# Best wood for carving. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 22, 2010, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-wood-for-carving/536949 "2010-04-22T01:40:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jakesteele](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ed8c4c/32.png) [@jakesteele](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jakesteele)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-wood-for-carving/536949/1 "2010-04-22T01:40:47Z")
I am wondering what is considered the best all around wood for carving? Some people say basswood is and others praise different types. Also, does the redwood tree make for good carving. Also, what exotic type wood is good for carving? Wood like jotoba, paduk, coca bola, zebra wood, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-wood-for-carving/536949/2 "2010-04-22T02:20:48Z")
The most important thing is that the wood be hard. This may seem counterintuitive, but remember: Nobody ever ruined a piece by cutting off too little. With soft woods, it’s all too easy for your blade to go a little too far, and mar it irreparably. This does mean that your knife will dull quickly, which means you’ll need to sharpen about every five minutes. Beyond the hardness, you’re mostly getting into the aesthetics of the color, grain pattern, etc. All wood is stronger along the grain than across it, and some might have this tendency more than others, but I’ve found that you have to learn to respect the grain in pretty much every wood. And unless you’re incorporating the eyes into your work somehow, you’ll want to select a piece that doesn’t have any, but that varies more from piece to piece than species to species. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-wood-for-carving/536949/3 "2010-04-22T02:32:00Z")
Since this concerns the arts, and is rather subjective as well, let’s send it to CS. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-wood-for-carving/536949/4 "2010-04-22T13:35:34Z")
IMO, boxwood is the best for general carving. Hard, dense, fine grain. But bloody hard to get. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-wood-for-carving/536949/5 "2010-04-23T09:10:43Z")
Lime, or basswood, was the go-to wood of European woodcarvers for centuries if not millennia. Small, intricate stuff was carved out of boxwood, the densest, most homogenuous wood available there. Hawthorn wood is quite similar to boxwood - hard, dense, uniform in structure- and was a regular boxwood substitute in the past. Much easier to get than boxwood, since hawthorn trees are common as mud as cultivars and grow much faster. Prunings are there for the taking, provived one has the space to season wood himself. Interestingly, all the woods mentioned above are almost featureless, with little visible grain or coloring other than solid creamy white to fleshy brown hues. ---
**Author:** ![Mooch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mooch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mooch)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-wood-for-carving/536949/6 "2010-04-23T16:07:01Z")
> [@Toxylon](#): > > Interestingly, all the woods mentioned above are almost featureless, with little visible grain or coloring other than solid creamy white to fleshy brown hues. Jatoba was mentioned which I’ve made furniture out of. It is a beautiful red color with very distinct grain - also hard as a motherfucker. I must mention that I’ve never done any carving, however. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-wood-for-carving/536949/7 "2010-04-23T16:35:17Z")
Tupelo wood is a favorite amoung those who carve duck decoys. > **[Carving Wood For Sale](http://www.duckstore.com/tupelo.htm)** > > Decoys hand carved and painted by Bernie and Gail Corwin. Duck and shorebird decoys artfully carved from tupelo carving wood available for sale from the carvers' website, duckstore.com. > **[Fish Carving Wood Selection](https://fishcarver.com/fish_carving_wood_selection.htm)** > > Learn the art of Fish Carving here at FishCarver.com through one of our many hands on fish carving classes, fish carving videos, or fish carving books. Sign up today for one of Ed Walicki's Advanced Fish Carving Classes and learn the award winning... ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-wood-for-carving/536949/8 "2010-04-23T16:45:43Z")
They sold woodcarving blocks at scout camp with a pattern drawn on it. I got my wood carving merit badge. this gentleman has a very useful pdf that explains how to select wood for carving. middle of the page, there’s a pdf link [http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/methods/all-about-buying-wood.html](http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/methods/all-about-buying-wood.html) ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-wood-for-carving/536949/9 "2010-04-23T16:52:15Z")
> [@Mooch](#): > > Jatoba was mentioned which I’ve made furniture out of. It is a beautiful red color with very distinct grain - also hard as a motherfucker. Huh? I was talking about basswood, boxwood and hawthorn. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-wood-for-carving/536949/10 "2010-04-23T18:15:43Z")
> [@Toxylon](#): > > Huh? I was talking about basswood, boxwood and hawthorn. So? The OP mentioned Jatoba. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-wood-for-carving/536949/11 "2010-04-23T18:19:15Z")
I used to know an African sculptor who would visit his homeland yearly, returning to the US with ebony, which he used for carving. ---
**Author:** ![Mooch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mooch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mooch)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-wood-for-carving/536949/12 "2010-04-23T18:38:23Z")
> [@Toxylon](#): > > Huh? I was talking about basswood, boxwood and hawthorn. Thought you were talking about the woods in the OP - my mistake. Also: something something morning wood, got wood, etc.