Cheap starter kit

[Berk]

Hello, me and my fiancee, Hulahoop on here, are looking to get into some wood carving, her probably more so than me, as she, unlike me, has an artistic bone (several actually) in her body.

At the moment our current options are:
An old knife once belonging to my uncle, found in the shed by me long ago;


A DSL multitool jobby;


And Hulahoop's SAK;



None of them are brilliantly sharp, although that is our next port of call. My basic question is, could we start some basic woodworking, or not so basic as the case may be, with the tools we have, properly sharpened?
If not, what would be the cheapest blades that we could be looking at? Sadly money is an issue, as we're living off student loans at the moment. We found the Mora Viking linked in another thread and would be able to swing to one of the stores next time we go back to my hometown to see off a friend who's walking LEJOG. How would the Viking stand up as a wood working tool if our current selection isn't up to the job?

Thanks very much for reading this through, and hopefully you can help us out.

 

[Mesquite]

You can do simple whittling with those blades but for more serious carving you need better.

The mora viking will a good step up from what you have

 

[ex-member Raikey]

you can carve with anything mate,...

saftey is the first concern , but just have fun and learn along the way,....

my Dad made some great stuff one year with the same cheap multi tool you have there and a sharpened hacksaw blade.


my advice,....dont spend anything yet until you,ve sharpened those and had a play with some wood,..

use green wood, ( lime, sycamore, birch or similar)and nothing seasoned and you'll be away,....

 

[plastic-ninja]

Very much depends on the woodworking you have in mind I should think.
I am planning to get some Mora Vikings for our Scout group for bushcraft
but I doubt that they will be that versatile.A sharp knife may be all that you need
for the jobs you have in mind.Imho a SAK as a woodworking tool is a total
nightmare as I feel that they are too flimsy and have a tendency to fold on your fingers or even snap
off altogether.The Sandvik locknife may be useful as the steel is usually good at taking and holding an edge.
Check out local bootsales and charity/junk shops you may find some nice bits and bobs cheap.
I'd say just go for it as soon as your blades are sharp.Have Fun. Cheers , Simon

 

[Berk]

Cheers guys, will be making a print out of the £5 sharpening thread for our shopping list I think.
Raikey, your mention of your Dad has just reminded me my Dad has a shed full of wood working gear including lathes etc. I might just have to ask him if he has any old tools he wouldn't mind parting with next time I'm home. I doubt he'll give up his precious lathe though. ^^

 

[ex-member Raikey]

Cheers guys, will be making a print out of the £5 sharpening thread for our shopping list I think.
Raikey, your mention of your Dad has just reminded me my Dad has a shed full of wood working gear including lathes etc. I might just have to ask him if he has any old tools he wouldn't mind parting with next time I'm home. I doubt he'll give up his precious lathe though. ^^

Ha ha ,..you never know,...

thats where my lathe came from,...

he upgraded and i swiped his old one,...

haha its very pleasing turning a piece of green wood with a sharp tool,...

not so much when the finished bowl cracks in the drying process, but hey,....its how we learn,...

 

[Everything Mac]

I've got a carver in the swapsies section if you're interested?

outside of that shameless plug - your tools will be up to standard when suitably sharp.

I made a spoon which oddly enough went to Raikey with a mora laplander and some sand paper. - not an ideal carver but it is sharp.
All the best

Andy

 

[ex-member Raikey]

.

I made a spoon which oddly enough went to Raikey with a mora laplander and some sand paper.
All the best

Andy

Yep, and a fine spoon it is Andy,..

its a bit "coffee matured" now tho,....

some of the best work i,ve seen is done with a good intention and a bit of thought or passion , not nesscaraly the most expensive kit,..

oooh now theres a quote right there,...hahaha and i,ve had a beer,....


Cheers

Stu

 

[persistent king]

hows your hobby carving kit you got Stu ? i havent tried mine yet but thats what i got my kit for (and it was only £2) to have a go at carving.

 

[persistent king]

Im gonna do mi sen a spoon then a kuksa

 

[brancho]

The Viking is fine and from Clas Ohlson a great buy indeed my scouts use them
The frost 106 is good starter too

 

[ex-member Raikey]

hows your hobby carving kit you got Stu ? i havent tried mine yet but thats what i got my kit for (and it was only £2) to have a go at carving.

it needs a good sharpen up first mate,...

very poor quality but still,...like my quote above sez,...its not all about the toys is it Bri,...?

 

[persistent king]

no mate your spot on there

 

[Shinken]

Yup you defo want mora 106

 

[Ian S]

The knives you have can certainly be used.

If you want to upgrade, the Mora Viking is good, but the blade is a touch long and deep (spine to cutting edge), and the finger guard on the handle can get in the way sometimes.

Clas Ohlson also sell the Mora 120, a shorter bladed knife than the 106 see here. I prefer the 106, but a 120 is very usable.

Cheers

 

[Berk]

Well, I found a 'rockbottom warehouse' on my wanders around the nearby streets and they had 10 sheets of wet and dry for £0.79. I bought them on the offchance they'd do for sharpening a-la the £5 sharpening thread.
As it was they were 180, 320 and 400, so not quite what the thread called for. We gave them a go anyway, and got my Sandvik to the sharpest I think I've seen it, but still nowhere near shaving sharp. I also feel I may be doing something wrong, as the sand paper is now bald where I used it!

In better news, I spoke to my old man today and he reckons he may have some tools we can have for wood working knocking around his shed. So we'll be having a rummage when we see him on Friday.

 

[brancho]

I also feel I may be doing something wrong, as the sand paper is now bald where I used it!

No this is why it was 79 p. Cheapest I found was 27 a sheet and 1200 or so will be the most use to you.

 

[shaggystu]

......
As it was they were 180, 320 and 400........ I also feel I may be doing something wrong, as the sand paper is now bald where I used it!.......

wet'n'dry will wear away as you use it until it becomes bald, basically you're removing the "grit" that's glued to the paper. the good news is that as you wear it down it becomes smoother, finer grit if you like, so if you start off with some 400 grit and use it a little bit it quickly becomes 400+ grit. make sure you always use it with plenty of water and you should be able to get a really good finish (eventually) with just some 400 paper.

stuart

 

[relin]

Depends on what you are carving but there is noubt wrong with a SAK for whittling, i have made many wooden knives, spatulas etc with the small blade from a SAK with no probs.