This guide is written in hopes of offering assistance to those who are considering making an investment into woodcarving chisels for themselves or as a special gift.

After browsing several pages of every type of chisel a person could imagine, it might be very tempting to buy a set that offers an interesting assortment of different tools in a great carrying case.  ALL for a great LOW price!  I feel that purchasing excitement rising just thinking about it!

Although this is tempting, please wait on making that investment.  Take your time and investigate.  Doing this not only will save you from making a costly mistake but it will also familiarize you with the quality of different brands and give you experience of how the tool cuts and feels in your hand.  Make sure to ask questions.  Woodcarvers love to answer questions.  They have a lot of experience and  personal knowledge to share.

I highly recommend buying a woodcarving magazine subscription.  If you are lucky enough to know another woodcarver, ask them if you could make a few cuts with a tool he/she likes to see if you'll like it too.

My first mistake as a carver was to buy a set because it had every tool I thought I needed and even better;  It had a price that my penny pinching self could live with!  I regretted that immediately.  From the first cut I was so disappointed.  Woodcarving is supposed to be enjoyable and the cuts should be pleasure to both the execution and the sound it makes going through the wood fiber  The cheap tools I bought were nothing but a burden and I threw them away along with my investment.

I would like to offer a few brands for you to begin your journey on.  These by no means are the only great tools out there.  The ones mentioned in this article are the brands I've personally tried and had a pleasant experience with.

My personal favorite are the full sized chisels made in Austria by Stubai.  You don't see them offered very often on Ebay and the reason is because you will love these tools!  They are something you will always want to keep.  These tools are made to be used for generations.  I use these tools with and without my mallet.  They are extremely versatile and keep a keen edge for a long time.  They come in a large variety of shapes and sizes that will enable you to do any type of carving from small to large.

If working with large mallet type tools is not your style, palm tools and intermediate sized tools from the same brands I mention in this article are extremely nice too.  You won't be disappointed with your investment.

Pfeil, 2 Cherry, Flexcut and Henry Taylor are some others that I found to be very good too.  I offer caution if you are considering the X-acto brand especially if children will be carving with them.  They are wonderful tools if they are used in a light duty manner.  However.  Be aware the tips can break and fly into dangerous directions.  I would not recommend them for any project where you'll want to remove bigger chips nor will they tolerate any sort of prying activity.  Prying isn't recommended with any type of chisel but beginners and even experienced carvers may tend to do this without realizing it.

Power carving is another very enjoyable form of wood carving too.  I started my 9 yr old daughter out with it and her progress was remarkable.  She stayed interested, her progress was much faster and she didn't lose "sight" of what she wanted the piece to look like as she did with hand held chisels.  Key in the words power carving or Foredom into your favorite search engine and it will bring forth many links for your research.

Here ends my review.  I hope you found some guidance in it and I wish you happy carving.