If you are new to wood carving, knowing where to find a place that supplies all the tools you need may be a little difficult. Most hardware stores and hobby stores just sell the low quality, off brand tools that just don’t last or need substantial work to be halfway decent.
Best Places to Buy All Your Wood Carving Tools
Below are my favorite places to go that you can buy all of your wood carving tools and supplies. I personally have purchased something from each one of these places and have been nothing but satisfied with the customer service and selection of quality tools offered!
Woodcarvers Supply Inc.
Woodcarvers Supply is one of the oldest companies on this list. They have been supplying tools to both beginners and masters for since 1955 and have phenomenal customer service!
While they carry popular brands like Flexcut, their two primary brands are Mastercarver and Lamp. The Mastercarver brand is perfect for beginners looking to pick up quality tools that will last them several decades, and the Lamp brand is their high end carving line.
One of the things that I really appreciate about them is that their shipping is a flat rate cost of $8.50 anywhere within the continental US. This is perfect if you are going to make a large order of a bunch of tools or bulky items.
Their money back guarantee is outstanding as they offer a 30 day return window with the product in new condition.
Check out their website here: https://www.woodcarverssupply.com/
Mountain Woodcarvers
If you are looking for everything from tools to sharpening services, Mountain Woodcarvers is the place to go! They offer tools from several of the major wood carving tool makers like Flexcut, OCC, UJ Ramelson, and Mastercarver from your basic hand tools to power tools.
They also offer a great tool sharpening service for those of you who may need a tool reshaped or just brought back up to ideal sharpness.
Their shipping rates are affordable and straight forward with no big surprises, which is perfect for anyone on a budget.
Mountain Woodcarvers also has a great 30 day money back guarantee and exchange program, which is perfect for ease of mind when ordering tools.
Check out their website here: https://mountainwoodcarvers.com/
Bigfoot Carving Tools
Bigfoot Carving Tools is a small scale online shop that covers just about everything you will need to get into wood carving and beyond! You can even find all the little small parts like bird eyes and feet for bird carvings as well.
In addition to tools, they have some very helpful conversion charts, bird component sizing charts and simple tutorials to get you started.
Their return policy is also a very solid 30 days in new condition with original packaging.
Check out their website here: https://bigfootcarvingtools.com/
Stadtlander Woodcarvings
Another great wood carving shop, especially for relief carving and chip carving, is Stadtlander Woodcarving. They offer tools from many popular tool makers like John Dunkle, Ron Hardy, OCC, Flexcut, and Solingen for any carver.
One of the best things they offer is a wide variety of different wood bases to work from. They have everything from standard wood carving blocks to boxes to work on.
They have a great 30 day return policy where if you aren’t satisfied with what you purchased, you can return it for a refund if in original condition.
Check out their website here: https://stadtlandercarvings.com/
Treeline USA
One of my go to online carving tool suppliers is Treeline USA as they offer some of the best tools available for every aspect of woodcarving. Basically, if I need it Treeline will usually have it at a great price!
My absolute favorite thing to buy from Treeline USA is their quality wood, especially their basswood carving blocks as they cut smoothly and easily.
Treeline also offers a standard 30 day return policy and can exchange or give store credit if desired. They also have a physical shop in Utah as well
Check out their website here: https://treelineusa.com/
Woodcraft Supply
One of the best stores that I frequent often, both online and at my local store, is Woodcraft Supply. If you need anything at all, from tools to classes, this is the place to go.
Woodcraft was originally founded in 1928 and has physical shops in over 70 major cities offering quality products to their customers. Plus they have an amazing 90 day return policy on all of their non powered tools.
Check out their website and find store locations here: https://www.woodcraft.com/
Chipping Away
For those of you living in Canada, one of your biggest suppliers that I personally enjoy buying from is Chipping Away. They offer just about everything a wood carver will need to start and grow from tools to advice.
This family run business is very customer service oriented and have always impressed me with their service and knowledge available.
Check out their website here: https://www.chippingaway.com/
Lee Valley Tools
If you are in Canada, I’m more than certain you have heard of Lee Valley Tools. This is the perfect one stop shop for anything woodcarving and provide quality tools.
Lee Valley tools offers all the tools for your carving needs as well as extra tools for the kitchen and garden.
Check out their website here: https://www.leevalley.com/
Etsy
A commonly overlooked place to buy woodcarving tools is Etsy! There are many tool makers that only sell their one of a kind or hand crafted tools on Etsy and carving supplies. You can find almost any kind of carving tool or pre cut wood for carving here.
Click here to check out the wood carving tools on Etsy.
Amazon
Of corse, we can’t leave out the biggest supplier in the world Amazon. Many popular brands like Flexcut, Beavercraft, Two Cherries, and Pfiel sell their tools on this massive online marketplace and have hundreds of reviews to look over to verify they are the right tool for you.
Click here to check out the wood carving tools offered on Amazon.
Other Toolmakers to Check Out
There are some less known, but superior brands available on the market that can’t be purchased from any of the major online retailers above. These tools are all hand made and finished to a substantially higher quality than any of your general purpose wood carving tool.
As I have owned tools from all of the companies below, I can assure you that the quality far exceeds that of the tools you can buy in a store.
Helvie Tools
Helvie, the king of all whittling and wood carving knives today. If you ask anyone who has used a helvie knife they will not hesitate to tell you how much they love their tools.
The picture above are my personal Helvie knives that I frequently use and just love how well they cut through wood. Even my wife, who is a novice at whittling, can tell the difference in quality from a Helvie knife and any other knife instantaneously.
The only real downside is that they are so popular that they can’t keep up with demand. If you want to buy a knife, you may have to wait a few months like I did.
Check out their tools here: https://helvieknives.com/
Drake Knives
Next up is another wonderful wood carving tool maker, Drake Knives. They make gorgeous tools that are works of art themselves at a great price!
All of their tools are hand crafted to order, so expect about a two week delay after ordering. The wait will be worth it as these tools come honed super sharp and ready to go right out of the box!
Check out their tools here: https://drake-knives.myshopify.com/
Deepwoods Ventures
Deepwoods Ventures offers a wide selection of wood caring tools that just about everyone will enjoy! Their tools are a little thicker and more robust than the others on this list, but they are just as sharp!
For those of you who want to pick up some quality made spoon carving tools, this will be your one stop shop. Their tools are perfect for spoon carving and wood carving and just knock everyone else out of the park.
Check out their website here: https://deepwoodsventures.com/
Lee Ferguson
While he doesn’t specialize in just making wood carving knives, Lee Ferguson is an amazing knife maker. He offers a small line of specialized wood carving knives that are both beautiful and effective cutters. If you want a sleek whittling knife, this will be the guy to go to.
Check out his carving knives here: https://fergusonknives.com/index.php/woodcarving-knives/
Picking the Best Whittling and Wood Carving knives
Knowing where to buy the right tool is one thing, but knowing what the best whittling and wood carving knives is the real goal! I have spent thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours testing out as many different tools that I can get my hands on and have come up with the absolute best whittling and wood carving knife buyers guide!
Click here to see what they are: https://carvingisfun.com/best-whittling-knives/