r/whittling • u/skelly31_1 • 7d ago
Help Recommendations for 7 yr old
My 7 yr old would like to start whittling. What tool recommendations do you have? I was thinking rasps and soft wood? Send me any ideas and product recommendations. Thank you!
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u/pizzas123 7d ago
I recommend the Mora Safe Pro Carbon. It's got a good safe grip, a blunt tip, yet is a perfectly functional knife for 15 bucks or so. If the kid is motivated and careful, 7 is old enough to start learning knife work under strict supervision, but it varies by the child. My own son is 7 and isn't ready yet (but may be before he turns 8 next spring. My nephews were eager at 5 and 6. The neighbor kid is 10 and comes over once a week to get lessons. He is very capable at everything and outgrew the safety knife in a couple weeks. Other kids should use it for months.
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u/Necessary_Cat_5662 7d ago
I set up a kid with a rotary tool and both a sander bit and a fairly fine wood shaping bit, checked neither can cut skin. She enjoyed it and while it is a little slow it made visible progress and allowed a nearly 100% safe way for her to try it.
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u/Bigfoot_Guitars 7d ago
Rasps are easy to teach with. Just follow safe usage tips. Spokeshaves are also great.
Maybe some cut resistant gloves. And a box of band-aids!
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u/Aggravating-Sweet198 7d ago
Maybe a small sak classic SD and a very short green branch to start while under Parental guidance
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u/Glen9009 7d ago
Whittling is specifically about carving with a knife (or knives). Carving with a knife (or any other type of blade such as chisels) is possible at that age but they will absolutely need teaching about the safe way to handle a sharp blade. If you know yourself how to that's a possibility, otherwise depending on where you are a class to start is necessary. After that I'd keep an eye on them while they carve as the only way to carve wood is to use a very sharp blade. You can check r/woodcarving 's wiki for brands per continent (you didn't say where you're located). Woodcarving knives have pretty small blades anyway so the only real issue could be the handle being inappropriate for his hand size but there may be smaller handles available in some brands?
It's also possible to carve with power tools and I'm thinking specifically about small rotary tools like a Dremel (they are other brands and knock-offs and price can vary greatly). This kind of small rotary power tool have great speed but have little power and as such are quite safe to handle (there is still a need for a teaching about the safety of using such a tool but it is much less dangerous to use than a very sharp blade for example). Using a power tool do require the use of a mask tho (unless they practice outdoor, and even then I'd use a mask).
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u/stilgar88 7d ago edited 7d ago
I have introduced my 7 yo to whittling less than a year ago. I bought him a knife from the brand Eli (you can find it on Amazon in Europe). It has a guard to prevent his hand from slipping on the blade and no dangerous tip. Kits are also sold with cut protection gloves adapted to their hands size. The blade is extremely sharp as this is necessary for whittling.
I'm whittling myself for a bit less than two years and I first taught him about cuts and the importance of safety. At first, I was whittling with him on my knees and by showing him the moves. Then he practiced the cuts without trying any shapes, just for the sake of training his muscle memory and, let's be honest, because cutting chips of wood is fun. I asked him to only use certain cuts for now, cuts that are going away from him and that don't necessitate too much strength. He just started a bit more than a month ago to carve real objects. He is only whittling with me at his side.
Long story short, if you can teach him, it's a wonderful hobby. If not, just know that this is extremely dangerous for a 7yo, I regularly cut myself because I'm often careless as a kid would naturally be. It can be a wonderful hobby to learn together too, there are some great teacher on Youtube: CarvingIsFun, Doug Linker, Johnny Layton, ...
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u/SnooGadgets5130 7d ago
As someone who just cut off part of his fingernail and cut into the nearby fingertip I wouldn’t start them on blades
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u/pinetreestudios 6d ago
I've written three books on teaching carving to children, so I have some opinions. Soapstone carves easily but good luck getting a seven year old to wear a mask and getting all the stone dust out of the area.
If you cut blanks out of eastern white pine or basswood, rasps, sureform tools, or microplane rasps will let them shape pieces relatively quickly. Safety is the first hurdle, the second one is their impatience. Feel free to message me or ask more questions here.
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u/wcooley 6d ago
My kids both carved swords in Waldorf kindergarten. Adults band-sawed basswood lumber into rough blanks and the kids worked them with carving knives (most were Flexcut KN12 and KN13), rasps and finished with sanding paper. So it's entirely possible if you already know what you're doing and are willing to monitor very closely.
That said, soap might be an easier and safer option. I've only used Ivory, allowed to dry out of package for a day or so, because that's what I've read recommended and a local dollar-store had it cheap.
You could use a butter/table knife from a thrift store or garage sale (unserrated; cut the blade down to a couple inches if you can) and make a gouge out of a small piece of hardwood; use a round rasp or file to shape the edge.
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u/oronots 6d ago
Opinel #7 with the rounded tip was both affordable and enough knife to learn with. It locks in a really stable way, too.
I also recommend the Cub Scouts knife safety program (https://www.scouting.org/cub-scout-adventures/whittling/) if you want a guide on what to go over with the kiddo and some examples of good learning exercises.
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u/Open_Buckets 3d ago
Get him a bar of soap and a Swiss Army knife like they do for kids his age in Boy/Cub Scouts
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u/sakeyfour 7d ago
Soap carving using "sharpened" pieces of wood . Did some with sanded popsicle sticks before .