The Spoon Carving Tool Kit has what you need to take a wooden spoon from blank to finished: a Mora 106 carving knife, a Mora 163 double-edge hook knife, a Melbourne Tool Company flat spokeshave, an Iwasaki round wood file and a matching pair of spoon blanks cut by Ken Wise, who teaches spoon carving at Shelter.
You save over $10 with this kit as opposed to buying the tools individually.
The Mora Wood Carving Knife (106, laminated steel) carves the outside of the spoon. Its long, narrow 85 mm (3.3 in) blade suits most types of carving, with a hard carbon steel core between softer outer layers for edge retention and toughness. The blade is 2.7 mm thick at 58.5 HRC on an oiled birch handle, and the knife comes with a sheath. The Mora Hook Knife 163 Double Edge (with leather sheath) hollows and smooths the bowl. Its 74 mm blade has a wide, open 25 mm internal radius and is sharpened on both sides, so it carves on the push or the pull stroke. It is Swedish 12C27 stainless steel at 56.5 HRC, on an oiled birch handle with a full rat-tail tang, in a Tärnsjö vegetable-tanned leather sheath.
The Melbourne Tool Company Spokeshave (flat sole) shapes the handle and outside curves. It is one piece of cast steel with inlaid cork grips, with a 3.2 mm M2 high speed steel blade bedded bevel down at 40 degrees and twin knobs to set depth of cut and skew. The flat sole is 25 x 72 mm, and it weighs 13 oz. The Iwasaki Round Wood File (6 mm) shapes tight inside curves and cuts grooves. Its spiral teeth leave a smooth surface without clogging, over about 4 in of cutting length.
The Spoon Carving Blanks by Ken Wise (matching set of two) are clear hardwood, each cut with the grain direction in mind so it carves cleanly. Species vary and include pear, maple, hickory, hop hornbeam, black locust and cherry, so each blank is different.
For a lower-cost start, see the Basic Carving Tool Kit, picked by Ken for beginners.
Ken Wise is a professional woodworker in Brunswick, Maine. He took up carving in 1990, learning from Wayne Robbins, and teaches spoon carving at Shelter as a guest instructor.
