Best products from r/whittling

Welcome to the wonderful world of whittling!

So I would recommend some basic safety gear, if you don't have it. Nice rawhide or leather gloves will help your hands avoid nasty splinters and nicks, and at worst may prevent you from losing a finger. My pop lost a few fingers playing with his power equipment, so I can't recommend it enough!

Guide wise, I've heard a few. Now I'm posting amazon links for the sake of brevity, but you can find these books elsewhere :

• The Little Book of Whittling. I can't reccomend this book enough. I enjoyed it greatly, and it is quite affordable. I enjoy the sharpening section a lot, as the pointers it gives are pretty helpful.
  
  
• Old Time Whittling. I don't own this book, but I have heard good things from others.
  
  I do like the look of your new knives as well, especially the Opinel 7. Make sure to practice safety friend!

To start you need 4 things imo. Knife, sharpening stone, wood, and a glove.
I like Morakniv Wood Carving 120 Knife with Laminated Steel Blade, 2.4-Inch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004GATX62/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_JF87CbW24FV4W
It’s cheap and after many years of carving I still use it.

I use a home made honing strop 80% of the time and a diamond stone the remaining 20% when needed.

I use a lansky extra fine but there are probably better options.

Basswood is the standard carving wood. It’s available from hobby shops and on amazon.

Wear a (clean) leather or knife guard glove on your non dominant hand. It’ll save you a lot of cuts.

What’s a good beginners CHEAP knife? I’d be willing to pay a little extra for one of the folding pocket knife type.

What kind of knife do I need?

I have one of these: https://i.imgur.com/s5atxwt.jpg

This one looks affordable and is a folding one which would be nice to keep in my backpack to use whenever I want: [folding knife](Fury Nobility Raindrop Razor Edge Blade Folding Knife with Rose Pakka Handle, 2-Inch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001UBN96A/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_CjYTCbB9KAC4F)

Or do I need different types if knives so this one might be better: [multi folding knife](Old Timer 24OT Splinter Carvin’ Traditional Pocket Knife https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XRDZ61M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_mlYTCb036P77Y)

Thanks for your help. This is something I’d wanted to do as long as I can remember.

If none of those work what would you buy for $15 and under?

Hi, I am also a total beginner but got some advice from a local woodcraft store. You want to strop the knife every 20 minutes or so with a strop and a compound. This one below is the one I use. You apply the compound and then take the blade at a 15 degree angle bringing it back to you. Instructions come with the strop.

https://www.amazon.com/Flexcut-Stropping-Polishing-Compound-Included/dp/B00FFJ9TLW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1510445447&sr=8-3&keywords=flexcut+strop

The strain definitely might be coming from a dull knife. If the knife is very sharp, it will cut nicely without tremendous effor. Basswood is also a good wood to start with if you want an easy to cut wood.

This guy's video was very helpful as well. He went over cuts etc...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB3USnPADvQ&t=38s

Definitely would like to get a nice knife in the near future, but I ordered this set of carving knives off Amazon and sharpened them up pretty well.

I have this:

Flexcut Tri-Jack Pro
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A2B9U1C?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00

i know its a little more expensive than you said but it is well worth the price.

it has all 3 of those blades but its still a "pocket knife" i absolutely love mine

Noob here too. I'm quite a fan of the Flexcut Pocket jack.

Its a little more of an investment, but having the gouge, scorp and v scorp with a 1 5/8" detail blade is great. Plus I am a big fan of the locking folding blade.

I'm a big fan of http://www.amazon.com/Morakniv-Carving-Knife-Laminated-2-4-Inch/dp/B004URTI4I/ref=sr_1_7?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1453580923&sr=1-7&keywords=morakniv for most carving. The shorter blade means the control is closer to your hand, which is good for "not cutting the shit out of yourself". A longer blade would be better for stripping bark and trimming branches, but less for fine work.

I just started too, and I'm using this knife :

Imperial Schrade IMP16S Stockman Folding Pocket Knife https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0037SNATU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_y1IdAbBD32DQ5

I love this knife, it's great, and inexpensive.

For easy cheap sharpening, you can start with something like this :

Lansky PS-MED01 BladeMedic https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0085PPSIQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_o5IdAb61TS3Z3

You'll want to invest in better tools if you decide to stick with it, but this is what I'm starting with even though I have other knives and sharpening stones and etc.

Fellow beginner here. I'm pretty happy with this knife so far: https://www.amazon.com/Morakniv-Carving-Knife-Laminated-2-4-Inch/dp/B004GATX62

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mora-Precision-Trade-Knife-Purple/dp/B00T3ELIXC


I have this one which was recommended on a dala horse carving day I went on. Really happy with it, but have since got a small set of tools (more like shaped chisels) that are different shapes for putting more detail in.

I would go with a flexcut detail knife like this one https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000ZRXO88/ref=pd_aw_sbs_201_of_25?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=9JT9AN5VJBMK3CA5NQ41&th=1
They come pretty sharp, and actually the fact they come sharp and at the correct angle helped me learn to sharpen my pocket knife for whittling.

I started with this set, a strop and some green honing compound.

Flexcut Beginner Palm & Knife Set, All-Purpose Cutting Knife and Detail Knife Included, with 2 Palm Tools (KN600) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EG033Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_-2.CDb61BNPXF

I feel like it has carried me pretty far

I got this:
Flexcut Pocket Jack for Carvin', Carving Specific Jackknife Style Tool, 3 Ounce, 4-1/4 Inch Closed Length, 4 Blades Included (JKN89) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0049C736E

And I love it.

not mine, but it looks like a Flexcut Whittling Jack. Flexcut have a series of whittling pocket knives actually. I've had my eye on one for a long time now, but i just can't justify the cost as I have a few fixed blade carving knives. And they are more expensive in Norway (25% tax and international shipping).

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https://www.amazon.com/Flexcut-Whittlin-Detail-Roughing-Walnut/dp/B005V400AA/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2AEQO9CYNCYH9&keywords=flexcut+whittling+jack&qid=1570774888&sprefix=flexcut+wittling+%2Caps%2C223&sr=8-2

Thanks for the advice. I bought this whetstone to keep my knives sharp. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0055B2RGO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Was that a smart move or did i mess up?

Constructive advice: spend the money to get a legit carving knife, not a general purpose Swiss army knife. Anyways, telling you to be realistic about your expectations about quality and utility is constructive. That's critical life information.

Here's a decent carving knife. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071WCH6T4/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_7xMMDbA2PAP27