If you want to build real woodcarving skills, you have to face the truth: sharpening is the hardest skill to learn. But it is the only one that matters.
I see students buy expensive Swiss and Austrian chisels, and then they destroy the edge on a bench grinder. The steel gets hot, turns blue, and loses its temper. Then they try to carve, the tool tears the wood, and they get frustrated.
Do not buy the cheap kit on Amazon. Do not buy thirty tools. You only need a few. A solid 10mm or 14mm gouge (like a #7 sweep) is going to do 80% of the work when you are learning relief carving techniques.
When you sharpen, you are creating two intersecting planes of steel that form a microscopic edge. If that edge is rounded over—what we call a "convex bevel"—the tool will bounce out of the wood. You need a flat bevel.
In my studio, I teach students to use sharpening stones (diamond or water) and a leather strop. Stropping is what you do every 15 minutes of carving. You pull the tool backwards on leather loaded with green chromium oxide compound. This polishes the edge until it is a mirror. When you carve with a mirror edge, the wood itself is left shiny.
A sharp tool does exactly what you tell it to do. It slices through the fibers with gentle pressure. A dull tool requires you to push with your shoulder. And when it finally breaks through the wood, it slips across the bench and finds your hand. Sharp tools are safe tools.
In the School of Woodcarving, the very first lessons are about sharpening. Before we carve acanthus leaves or tackle the embellishment of furniture skills, we make sure our tools can cut.
God gave you the desire to carve. Don't let dull tools stop you. Come inside the school, and I will show you how to put an edge on your steel that will last a lifetime.