Woodcut Carving Tool Recommendations For Students

As a printmaking instructor, I frequently am asked what tools students should purchase. Instead of replying to every request I receive, I point them to this article to help them decide what tools are best for them.

The quality of a tools is almost always reflected in the price. The more money you are willing to spend, the better the tool should be. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t great student sets out there. I’m still using student sets I bought in college! An inexpensive Niji set, can be a good set to start with, learn what you like in a tool, and then invest in a better set. Do not buy bargain tools! What you are paying for is the quality of the steel, how hard the metal is tempered, and the ease of sharpening. Tools are usually measured in millimeters, though each manufacturer may measure them differently. Standard woodworking suppliers will call them micro tools as they are very small in comparison to standard wood working tools. Be careful when buying large sets of tools. You may think they are a good value, but you may find yourself only wanting or using a few tools out of the entire set. You may be better off buying individual pieces and getting exactly what you need and not wasting money on tools you’ll never use. Which size tools to choose is a personal one, but I like to have a range of small, medium and large gouges. My personal collection of tools come from a variety of sources over the years; Mc Clain’s, estate sales, hand me downs, and even a hand forged gouge!

As a side note: Woodcut tools can be used to carve other materials like linoleum and rubber, but the Speedball brand carving tools with a plastic handle and interchangeable blades are only for linoleum or rubber, and cannot be used to carve wood.

A basic set should include:
One knife
Two or three sizes of a “u” or “c” shaped gouge - small 3 mm, medium 4.5 mm, and large 7.5 mm or larger
One or two “v” gouges - small 3 mm, and possibly a larger one

A few brands of tools:
Niji sets are acceptable for beginners, but are not recommended beyond one or two carvings. They break quickly and are difficult to sharpen since the quality of steel is very low. Don’t spend any less than the cost of Niji sets like Loews Cornell.
Power Grip
Flex Cut
Two Cherries

A Few Sources:
Mc Clain’s http://www.imcclains.com Buy a la cart tools to make your own set or The Namisei Moku Hanga Sets are a good value

Graphic Chemical www.graphicchemical.com A few options here… Flex Cut Tools, Japanese Power Grips #20191 Japanese Wood Carving 5pc set, #20150 Graphic #16 Linoleum Carving Set

Rockler www.rockler.com Wood Carvers Supply www.woodcarverssupply.com

Woodcraft www.woodcraft.com

Amazon of course everything is available here, but please if possible , support your local art store, or a small business like Mc Clain’s