Customer Reviews for General Tools Pro Carving Tool Set (5-Piece)

It's a very nice looking set. The tools are comfortable to work with and they're sharp right out of the bag. My only complaint is that the flat edge knife chipped after a few uses. I was using it to carve letters into a pine board so it really shouldn't have failed like that but I can clean it up with a sharpening stone pretty easily. Other than that, hand forged and made in the USA. Great set for a hobbyist but obviously if you want professional grade you're going to have to pay more.

Great set.Very sharp right out of the box. Easy to use.

The product was shipped to my local store in a timely fashion. I put the carving set to use immediately. It works very well. The varied shaped tools are useful for many type of small projects. My beginning project is a ball in a box with a chain. I am also working on a chain.

I am very pleased with them

This set is a good value for the price. You get a small V-shaped bit, two gouges, a mitered chisel, and a straight chisel (dual bevel). This set is designed for the beginner and the size chisels are for miniature work/very fine detail where you also don't need a long handle. These respond to a wooden mallet well (haven't tried any other kind). As with any chisel, these needed tuned up before their first usage. No chisel really comes out of the box ready for use but some of these needed a fair amount of work. It took me about 45 minutes to get all five ready for their maiden voyage. My wife has used these on basswood, dark walnut, and soft maple. They have worked pretty well so far and have held their edge well too. These were what I expected from this kit and for the price. You get a good variety of small chisels. How I want to get wider gouges and V-grooved chisels with longer handles. But that is also for bigger projects than fine detail work.

The gouges were quite sharp out of the box. Spent a few moments honing them and they cut through my basswood like butter. These are for small scale carving projects and are ideal for my caricature carving!

You might as well go to a thrift store and buy and old spoon and try and use that to do the work. It would work just as well. They essentially don't cut through wood with any ease or precision. I do not know if they would sharpen up or not as since Home Depo has driven 90% of the local hardware store out of business where there might for instance be someone who offered the service of tool sharpening the idea now is if a tool gets dull just buy another So what do you do if it arrives incredibly dull I could send them back but I guess I hold hope that I can find one of the people in Memphis that would know how to sharpen a precision cutting tool and see if it will hold an edge - I expect I will be disappointed. The larger chisels I have bought from them I sharpen myself with short lived effect

I bought these for my 11 year old nephew who wants to get into woodworking, but didn't want to spend a fortune on something in case he changed his mind or let him loose on my grandfather's and father's (now my) tools just yet. They're a nice addition to any set and a nice little starter set.

Nice tools, vey sharp, use gloves. we will see how long they stay sharp.

Great set! Would put up against sets costing twice as much.

As far as carving tools go, these are fine. They are "palm tools" made to hold in the palm of your hand and get up close to the wood. Definitely not for large quantity wood removal. While you will see these sold under a variety of names, it is the same company that makes them, and they have been around a long time. While they are fairly sharp out of the box, it's still a good idea to hone them. Each shape tool requires a somewhat different approach to honing. So get a good book on sharpening and honing carving tools and practice. Flat chisels do well on a strop with some compound (stuff variously sold as "knife maker's secret" "yellowstone," and "gold" works really well - goes on the strop dry and avoids mucky build-up). Curved gouges need go be "rocked" back and forth on a water stone or diamond stone, and then stropped. Getting a set of these is a good start, because it allows you to play around and get to understand the capabilities of each shaped tool. But as you develop your skills, you are going to want to purchase your own specialty tools individually. Every carver has different opinions on what tools are essential, but I've been able to do very complex and refined carvings with no more than 20 tools in my collection. You just need to find your style and then acquire the tools that allow you to work in that manner. No need to spend several thousand on that "European Master Carver Pro Set!"

Haven't used extensively yet, but the brief use on a few projects indicate that they are beginning grade carving tools. Handles are comfortable and so far the blades are maintaining sharpness. Quality of the steel will show in time.

This set gives a good start for your first set of gouges. Typicaly these tools will be used on projects under 18 inches. They will detail a project of any size. I have owened this set for 15 years and they perform great. Good buy.