The best tools for Spoon Carving

*all underlined words are links to a new page where you can buy tools. Some links give us a kick back at no cost to you =)

Something we love most about spoon carving is that you only need a few tools in your kit, and relative to most hobbies it is inexpensive to start. As both a beginner or a professional spoon carver you can use the exact same tools. Over time you may certainly want to explore other methods of carving or tools by other blacksmiths but in truth you only need these tools for carving a spoon:

• a Straight blade carving knife or Slöjd knife

• a Hook knife or Spoon Knife

• a Saw

• an Axe

We will cover a few options for each tool. Soon we would also love to do a post covering a tour of our tools. When we started carving seeing the inside of others tool rolls was like magic, and still is!

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Straight Blade Carving Knife

Mora 106 - Swedish made carving knife. 82mm in length. This is our number one recommended carving knife for spoon carving or any other wood carving. It is low in cost, has a good bevel angle (if you want to geek out on bevel angle and carving this is a great blog post by Matt White), and will last you a long time when cared for. We still use these knives daily in our own carving and in all our spoon carving workshops and craft workshops.

Mora 120 - If you think you would prefer a shorter blade than the 106, then grab this one. 60mm in length.

Both of these tools are in the 30-40$ range

*A note on Beaver Craft Tools - These are a cheaper brand of tools that you may come across but we do not recommend them. We understand the feeling like you are getting a bargain for more tools but their reputation, particularly for spoon carving is not one we condone. Both in the quality of their tools and their work ethic. Many of their tools are modeled directly off of other makers but in much poorer quality.

Hook or Spoon Knife

The hook tool is used mainly for the inside of the bowl of a spoon, although we use them in many other areas of our woodworking too; they are great for hand carved bowls and shrink pots, as well as for removing the tenons on bowls turned on the Pole Lathe. Be sure to get the appropriate R or L handed hook tool for yourself, but also having both can be useful in other wood carving crafts.

Mora 164 - If you are on a budget we would stick with their 164 hook knife. It has been improved upon in the last handful of years, prior to which I would not have recommended it. Now I feel it is up to par as an introductory hook knife. *We do not recommend Mora’s double edged hook knife. It is hard to use effectively as you cannot support the back of the blade with your other hand! ‘ouch!’

Wood Tools Spoon Knives - These are some of our favorite hook tools for spoon carving and all green woodworking crafts. We find they are more versatile in their form and very sturdy. They offer either a compound curve (pictured) or an open curve. Wood
Tools is a company out of the UK.

Karlsson Tools Spoon Knives - Another favorite is by Karlsson Tools in Sweden. Their website is nearly always sold out but if you email them and ask for tools you may have better luck getting them!

Axes

When it comes to axes there is a wide variety of options and styles. A carving axe will serve you much better than a wood splitting axe for example (similar to carving knives, it’s all in the bevel and form). Here are some of our favorites, and a few alternative options.

Wood Tools Axes $88-$95+s&h (80-90 Euro)- As mentioned in the hook knife recommendations, Wood Tools is a great company offering low-mid range priced quality tools. They have a few axe options for you to explore.

Gransfors Bruk $170-$210+s&h - These are the axes that both Oliver and I started out with. They have a few options and are a good mid-high range axe. The Wildlife Hatchet is our primary suggestion (1.3lbs), followed by the Hand Hatchet witch has the same axe head as the Wildlife, but a shorter handle, which is great for spoon carving. If you plan or anticipate doing other wood carving crafted I’d go for the Wildlife Hatchet. Another option from GB is their Carving Axe (2.2lbs). This is a great axe with a longer cutting edge but at the heavier weight can be taxing on people just starting. It is more applicable to axing out bowls for turning.

Karlsson Tools Axe $190+s&h - This is our all time favorite axe so far. We regularly use all of the axes mentioned here but if I had to choose one axe it would be this one. The design and weight of the axe makes for efficient and accurate use. Karlsson Tools is a small family owned forge in Sweden. They rarely list available tools on their website so if you want to get your hands on some of their tools email them or email us. We have some available sometimes as well but mainly sell in person.

Kalthoff Axes $238+s&h - This is our second favorite axe. Very, very, very closely following the Karlsson axe. Another small Swedish company, designed and founded by a woman, Julia Kalthoff. These axes are available and so reliable.

Other Economical Choices

Hardware Store Axe - If you are on a tight budget for tools you can most certainly make a hardware store axe work for you (Bahco, Fiskars, and other generic brands). The biggest thing is that you will most likely need to regrind the bevel as these axes are usually not sharp. They are designed more for splitting wood and wedging it apart. If you’d like to learn how to regrind it or have a knife sharpener who will do it for you this is a great option. We have some of these axes in our basket that we use and work just as well as many of the other axes once sharpened!

Vintage/Antique/Second Hand Shop Axe - Also a great option is to search secondhand and vintage shops for old axes. Keep any eye out for swedish steel. These axes may also need to be reground and/or sharpened. Also look for axes that have similar shapes to the ones shared in this post. There are many old axes that are used for different tasks and won’t be good for spoon carving or bowl turning.

A Final Note on Axes

There are many axes out there that we have not tried and more and more blacksmiths are popping up. We will share some of them in our future posts. And also if you follow us on social media we usually share when we have new tools.

Saws

Nearly any handsaw will do but again having a bit more quality will show itself mostly with how they stay sharp and their longevity.

Silky Folding Saws - These are some of the best folding saws we have experienced. They are sharp and their edge lasts longer than any others we have had. We also prefer a folding saw as we can carry it with us anywhere.

The Katana Boy Silky Saw is a great alternative to a chainsaw as well and is what Raleigh worked with for a few years before getting one.

We have also used a variety of folding saws that we have gotten from the hardware stores and they will serve you well too. They are a little bit cheaper than a Silky usually.

In Conclusion

The best tools are the ones you can get. When you are just getting started don’t worry too much about which tools to buy. Even though there can be a significant difference more skill comes from your learned technique then from the tools you use. One of the greatest things about this craft is you can carry the tools with you. We have travelled with our tools around the world and carve spoons wherever we go.

Get out and carve!