20 Best Chisels For Wood Carving (2023 Updated)

I purchased this Dewalt chisel set as a backup to my wooden handle chisel set. After setting and sharpening the blades, they have turned into my favorite set. The handles are so very comfortable. When cutting a mortise, I can really dig back on the handle with no pain for me or the chisel.

I used this one inch chisel to hang a closet door. It worked pretty good to clear wood for the hinge recess. I just held the door up to the existing hinges on the frame. drew around them on the new door and used the chisel to remove my Mark’s.

5 min or less per hinge. The chisel worked like a charm. I will definitely return to get other size Dewalt chisels. I am sold on the yellow and black. The packaging also says it’s a carbon steel blade so it should be easy to sharpen, however after three hinges it is still sharp as new.

My only gripe is the steel cap on the end for the hammer to hit. Most people would love this feature, but myself am very sound adverse and could do without the strike cap. The handle however, provides a superior grip.

I am sold enough I will buy the complete set.

I have used this chisel for several projects and am very pleased. I mortised a door for hinges and lockset. The edge is sharp and durable. The handle easy to hold with gloves or bare hands. Very easy to position while hitting with a hammer.

The handle shows no sign of damage or mushrooming. I also put the chisel to good use removing some interior door trim which had been painted on and required cutting through the paint and prying off the trim.

The trim came off without and damage to the wall saving me the work of patching and repainting.

I now have all 4 sizes of these gouges and I think they are great With one big reservation. They come with a terrible bevel grind! All four that I bought are ground close to 50 degrees. I can’t imagine anyone using such a grind and I don’t understand why the manufacturer grinds them like this.

I doubt they could cut much like that. I wouldn’t think it would be any more expensive to improve this. Once reground and sharpened, they are great. They take and hold an edge fairly well. They are very comfortable to hold They are fairly inexpensive.

I would have given 5 stars but for the original grind. ( It takes a long time to regrind when doing it by hand! ) If you don’t mind regrinding, this is very good value. If you want to use it straight from the box, don’t bother with this.

Good value tool that does what you expect. Appears to be reasonable steel to sharpen. Did need fine honing to shape and sharpness before use. This tighter V tool is often missed out of the 12 piece sets available elsewhere so a good extra tool profile shape.

I have recently bought one of these and I regret ever parting with 6 for this rubbish. The steel doesnt hold a sharp edge sharp enough for carving cleanly. It just hacks the wood away, I tried it on softwoods like pine and it just made a mess and didnt even scoop much wood away.

I wouldnt bother buying one of these, these tools should carve wood with relatively easy efforts but this requires great amount of pressure to do anything. There is a reason why this is only a cheap product.

Very useful for cutting detail and clean edges on linocuts. Easy to hold comfortably due to handle shape. Haven’t tried it on wood yet. (hence only 4 stars) The blade is sharp straight out of the box.

Yet to see how long it retains its’ edge but looks like it should be ok as long as I remember to hone it briefly before use every now and again, (as I should do with all my cutters).

I have had my on this elegant little tool for some time. I bought the 1mm scoop first but coveted the v gouge, so finally bit the bullet and bought it. It is perfection! The shape and size of the handle fits hy palm perfectly and the blade carves out the tiniest sliver of linoleum with ease.

Just right for out lining or tiny details. So many possibilities! Happy Printing, everyone!.

First class tools that work well for small details on your carvings. Sharp and ready to go. Seem to hold their edge so far, but time will tell as I have only had them for a short while. Easy to sharpen on a strop, I would think.

I received these chisels as a gift. So far they exactly what I needed. The chisels came with a reasonable edge so haven’t sharpened then yet. The quality appears to be very good!

Took two of them out for a test run last night. Was only planning a rough approximation of some 45 degree long and deep (4″ by 3″) finger joints I needed to chop out so didn’t bother flattening or honing.

Have to say I was very very surprised at the results. Effortlessly chopped through the test pieces and very clean edges, also really nice control for paring producing shavings the length of the test piece.

Used the 12mm and 20mm so far, same results with each so really looking forward to trying out the others. The test pieces are deal, will add to the review once I’ve tried them on the mahogany stock.

Made of O1 steel, these will get a very sharp edge easily. Downside is that the soft metal will not hold the edge for too long. They have a nice weight and balance to them. Good chisels overall.

First off, let’s begin by saying what needs to be said even though it doesn’t need to be said: Chisels, regardless of the brand, will ALWAYS need some work right out of the box before you start using them.

Let me repeat: CHISELS, REGARDLESS OF THE BRAND, WILL ALWAYS NEED SOME WORK RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX BEFORE YOU START USING THEM. I’m a beginner in using chisels. I purchased these to train myself on how to sharpen chisels and make dovetails by hand without the hideous expense of something like Stanley Sweethearts or Narex.

Having said that, let’s begin with my thoughts on the business end of this set. The blades will likely need to be squared up, sharpened, polished and flattened to an acceptable level. No – they DEFINITELY need to be squared up, sharpened, polished and flattened.

Be prepared to spend a little bit more for a diamond sharpener (the one at HF will work just fine) and a sharpening jig for chisels and plane irons. Ensuring your chisels are sharpened at the correct angle, polished and flattened will make for a better time in using them.

No ifs, ands or buts. Secondly, the handle. The handle appears to be a very light wood, so you don’t want to abuse these with a metal hammer. Use a wooden mallet or a rubber mallet. I doubt these things will take abuse like the aforementioned brands, so take it easy.

If possible, and as a side project, maybe make a new set of handles for them out of some harder wood. Lastly, and this goes for any chisel, DON’T DROP THEM. These chisels seem especially susceptible to denting or possible bending if they hit metal or hard ground.

I doubt they’re heat treated properly, if at all, so the metal is extremely soft, as is evident by the sharpening process. They’re great for a little light work and some training, but I wouldn’t recommend taking these to hard woods on a regular basis.

I own some very expensive chisels but I needed to take up some ceramic tiles so I got these inexpensive ones, figuring to trash them when done. I was shocked, when I finished the chisels were still in good shape.

I was able to sharpen them and easily shave my arms with them. I will see how the hold up with a scarry sharp edge. For the money these are great. You can pay $100 for some Sweetheart Chisels and get a great chisel set but for $10 these won’t hold an edge as good but I can chisel ceramic tiles and not worry about damaging them.

Wear safety goggles when ever using a chisel.

I bought this three piece set for two reasons: I wanted some butt style chisels and I was curious as to what quality could Stanley produce for such a low price. It took only a few minutes on diamond stones and then oil stores followed by stropping on chromium oxide green to produce outstanding sharpness (tested by shaving my forearm and paring endvgrain pine, poplar and mahogany).

They performed as well as chisels costing 15 times as much and in use chopping mortise stood up well, requiring minimal stopping to stay so sharp. The handles are genuinely ergonomic. Definitely recommend adding this set to your tool chest.

It would be nice if the set included a 1/4 inch size too.

As an old-time Locksmith as well as a Do-It-Yourselfer, I prefer to make all the finishing touches by hand. I have been doing this since my Father first took me to a Lumber Yard when I was 3. Its funny how you remember little things for so many years.

My Father needed some wood for his store, but requested that the Yard Man make the necessary cuts. As a 3-year old with wide eyes and curiosity, the tool the Yard Man used to measure the lumber was a Stanley Tape measure.

This stuck with me as I grew up and saw more and more professionals using Stanley products. And of course my Father and Grandfather had Stanley tools in their toolboxes and workshops. I tried to help my Father and Grandfather whenever I could, and was thrilled when given a Stanley Screwdriver, Chisel, Hammer or any Stanley tool.

As I grew I started my own tool collection, Stanley of course. My grandparents knew that I would prefer some tool made by Stanley over any toy, and they indulged my wishes. In focusing on Stanley Chisels, as I entered my teenage years I learned how to sharpen Stanley Chisels and Stanley Plane Blades to a “hollow ground” ensuring the tool would remain sharp well through the project and through additional projects.

Recently we had to replace the front door to our house. We ordered the new door which the factory mortised to accept the lock. But since we were using the existing door frame, we had to hand cut and align the strike plate with the newly hung door.

It was literally a thrill to take my Stanley Chisel and gently cut out the necessary recesses for the plate. The factory sharpness was unsurpassed and the Stanley Chisels cut through the trim as if were simply moving through air.

The grip on the Stanley Chisels was very comfortable (which was a blessing in disguise as I recently had hand surgery to repair prior nerve damage). I have not used a finer Chisel then these made by Stanley.

I highly recommend them to all my fellow DIYer’s and to all professionals. The only downside is that Stanley has made these Chisels of such high quality, replacements will be needed in the very distant future as they are designed to be passed down from generation to generation.

1/25/2019 first off I received this item 3 day before expected delivery date. I immediately open package and tried this carving knife out. It was comfortable and easy to use. I went outside and just grabbed a and old dried branch that I cut from a cypress tree and started carving a wood spirit which I did in about 5 minutes and put in a few details with ease.

I put a little water color paint on it. I totally recommend this product, very well worth the buck$$$!!!.

The knives came in attractive packaging. The carry pouch is made of heavy duty denier material and has embroidered logo which is a nice touch. The knife handles seem a tab over-sized, however comfortable to hold and the blades are extremely sharp out of the box.

I tested the knives and they make clean cuts. I plan to use this on a guitar chip carving project. I am so happy with this purchase.

Not a very good set, but for the price ? EH. For beginner these will be frustrating. Once you find how to make the razor sharp they will be just ok. REMEMBER to wear knife safety glove. I cut my hand twice and both times on my gloved hand, if I wasn’t wearing a glove—well you know.

PLEASE learn how to sharpen these and KEEP them that way. Many things on google to help you—use it.

As a maintenance man for a disability center, I’m constantly working on doors and windows, etc. There’s always a little “tweek” needed to get things to fit properly, and this chisel has made me look like a champ on many occasions.

Wouldn’t be without it.

I use chisels often when making different wood joints and these Stanley Chisels are a fantastic addition to the shop. Durable, strong and very sharp, but also comfortable grip to use them with. These chisels are one of the most essential tools in my shop, great addition for a beginner or a pro!.

My dad gave me some of these chisels. I hadn’t really used chisels before but needed them when making some storage solutions for some tools in my garage and these were quite handy! I they felt sturdy and stable using them.

I was afraid I would slip and they’d chip something I wasn’t trying to touch but they were easy to make fairly precise cuts and depending on the angle you can take off a decent amount of wood at one time making quick work of my project.

Literally bought 20 of these for my business. The metal is cheap and will not hold an edge. Also the handle breaks at the narrow part even under low to medium impact. I spoke to a representative by the name Andreys M.

who informed me that they could do nothing about this, other than to exchange it for the same product. Waste of money, waste of time. Will not buy this brand again.

Got a few kirschen chisels from Axminster now. Handles are beautifully balanced. quick strop and you could shave with them

Lovely chisel but the steel is very soft and requires constant sharpening. That being said, a good edge can be formed when sharpened, just doesn’t last long

i have several Kirschen chisels now, they are made of really good steel and hold a sharp edge for ages, they are well balanced and feel good to work with. I also have some of the ‘american’ chisels but these Kirschens knock spots off them ( in fact I rarely use them at all now ) when I need any different sizes, I only look at the Kirschen range.

I bought this set of pry bars for changing lawn mower tires. I know I will use them for many other jobs, but at the time I bought to help remove and replace lawn mover tires. Replacing the tires was still a pain in the back side, but was much easier with the pry bars.

Was looking for a shorter pry bar and found this set at a reasonable price. Dont expect any issues with this set of pry bars as they seem to be well made. Pry bars are one of those expendable tools as far as Im concerned because if you need a pry bar you most likely are in a situation that requires some brute force to get the job done.

Dont see an issue with any of these pry bars getting the job done.

Not sure what to say. It’s a pry bar. It pries things well, no problems there. It was actually a bit small for the project I wanted to use it on, but I was able to make due. Very sturdy.

this is a very good tool. at the price, no complaints. I bought it fill out an old set of chisels that had a cracked 12mm chisel. It took an edge well and quickly.

This chisel arrived in great condition. The blade was sharp and ready to use. The handle is easy to hold and comfortable even for my somewhat smaller hands. As with all good hand tools, it felt like an extension of my hand with the added ability to pare precisely.

I did a lot of research on chisels before I decided to choose these. I really liked the value for money that you get with these, especially at Home Essentials Direct prices, but I kept getting put off by ‘experts’ that claimed they were no good.

A lot of people recommended Narex instead, but a lot of those same people complained that the QC done by Narex was inconsistent at best. It didn’t really look like you could pick a winner at this price range.

I decided to pull the trigger on a set despite the negative remarks from some of the experts, and overall I’m really happy that I did. I’ll preface this with the fact that I’m using these for fine joinery and that I have high expectations for end results.

Initial impressions: Out of the box these are good looking chisels. There are plenty of machine marks on the steel, but overall everything looks clean and flat. The cutting edges out of the box leave something to be desired.

Do not expect these to be honed when you get them. Don’t even expect them to make good cuts out of the box. They are mediocre at best, and about as sharp as I can get them with 220 grit sandpaper. Honing impressions: these were dead-flat out of the box, which is seriously impressive for the price.

Honing the back 3/4″ or so on each to flat and smooth took no longer than about 15 minutes total. Sharpening impressions: These sharpen well, far better than I expected given the overall bad reputation that these have in the online woodworking communities.

Using 400, 600, 1500, and finally 2000 grit wet/dry sandpaper brings these up to ‘pretty sharp’. I can pare end grain cleanly with them at this point. Adding 2 final polishing stages with green then red polishing compound impregnated on a piece of balsa gets them to ‘absurdly sharp’ to the point that I’m afraid of leaving them out on the benchtop.

A mirror polish finish is definitely possible with these and a bit of effort. Edge retention: These chisels do their job really well through each project for me. I usually sharpen everything up at the end of a project so that they’re ready for the next use.

I haven’t found a need to sharpen these mid-project just yet. Maybe a quick run on some polishing compound here and there for touch-up, but definitely no need to go back to the beginning. Handles: This is my biggest con for these chisels.

The handles are fairly small in diameter and not very long. What this means is that my large hands have a hard time holding these for paring or body-weight chopping for an extended period. They’re not socket chisels, so you’re stuck with what they come with.

The material of the handles is a durable plastic. I have no doubt they’ll hold up to being driven by a wooden joiners mallet or a rubber hammer. Using these with a steel hammer is asking too much in my opinion, and you really shouldn’t be doing that to your chisels anyways.

Overall: I’m happy with them for a good set to get started in hand-cut joinery. For the price I don’t think that you could find much better. My intention is now to slowly upgrade the most-used chisels from this set to some socket chisels, but those are running around $30/each.

I don’t imagine that I’ll need to upgrade inside a year. I would suggest these for anyone interested in fine woodworking, but are working on a budget. I wouldn’t suggest them for carpentry though, I’ve seen what those guys do to tools, they should stick to the through-tang Stanely’s.

The one key note that I would take impress is that no matter the brand you will need to hone and sharpen your chisels out of the box, these are no exception, but if you’re willing to spend a bit of time and effort on them these can be fantastic chisels.

I wanted a chisel set with a box. at least 6 sizes up to 1 inch, from a brand I recognize, but nothing crazy expensive. Well. I got all that BUT. The edges were quite literally no better than butter knives.

I spent 2 hours grinding, honing and polishing by hand. Durability is an unknown as these are definitely not full tang, and using a magnet they appear to have tangs about 1/3 the length of the handles.

Oh well. so many options, so few in brick n mortar shops, you take risks.

There are much better chisels out there, but I cannot afford to pay 4 times the price! Plastic handles! I would like to replace them with home turned wooden ones. I may have to sacrifice the 19 mm handle to see what is involved.

Nice weight, nice crisp machining, no burrs; a light pass with fine grade emery over the sharper edges will make the blades softer to the hand. They also need a small flattening of the handle at back lip of the handle so that your hand can register where the blade runs.

this is the cheapest usable set oft hand carving chisels on the market as far as am aware. plus points they come sharp enough to use out of the box handles are comfortable set of 7 not 5 price negative points blades short and steel not very hard handles have a varnish finish, not good on the hands but easy to remove.

Cute set of 7 very thin and sharp woodcarving chisels. Easy and fun to work with. Really good grip.

Quality product. Easy to use. Print outcome is good.

The handle is quite ergonomic and looks like it will take a bit of tough love. The blade finish is not of top quality though, I had to spend a bit of time on sharpening the bevel to a neat sharp finish.

The original finish was rough and not that sharp. I assume that these are machine manufactured sharpened? If you sharpen and take care of your tools, then Id say its ok for the price.

Ok gouge but mine arrived with the tip not staight and a very rough cutting edge that was probably factory sharpened and very poor. Had to grind the tip straight and then alot of sharpening by hand on a whet stone to get a decent edge.

Alright tool for the money.

Brilliant! High quality chisels, sharpening stone, chisel guide for the stone to make sure the edge is kept straight, all in a good plastic carry case. The chisels cut through the wood perfectly, handles didn’t slip, and stone with it’s rail resharpened the edges perfectly.

I wasn’t expecting much at this price but they worked perfectly for what I needed them for, cutting cemented in skirting boards and door frames, ie DIY. Solid, good weight handles, sharp, solid strong metal, brilliant edges, Strong enough case to carry chisels and stone, and a guide that helps keep resharpening a bit easier.

You could do a lot worse at this price believe me!.

It is a great product seemingly made from good steel and tough composite handles. The case good, tough and includes a sharpening stone together with a honing guide. In all, the case will keep the entire kit together and facilitate easy storage.

Provides basic diagnostic information. Good for code resetting. Not good for advanced diagnostics. You get what you pay for. Dont expect to reset all service lights, abs lights etc with this tool.

A quality set of chisels in a very well built case. The price is excellent,you can pay more,but the quality will be little better. You can pay less,and the quality will be very inferior. Unless you are an expert ( in which case you wont be reading reviews!) you do not need anything better than these.

The last chisel I bought was also a Stanley,and it is still very useable – and that was back in 1976! So this set will outlive me,as will the case. Speaking of which,it locks and unlocks easily,but is very safe and secure.

The blade guides are a good fit and keep everything safe. I’m very pleased with my purchase, I recommend them highly.

Carry case was chipped therefore a bit of it missing. 2 of the 3 chisles blades looked as they hadn’t been smoothed or burnished properly – although it was obvious that they hadn’t been used. Since I was on a deadline to complete a project I didn’t return them.

They did however perform the task well. I advise you to quickly check all before leaving the shop.

Bought to cut metal. But too soft. Cut a nail and it’s broken! low quality.

I have more much expensive wood chisels made in Switzerland that do a great job – but I use these chisels a whole lot more often. They hold an edge well and do not have to be treated as delicate precision objects.

Rather than patting the end of the handle with your hand you can hit these with a hammer and they will come back for more. I am a professional woodworker. My son recently decided to become a woodworker, as well! In setting up his shop one of the first tool sets I recommended to him was this one.

Highly recommended!.

I had been cobbling on with super cheap chisels for too long, so I bought these to replace those, and have a complete set of one kind of chisel. I’m not doing fine woodworking, so I don’t need the really nice precision made chisels, I really just needed a decent set of replacement utility chisels.

I did also buy the 1. 5″ and 2″ chisels to round out the set (only missing the 1. 25″ right now). I did spend some time to flatten the backs, but they weren’t too far off from flat. I also reground each bevel on my slow speed grinder with CBN wheels and a robo hippy tool rest to set the angles.

Once off the grinder, I then sharpened on diamond at 1000 grit (The CBN wheel I used was already 600 grit), and then went to the strop. After the strop, each chisel easily shaved hair, and that is how I like to keep my chisels for my use.

The steel does some decently hard based on how they sharpened for me, and how well they have held up so far in use. I primarily use these for chopping and cleaning out mortises as well as paring and cleaning up tenon cheeks.

I will say that this is a mixed imperial and metric set, which means some chisels are slightly oversized, and others slightly undersized. It is not a big deal for me, as I am really just using these to clear out waste efficiently.

If you use your chisels to measure and reference against for width, then you will definitely want to look at a more expensive high precision set though I think these are a great value though, and they are at a point that if I were to completely destroy one for some reason, or lose one, it would be fairly simple to get a replacement and just move on without much trouble.

I was very impressed with the quality of this 6 pc. wood carving set. The tools were sharp enough to use right out of the package. With a little honing the edge is great. The handles were comfortable in my hands and I was certainly impressed that they were real wood instead of the usual plastic.

This would be a great starter set for someone thinking about getting into wood carving. The variety of tools is a great place to start. As a former Industrial Arts teacher I would certainly consider using these with my students as I think that they would hold up well to woodshop classroom use.

I starting using this set of carving tools about a week ago. I am not a great carver but do use carving tools from time to time. The first thing I noticed about this carving set is the blades were all very sharp.

I have had other carving tools that need to be sharpened right out of the box. These tool were sharp right from the start. I also liked the size and shape of these tools. The handle just feel right. I can safely say I would recommend these carving tools to any one who needs or wants to carve.

Great carving set.

I’ve always wanted to try my hand at wood carving and this set of carving tools from Stanley were an inexpensive way to get started. In terms of fit and finish, these tools are only fair, the edge grind is a little rough as is the shaping.

I found the edges unusable out of the box but after some shaping and honing the tools performed adequately. The handles are nicely turned but a little on the small side for my average sized hand. All in all, I feel these tools represent a reasonable value for the hobbyist wanting to give wood carving a try.

Just be advised that the edges will need some work before they can be used.

This is a great v tool from Flexcut, a great manufacturer of woodcarving tools. It came very sharp. With little effort you can follow a line and make a gouge in basswood. Because of that it is useful to start with this before making a deep cut that will be used to make a stop cut.

You can also use it to make carvings in leather. You can make a nice shallow groove and it cuts leather like butter. I used it to carve an initial on leather scabbards I made for some of my tools.

I know that flexcut might be seen as a ‘starter’ tool company, but they make high quality tools. Came sharp out of the package, decently comfortable to hold, cuts well, and a couple strops seem to get it nice and sharp again.

Exactly what I was looking for.

Almost went with the 1/8 inch but glad I got the 1/4 you can still take small cuts but also larger and deeper one too. Nice tool for the money