Carving is a beautiful craft to be practiced by anyone who is at the age of 10 years and above, and for those who practice, know that there are various steps to take before declaring the project complete.
In this article, we are going to talk about details, and to be specific, the best woodcarving detail knife to use when carving.
But first, what is detailing? In my understanding, detailing in woodcarving is making little cuts to the surface of the wood, to add tiny details like hair, giving a complete look to your project.
Detailing Is the last step where you will use cutting tools the details made, give a more aesthetic appearance to your project, making it stand out when compared to the undetailed ones.
Detailing allows you to correct the tiniest mistakes to get a clearer picture without blurring giving a better perspective of the project you are working on.
For detailing to happen, you will need a knife that can correct all the mistakes without struggle giving the best comfort possible. So what do you look for when you want to buy the best woodcarving detail knife?
What To Check When Buying The Best Woodcarving Detail Knife
- Blade Shape
- Blade Material
- Handle
Blade Shape
The Blade shape is very important when looking for the best wood carving detail knife. it looks different from the other carving knives some have bent backs and others have straight backs.
When detailing, the part that is used most is the pointed front of the knife. And for a knife to be listed as the best woodcarving detail knife, the pointed front of the blade has to be longer compared to the other carving knives. The reason is the sharp pointy edge allows you to carve the hard-to-go places using other knives.
Most detailing knives have a carved back and some like the beaver craft c6 have a straight edge. I can say the reason why most detailed knife blades have curved backs is that they are not long and they have to be strong and so, more concentration is needed at the back because it works like the knife’s backbone. And for this reason, when exerted too much pressure, the knife won’t break.
Blade Material
The Material of the knife is very important when looking for the best woodcarving detailed knife, and stainless steel, laminated steel, and high carbon steel are the commonly used materials for wood carving tools.
Detail knives made from stainless steel that has 10.5% chromium and less than 1.2% carbon are cheap and easy to maintain and I would recommend a knife with this material, to someone who does not do a lot of carving. The reason I say this is because stainless steel blades do not keep an edge as long as the other 2 do. But it can be enhanced by adding other elements like nickel, and manganese among others.
Another important thing to remember is that Stainless steel works best with softwood and it can break or disfigure when you use it on the hardwood.
High Carbon Steel is one of the best material to use on carving tools and most use it because it retains a sharp edge and you will rarely sharpen it once it’s sharp. With carbon steel blades, you will need a consistent check-up and maintenance and store it in a cool dry place to avoid rust.
Laminated steel is also known as pile steel and this material is made from different types of steel mixed at high temperature, and this gives it a longer-lasting edge than steel blades and more corrosion resistance than the high carbon blades. It’s the best material to use compared the two materials but the reason high carbon is more common is that it is cheaper to use.
Handle
The handle of a carving knife is also very important to consider when looking for the best woodcarving detail knife because it is the one that you exert pressure too when carving. The handle adds largely to the balance, good weight distribution, comfort, and durability to the tool.
When using a detailing knife, you want a handle that does not cause fatigue for a short period and it’s comfortable in your hands this feature will make you carve for a longer period.
A good grip is another feature a best woodcarving detail knife should have. When you exert pressure on the knife, you don’t want it to keep slipping off your hands because it can cause accidents. A good grip will help with the accuracy of your detailing.
Best Woodcarving Detail Knife-list
- Beavercraft C6 woodcarving detail knife
- Flexcut Detail Knife-1st Runners Up
- Morakniv Wood Carving 122 Detail knife-Best Detail Knife For Softwood
- Focuser Mini Detail Carving Knife FC018
- OCC 1″ mini-detail Knife
Best Woodcarving Detail Knife-Detail review
Beavercraft C6 woodcarving detail knife
Beavercraft C6 woodcarving detail knife is the overall best in this list of the best woodcarving detail knife it has a very unique design and unlike other knives, it can be used in either left or right hand. It has the longest front blade out of all the knives on this list. The shape of this knife can give deeper details and can to hard to reach the place.
It is made from enhanced stainless steel and it gives it strength and durability to serve you for a long time. The enhanced steal adds strength to even details hardwoods. Strength is very important for a detailed knife and it prevents your knife from breaking which would be a loss.
The handle is made from Ashwood and it has a good ergonomic design that can make you prolong your work hours because of the comfort it gives when detailing. It also has a good grip that prevents slippering when carving.
Flexcut Detail Knife-1st Runners Up
Flexcut is very common in the woodcarving club and the reason is that they have very good carving tools. The flex cut detail knife is the first runner-up on this list of the best woodcarving knives. The blade is made of high carbon giving it strength and durability. This material also retains its sharpness and you will rarely sharpen it because of dullness.
The shape of this knife is shaped in a way you will easily give good details and you will enjoy how the knife slices off wood when carving.
The handle design of this detailed knife is very unique and it gives it more grip when using it avoiding slippering that may cause an accident. This design of this detailed knife gives precision and accuracy when carving by giving your hand an easy time by obeying the direction you want it to go, and this reduces your chances of slicing out the un-intended part.
Morakniv Wood Carving 122 Detail knife-Best Detail Knife For Softwood
Morakniv Wood Carving 122 is a small detail knife with a thin, tapered, laminated steel blade with a blade length of 2.4-inches and a blade thickness of 0.08-inches.
The laminated steel gives it strength and toughness to detail, and it has very good edge retention, you won’t need to sharpen it frequently.
The handle is made from birch and this hardwood brings strength and durability to your detail knife and the tool gets to serve you for a long. it also has good ergonomics, giving the knife precision and comfort when making tiny cuts. This detail knife feels comfortable in your hands and you might find yourself carving for longer hours.
The Morakniv Wood Carving 122 comes straight out of the box when it is very sharp and you will enjoy how it cuts through the wood when detailing.
I would not recommend this knife ton harder wood than pine, because the edge might start chipping off and this will destroy your knife.
Focuser Mini Detail Carving Knife FC018
The Focuser Mini Detail Carving Knife FC018 fits in our list of the best woodworking detail knife. The blade has a curved back, which adds to its design and strength.
The ergonomic of the handle is very good and its design curves inward at the knife’s end and it gives a pretty good feeling when using it.
OCC 1″ mini-detail Knife
OCC 1″ mini-detail Knife features on our list of the best woodcarving detail because it fits the description. The OCC 1″ mini detail knife is handcrafted from 01 tool steel in the USA and this material gives it making it very durable and has very good edge retention. It also has a carved blade back that is carved.
Check out more tool recommendations
Conclusion
You should be careful when choosing the best woodcarving detail knife depending on the type of wood you want to carve, either hardwood or softwood.
Because detail knives have shorter blades but longer pointy than the others, avoid over-sharpening to last your knife longer. Store your detail knife in a dry place because all metals react with water at some point.
Make sure that your detail knife is sharp before using it to give the best details.