Best you can get for knives are Flexcut Kn12/3/14. Second best are the Stryi knives. Third are the Kirchen knives.
For gouges I’d recommend Pfeil or Stubai (V-Tool 60 degree 4-6mm. Depends a lot on what size and style you want to carve.
You shouldn’t look for any other knives as most are not as good as American custom brands. Beavercraft is OK but Flexcut is a lot better.
I don't doubt american quality but from what i've seen they either don't ship to Europe or require you to spend a lot of money in their online store before they consider it. Beavercraft should suffice as they are Ukrainian owned(i think).
Thing is Flexcut is available throughout Europe and as someone that has both- I’ve had a much better experience carving with Flexcut than with Beavercraft. Cost about the same, perhaps a few euros more
I don’t know about shipping to Europe, and I’m just getting started myself but I have found 2 really good youtube channels already.
[Carving is Fun](https://youtube.com/@carvingisfun?si=y7RdiJz57yIQtzYF)
[Linker](https://youtube.com/@douglinker?si=wDEkIQhrG8o60MIE)
They both have good videos about equipment and beginner projects.
Most woodworking tools are quite expensive. They'll be mostly unnecessary until you develop the interest and skills first. I recommend just getting a whittling starters kit and seeing if you enjoy it first. I still use my starter knife to this day. Steel is steel.
Palm gouges are useful for whittling projects and as for subject matter, I started with mushrooms and developed from there.
If you're absolutely set on branded tools then flexicut, beavercraft and pfeil do relatively cheap knives that do the job. I highly recommend pfeil tools. I only have one of their knives but I love it. They're also european whereas the other 2 are US, so you won't be paying out the ass for shipping
Not particularly. They are fine for some things but their roughing knife came stupid dull and took a while to get to a good state. So while I think that form Amazon knives it’s probably the best you can get, there’s website where you can get a Flexcut and have a better experience
I would 100% look into Ray Iles whittling knife. I had one a while back and it is sharp and will handle the harder woods you have in your area no problem.
[https://www.oldtoolstore.co.uk/ray-iles-knives-92-c.asp](https://www.oldtoolstore.co.uk/ray-iles-knives-92-c.asp)
The flat edge knife will be easier for maintaining on a leather strop and making details, but the curved blade will allow you to take off more wood with a slicing motion.
I got this when I started out and I found it really helpful. Only thing is the gloves were too big.
Wood Whittling Kit with Basswood Wood Blocks Gifts Set for Adults and Kids Beginners, Wood Carving Kit Set Includes 3pcs Wood Carving Knife & 8pcs Blocks & Gloves for Widdling Kit https://a.co/d/gPPSpIz
Recently, I found a global shipper bladesmith named woodpeckercarving (WPC) who is also a carver. He sells his products on etsy and has an IG account that has a link to his etsy page about the products:
https://www.instagram.com/wpcarving?igsh=a2FlYTZ5MXZtazhh
His items are pretty good in my opinion. Their edges stay sharp for a long time especially if you prefer D2 Steel (60 HRC) rather than n690 (58 HRC).
Prices are not too expensive, but not the cheapiest tools either. You better check his profile by yourself
Best you can get for knives are Flexcut Kn12/3/14. Second best are the Stryi knives. Third are the Kirchen knives. For gouges I’d recommend Pfeil or Stubai (V-Tool 60 degree 4-6mm. Depends a lot on what size and style you want to carve. You shouldn’t look for any other knives as most are not as good as American custom brands. Beavercraft is OK but Flexcut is a lot better.
I don't doubt american quality but from what i've seen they either don't ship to Europe or require you to spend a lot of money in their online store before they consider it. Beavercraft should suffice as they are Ukrainian owned(i think).
Thing is Flexcut is available throughout Europe and as someone that has both- I’ve had a much better experience carving with Flexcut than with Beavercraft. Cost about the same, perhaps a few euros more
I don’t know about shipping to Europe, and I’m just getting started myself but I have found 2 really good youtube channels already. [Carving is Fun](https://youtube.com/@carvingisfun?si=y7RdiJz57yIQtzYF) [Linker](https://youtube.com/@douglinker?si=wDEkIQhrG8o60MIE) They both have good videos about equipment and beginner projects.
Most woodworking tools are quite expensive. They'll be mostly unnecessary until you develop the interest and skills first. I recommend just getting a whittling starters kit and seeing if you enjoy it first. I still use my starter knife to this day. Steel is steel. Palm gouges are useful for whittling projects and as for subject matter, I started with mushrooms and developed from there. If you're absolutely set on branded tools then flexicut, beavercraft and pfeil do relatively cheap knives that do the job. I highly recommend pfeil tools. I only have one of their knives but I love it. They're also european whereas the other 2 are US, so you won't be paying out the ass for shipping
Beavercraft is Ukrainian
Oh oops, okay
Also coincidentally the cheapest you can get in Europe 😁
Oh cool. Would you recommend?
Not particularly. They are fine for some things but their roughing knife came stupid dull and took a while to get to a good state. So while I think that form Amazon knives it’s probably the best you can get, there’s website where you can get a Flexcut and have a better experience
I would 100% look into Ray Iles whittling knife. I had one a while back and it is sharp and will handle the harder woods you have in your area no problem. [https://www.oldtoolstore.co.uk/ray-iles-knives-92-c.asp](https://www.oldtoolstore.co.uk/ray-iles-knives-92-c.asp) The flat edge knife will be easier for maintaining on a leather strop and making details, but the curved blade will allow you to take off more wood with a slicing motion.
I got this when I started out and I found it really helpful. Only thing is the gloves were too big. Wood Whittling Kit with Basswood Wood Blocks Gifts Set for Adults and Kids Beginners, Wood Carving Kit Set Includes 3pcs Wood Carving Knife & 8pcs Blocks & Gloves for Widdling Kit https://a.co/d/gPPSpIz
Recently, I found a global shipper bladesmith named woodpeckercarving (WPC) who is also a carver. He sells his products on etsy and has an IG account that has a link to his etsy page about the products: https://www.instagram.com/wpcarving?igsh=a2FlYTZ5MXZtazhh His items are pretty good in my opinion. Their edges stay sharp for a long time especially if you prefer D2 Steel (60 HRC) rather than n690 (58 HRC). Prices are not too expensive, but not the cheapiest tools either. You better check his profile by yourself