I’m always keeping an eye out for quality and affordable tools and equipment as you never know what gems may be hiding under a cheap pricetag.
When I ran across the BeaverCraft knives I initially lumped them in with the “cheap stuff” but decided to give them a try, primarily because I liked the cleverness of the company’s name.
After whittling several small projects with them, I found the BeaverCraft knives to be an excellent choice for beginners looking to pick up their first set of whittling knives.
Quick Stats
| Steel | 30MnB5 Steel |
| Rockwell Hardness (RC) | 58-62 |
| Comes Sharp | Yes |
| Sharp edge after 30 min | Yes |
| Average Price | $13 – $20 |
| Recommended for Beginners | Yes |
Video Review
Click the link below to see my favorite knives and full overview on all of my knives:
https://carvingisfun.com/best-whittling-knives/
What I like about Beavercraft Whittling Knives
From the price tag, to the actual thought behind their whittling kits, these knives are a major win for beginners. They are ready to use right out of the box and they probably sell the absolute best complete starter kits on the market.
They may not be perfect, but man do you get a lot of bang for the buck.
Ready to Use Out of the Box
If you are a beginner, the last thing you want to have to do with your brand new whittling knife is sharpen them. Thankfully these knives come sharp and ready to use so you can immediately get started on your wood carving!
BeaverCraft knives come sharp out of the box and are ready for immediate use. You don’t need to sharpen or hone them and can get started whittling quickly.
My set of knives also came with sleeves over the knife edges to help prevent poking holes in the canvas tool sleeve. I also imagine they help prevent damage done to the blades and prevent chipping as well.
Complete Starter Kits
Now, when I say complete starter kits I’m not saying it comes with a couple knives you need, these things come with everything!
You can purchase complete beginner kits that come with knives, a nice rolling tool organizer, leather strop, and polishing compound. Some of the kits like the spoon carving kit comes with some wood to make your first spoon with as well.
Many of the decent whittling kits on the market don’t come with something to keep your knife sharp like a leather strop. They are usually an add on purchase and most beginners won’t know they need them.
Having the absolute basics covered in one whittling kit is super important for helping new whittlers understand what they need to succeed.
Comfortable Handle
If you are going to be whittling, it’s not going to be a minuet or two here and there, it’s probably going to be for 30 to an hour long session. Having a comfortable tool to hold is really important to preventing your hand from hurting!
BeaverCraft knives come with your generic ergonomic grips to help reduce hand fatigue and allow you to keep whittling. They are comfortable to hold and allow you to get a firm grip on the tool.
If you are a beginner, you probably noticed the shape of some of the knife handles. I can assure you they are indeed better than your standard handles for both pushing the blade through wood and doing paring cuts.
Decent Edge Retention
The knifes steel is of decent quality but I will admit that more expensive whittling knives will have better steel than Beavercraft. That being said, these knives still hold an edge after some use.
Even though BeaverCraft doesn’t directly state it in their product descriptions, the steel they use is 30MnB5 and they claim a Rockwell Hardness (RC) of 58 – 62. I feel like the RC is more on the lower end of this range as I have to hone the knives a little more often than some of the other knives I own.
These are still great knives but if you purchased the starter kits with a leather strop, you may want to learn how to use them.
Lots of Knife Options
BeaverCraft has quite a few different styles of knife options available. They have everything from roughout knifes to hook knifes and gouges.
You can pick up an entire set of wood carving tools through Beavercraft for great prices. Not only that they have plenty of tool care items like strops and buffing wheels.
Plus, if you pick up their wood carving kits you can get a nice variety of tools all at once that complement each other.
Very Affordable
The best part about Beavercraft is their affordability for a good quality product.
If you are just starting or don’t want to spend too much money these are my number one pick for an affordable whittling knife. There are other cheap knifes out there, but some of them have poor finish quality and others need significant sharpening to be useable.
You can pick up a complete 3 knife set for less than $40 that comes with a leather strop and tool holder. Otherwise you can pick up tools between $13 – $18 depending on the type of knife you want.
What I didn’t Like
These knifes may be affordable, but in order to hit this price point you have to skimp in a few areas. To me, these were noticeable from the beginning but weren’t enough to turn me away from the brand as a whole.
Some of these are minor and may only bother me, but the were noticed when comparing them to other products in the same price range.
Some Handles Not Finished?
The handles that come on these knives are quite basic and I have a feeling that they are mass produced and used on other economy priced knives.
The thing that kinda bothered me was one of the 3 knifes i got in my kit doesn’t seem like it had a finish on the wood and felt raw. This lead to the handle getting dirty easily and start to discolor.
This is purely cosmetic and can be easily fixed if you wish to do so. I don’t care to fix it and I am fine with that.
No Directions
One of the thins that I like about some whittling knife companies is that they provide extra documentation in the packaging that tells you how to maintain your knives and tools.
My whittling kit did not come with any sort of “how to” directions for maintaining the knives. Companies like Flexcut does this and it makes it easier for anyone starting out to know the proper way to take care of their new knives.
You can always look up their website or youtube videos for added directions, but I would expect the absolute basics like using a strop to be in the packaging.
Thicker Blade Width
A good quality whittling knife has a nice, thin blade so you can easily shave wood off quickly.
BeaverCraft knifes are a little on the thicker side and have similar thicknesses to the low end cheap knives. the picure above shows the difference in width from a FlexCut detail knife (top) and a BeaverCraft detail knife (bottom).
This added thickness does two things, increases the cutting edge angle and making it harder to push the knife through the sliced pieces of wood. Ideally you want a nice thin blade with a smaller cutting angle between 13 and 17 degrees for an easier whittling experience.
Best Places to buy BeaverCraft Knives
There is really only two places to buy BeaverCraft knives, their website or on Amazon. But oddly enough, Amazon is the place to go for the best prices and Beavercraft even links from their web page to Amazon!
More Knife Reviews
If you want to see more knives I reviewed, click the link below and find what whittling knife is best for you!
https://carvingisfun.com/category/whittling-knife-review/