My 13 y.o. daughter wants to try "wood carving", which up to now has meant taking scrap wood and turning it into shavings. The knife she has is garbage steel and I'm afraid it's so dull she'll hurt herself. Any recommendations on a couple of inexpensive "woodworking" tools?
There are half decent razor blade knife kits out there for not a lot of money. I had one when I was 13 and it worked pretty well and I never hurt myself. Most of the old timers I've seen who whittle well and often just use a fixed short blade. Learning to properly sharpen a knife is critical. I use a Buck 113, but it may be more than you want to spend.
I think i started with a hand-me-down boyscout knife. Pretty sure the idea was to start with a block of ivory soap, then balsa wood, then pine, etc.
Spend some time teaching her how to use the knife. What a sharp blade feels like, only cut away from you, etc.
There are knives with short blades for whittling or carving: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ZRZQ1G
Opinel folding knife.
Buy it whatever size is comfortable for her.
The blade locks so it's reasonably safe. It's just carbon steel so it sharpens well and holds an edge great. It's also cheap so if it gets lost it's no issue.
You'll need to log in to post.
