seriously.... more often than not I feel like I have better control over the tool, especially when doing detail work.

Dennis... No negative comments about Flexcut tools from me! If you've got the kind of bread to lay out all at once, go for it!

[Claude]

I own this flexcut set, and use probably half of them a lot, with the rest only occasionally. I also use them without the handle for some fine detail work - I think it gives me a little better control, particularly in tight places. One of the things I really do like about this set is the large wooden handle. I can use that handle with some of the bigger gouges and my mallet to quickly get rid of waste wood.

Claude

[Colin-Partridge]

Dennis,
You may or not know I am a tree carver. I have every SK Flexcut blade and probably doubles of all of them as well. I used mine in a reciprocating chisel and I would be lost without them. The only problem I have encountered is that the V tools tend to break when you hit cross grain from time to time. I would caution when approaching cross grain and switch to a mallet chisel. I would like to see more of the larger profiles but then they are not for everyone.
Great tools and that is a great set I started with it and have added the others as I went.
Colin

[GeorgeR]

Hi Dennis,
I have enjoyed and learned a lot from all the posts here. I guess it is also a matter of the kind of work you will be doing and then even your own individual approach on how to do it too. There really are an infinite number of ways to skin a cat. If there is one thing I notice about people like us that get amerced in a hobby or craft, particularly as beginners, it is the common aspiration to do and try everything and a daydream desire to be ready for every contingency with every tool imaginable in each size, shape and color to satisfy that uncomfortable unknown factor of being stuck in the middle of a project with no place to go.

With experience and getting a feel for the tools and materials, we soon come to realize that there is usually an answer to almost every conceivable problem in our own existing tool rolls or no further than a mail order away. The real answer is in our own creativity and powers to reason out how to solve problems. But even as seasoned experienced carvers the balance between wish lists and practicality can get out of control too.

I can see your point about not wanting to duplicate gouges of the same size and sweep. After all, a good gouge of good steel should last long enough to pass it down to several generations. Cheap tools for the sake of being cheap only is usually a total waste of money altogether, not an indication of value. There is merit to the argument that at $12 each a little duplication may not be as big a deal as not getting a lot more profiles at all if you need to buy them in sets. And I think that the Flexcut gouges are of fine quality steel and a good deal at the price too. However, the point I would like to bring up is that redundancy in tools is a much broader issues than just these duplicates of one size and sweep.

We can also get far too caught up in not only the number of sizes in each sweep as well as the variety of sweeps available too. My point being is the sweep is the same sweep regardless of the width size and the profile of the cut from a half inch # 3 is the same as from a two inch # 3 for the same depth on cut in the wood. So for the most part having every size in each sweep is very redundant too. It is not to say that the smaller sizes in each sweep are a waste either as you need to be able to get into smaller spaces in many instances where a 2 inch width is probably far beyond the needs of the overwhelming majority of work that almost everyone would encounter. But it is also how one masters control of their tools and cuts in terms of holding them and cutting angles and pressure to control depth of cuts that is even more important.

The other redundancy is the perception that one needs every sweep in the entire range too, particularly when the incremental difference from on sweep to the next on the scale is really very slight. Yet, for the most part the vast majority of your gouge work is roughing out to accomplish quick wood removal to get down to a proximity where fine tune and detail work can begin.

In that light only one deep sweep may be all that one really needs, the exceptions being v tools and skews mostly. Even trying to match the sweep to stop cut profiles is not all that necessary when that can be done, and with more precision, with a knife. The profiles of the cuts are far less important then because they will be removed by further working the wood.

So, in general, as a practical matter, when you buy these tools in sets the decision on individual tool widths and sweeps are made for you as well as the number of selected tools. The choice is based on an assumption of what tools the average carver might need for the average work that they might do.

You might not be representative of that average, and that is no sin but it is hard to predict where your interests and muse will take you. It would be a shame to limit your interests, muse and inspiration to the tools in a set too. Someone here said that there are about a half dozen tools they use and the rest was redundant and that sounds like a reasonable average, for some it might even be less than six tools. And $12 a tool may not sound like much but it quickly adds up with all the redundancies that multiply to be possible and even if one has the money to make it less of a concern just think how much better it would be even for them to put that money into perhaps obtaining more exotic woods for their projects.

So, from this perspective, Dennis, the best advice anyone can really give you is for you to think through what kind of work strikes your fancy and asses the cuts you will need to do to accomplish that work and focus on the individual tool sizes and profiles that will get you there with the least amount of redundancy but the most amount of flexibility as you can afford to leave you room to expand.

But if a set gives you several redundancies even at $12 each that far outweighs any shipping costs you might save, and even though a strop and compound might sweeten the deal that too if not a drastic improvement on what you already have been using might be a needless redundancy too. I have seen seasoned carvers use old leather belts and even brown paper bags as a strop. Necessity really is the mother of invention.