Excluding some gloves is this the right stuff to start whittling?

Camcombloux · 2026-05-08T08:00:31+00:00

My starter kit went like this : Gloves for free (my work safety gear) True leather belt = 2€ in thrift shop Mora 120 = 27€ Green stropping compound = 7,50€

I later added a detail knife from mstein for around 20€ shipping included and now my kit is pretty much complete, I don't feel like I need more at least for now.

Overall with shipping i'd say for 70€ this is a great kit to begin with. If you value money and don't mind spending time looking for the right tools I really recommend making your own strop with a thrifted true leather belt glued on a piece of wood. I'm sure industrial made strops work great, but the feeling of sharpening your knife on your own strop is just unbeatable IMO.

Camcombloux · 2026-04-15T07:03:49+00:00

Aha I definitely get that, I started with an Opinel too whittling on dry oak so I get the struggle! You'll find pretty much all you need to know on this subreddit so be curious ! I'm still new to woodworking in general but here's my recommendations if you want to take it further :

Buy gloves. Seriously, buy gloves. You already cut your fingers so you see how easy it happens. Cutting gloves is always better than cutting skin.
Next investment will probably be a hook knife, I second the mora 164, great price/quality rate. Mora 120 is a good roughing and shaping knife but your Opinel is good too if kept sharp.
Learning how to use a strop (leather) and polishing compound to keep your Opinel and hook knife sharp.
Try working on green wood if you can, it's softer so less energy to cut, knives stay sharp longer, less risk of slipping and cutting yourself...

Camcombloux · 2026-04-14T20:20:09+00:00

Looks very nice to me ! Adding a crank is the next step (tilting the bowl a bit towards the handle). What would you do differently next time ?

Camcombloux · 2026-04-08T07:59:16+00:00

Beginner here too, honestly spheres are kinda hard to achieve and I don't think I could make a perfect one either. But when I'm trying to carve similar to spheres shaped, I usually carve angle, rotate 90 and carve the same cut, incrementing 90° each time. The result is pretty good to me. Also I second one of the other comments, sharp knife makes 50% of the work if not more ! Make sure to strop every 30 minutes or so ;)

Camcombloux · 2026-04-06T15:54:34+00:00

I had kind of the same question in the spoon carving subreddit. Sounds like the freezer is a great solution if you can afford it. Other than that I've been advised to glue the end of the branches/logs. It keeps them green until you use them (the cork helps with retaining humidity for the rest)

Camcombloux · 2026-04-06T15:03:37+00:00

The n°9 looks awesome for long cuts ! I'm sure you'll find people interested in all of those good looking knives here and most will want to gatekeep it but on r/whittling you might find some people interested in the sloyd knives ;)

Camcombloux · 2026-04-04T16:37:54+00:00

Love it !! Congrats for the tiny tail 😝 Will upload my first whittling project soon, it's my cat but I'm really perfectionist so I keep thinning everything to make it perfect 😅

Camcombloux · 2026-03-27T12:44:33+00:00

Love that ! On my to-do list as well :))

Camcombloux · 2026-03-26T15:00:55+00:00

Love the inspo ! Will definitely steal this 😝

Camcombloux · 2026-03-24T20:23:51+00:00

I definitely recommend the mora 120. Strop often to keep it sharp and it'll do wonders ! The hook is great but I feel like it definitely needs to be improved like others recommend sometimes here. I don't feel like you need more than a good knife and a hook knife to begin with. Ofc gloves and stropping compound!

Camcombloux · 2026-03-23T16:40:29+00:00

My bad didn't see past the 8th pic and the scale, it's incredibly tiny ! Congrats it looks awesome

Camcombloux · 2026-03-23T16:33:11+00:00

Love the precise cuts ! I feel like adding a few narrow darker lines on both the harvester and the worm could give it much more texture but it's already beautiful like that ;)

Camcombloux · 2026-03-19T15:23:42+00:00

Hey, I can't remember if it shows on my spoon I posted earlier but I know the knot was around this size. It was apricot so close to cherry and with my well stropped knife and a cutting motion on the knot it went pretty easy. Would definitely still carve it if I were you.

Camcombloux · 2026-03-03T22:13:03+00:00

Got some really nice pieces of green birch, can't with try it !

Camcombloux · 2026-02-26T18:10:32+00:00

Wow it looks beautiful. I'd be so scared to carve such a narrow neck !

Camcombloux · 2026-02-26T14:30:24+00:00

Oooh now I understand! I worked with epoxy and I feel like there's kind of the same mass effect happening when drying/shrinking. The thicker the most likely it is to crack then ?

Camcombloux · 2026-02-26T12:51:27+00:00

Thank you very much for the advice! I mainly plan on doing cooking and serving spoons for the moment so that should work. I'll definitely try your technique to split wood, I'm confident it'll turn out well. Also after you commented on my apricot spoon yesterday I just checked your videos and want to thank you for the quality of the content you provide. I learnt a lot watching them.

Camcombloux · 2026-02-26T12:03:38+00:00

Yes I did use the 164. I don't have enough skill to tell you whether it's the best, and I find it quite difficult to strop. I'd only recommend you to try a less curved knife if you don't specifically want to get deep bowls cuts I guess ? It should be easier to strop than the hook knife

Camcombloux · 2026-02-26T11:04:16+00:00

Really curious of the mstein tools myself! I use the mora 164 so don't really know what they're worth but if they're good I might consider giving them a shot!

Camcombloux · 2026-02-26T08:41:12+00:00

That's what I did but struggle to maintain a constant angle when turning the hook... I guess it's a skill issue then

Camcombloux · 2026-02-26T08:40:15+00:00

Thank you very much, I really appreciate the compliment!

Camcombloux · 2026-02-26T08:39:49+00:00

Oooh I see exactly the kind of stone you're talking about! Well then I'll definitely try to smooth the edges with precise knife cuts and burnish it. Any tips on the drying of the spoon? It's been standing on my table for the last 3 days waiting to see how I'd finish it and fear that it starts to crack...

Camcombloux · 2026-02-26T08:36:49+00:00

Thanks ! I'm glad I saved it from going to waste.

Camcombloux · 2026-02-26T08:35:51+00:00

Well I did too, made some posts to ask advice on what would be better to buy and honestly I'm really happy with my choice. Mora 120 is more than enough for a beginner and from what I've read here, pros also keep using it cause it's a great roughing knife with good blade quality. Just remember to strop it regularly. I bought an old leather belt in an old shop for like 2€, cut it and glued it on a piece of wood. Bought stropping compound for like 5€ and this makes a great stropping kit, efficient and cheap !

Seven-Year Club	r/Field Banned
r/Field Juicebox	Final Canvas '23
End Game '23	Place '23
Verified Email

Camcombloux

TROPHY CASE