A Knife, a V tool and a 4mm Dockyard U Gouge.
Carved from basswood. 4 inches tall 2inch by 2inch.
The real key here is the hering bone pattern in the beginning. Carving a good braid doesnt take complicated cuts, its a just a lot of simple, cuts in a repeating pattern, draw it on first, and follow the pattern out.
If woodcarving looks interesting and like something you might want to try? The advice below will help, and is focused on the type of carving I do.
You need several things, a sharp knife, a leather strop with compound for honing your blade, safety gloves (A5 or better) and basswood (to carve like i do at least.)
Solid Knife brands, Flexcut, Badger State Blades (USA), Mstein (Europe) there are a lot of great knife brands. Stay away from kits on amazon of several knives. They're much much lower quality with inconsistently tempered steel. (What that means is its not hardened, and so it won't stay sharp easy, meaning you're fighting the knife and dont understand why its harder for you to carve when its easy for others.)
Why Basswood? Its softer than other hardwoods and holds detail well. Learning to carve with basswood is akin to learning to drive on an automatic. It simplifies and streamlines learning. Woods like Walnut and oak can be carved, but learning to carve with them as the starting point is like learning to drive on an 18 wheeler Semi Truck with manual transmission. Its needlessly difficult.
