All possible knife cuts of woodcarving!
Published on: June 15, 2023
Reading time: 8 minutes
Good morning, hardcore readers!! Today I’ve prepared the ultimate guide to put an end to every doubt that’s crossed your mind while trying to learn woodcarving! In this tutorial, I’ll teach you all the possible knife cuts used in woodcarving — and I really mean all of them!
You’ll finally be able to say goodbye to the confusion of names floating around in your head. Here, I’ve gathered for you all the execution variations and naming differences too. Once you’ve practiced all these cuts, you’ll be ready to become true whittling professionals!
Let’s start by clarifying a simple concept that some people — especially in Italy, since we often use English terms for convenience — may not have fully grasped yet. Namely:
what is whittling?
Well, whittling is simply knife woodcarving. That is, carving work carried out using only one or more carving knives.
Often — especially in Italy — we’re almost forced to use these English terms, because our equivalent translation is just intaglio (carving). And that’s really a poor translation, because this word doesn’t express the concept of knife-only carving; for us it’s a very general term.
Whittling is also often associated with woodcarving, but then:
what’s the difference between whittling and woodcarving?
Even though they’re often mentioned together or incorrectly used as synonyms, they’re not the same at all. Woodcarving is always a form of carving, but it involves the use of tools such as gouges, mallets, and other supporting equipment.
It’s true that many times, even when we’re working on whittling projects, we don’t do it entirely in pure form. For convenience, we may use electric saws or palm gouges — blending the two arts together.
Starting a pure whittling project is not only possible, but will actually be a pleasure after learning, through this tutorial, the art of all knife-based wood cuts!
I’m sure that during your learning journey you’ve come across many terms related to basic wood cuts. This often creates confusion or even frustration, because it feels like there are so many that you’ll never remember them all — let alone reproduce them! 😵💫
But today you’ll discover that, in the end, there are only about 5 or 6 to remember. 😳 Surprised? I assure you it’s not important to memorize every name or every variation. As you learn, you’ll realize that all cuts are intuitive — you just need awareness and practice to perform them safely.
That’s it. You simply need to absorb the various names you might encounter so you can follow tutorials. But in the end, while you’re there with your project in your hands, you’ll make thoughtful cuts even without remembering their names or telling yourself… “now I’ll do a Push Cut”…!
I’ve mentioned it, so let’s start with that one — the infamous, multi-named 🤣:
Push Cut
It’s one of the most commonly used wood cuts ever when roughing out a piece, together with the Pull Cut, which is exactly its opposite. It’s a reduction and cleanup cut — not one used for fine details.
The cut itself is very simple and highly intuitive: you just push the blade outward, away from your body — the opposite of pulling it toward yourself.
There are several variations of this cut, mainly differing between controlled cuts and free cuts. I recommend always using a controlled cut — it’s obviously safer for you and for anyone nearby. Let’s look at the variations and the many names of the Push Cut:
Thumb Push Cut
Thumb Pushing Cut
It’s a controlled Push Cut: force is applied with the thumb of the hand holding the knife, placed on the blade. It reduces fatigue and better guides the cut, which automatically stops as soon as it reaches the edge of the wood.
Thumb Push Stroke
Useful for making deeper but still controlled cuts. You use the thumb of the non-cutting hand on the blade to push into the wood in the direction you want the knife to cut. This extra force allows you to cut deeper while staying safe.
Rough Cut
Power Cut
Straight Cut
Straight-Away Cut
All are name variations, but the application is the same. It’s an uncontrolled Push Cut — the classic roughing cut. You drive the blade in, more or less deeply, and push forcefully with your wrist away from your body.
Levering Cut
Lever Cut
Push-Away Cut
Push Stroke Cut
Once again, many names but the same type of cut. It’s used in rather awkward positions, when other cuts aren’t possible or when you can’t use your thumb for support. It’s a free Push Cut, but not too rough. To avoid cutting more than necessary, you usually rely on a final Stop Cut.
Slicing Cut
It’s the classic cut used to peel a carrot, just to give a very simple example. I’ve included it here as a Push Cut variant, but it can also be used as a Pull Cut variant depending on the situation. The blade slides freely, quickly away from the body (Push) or toward the body (Pull). It’s used to make small touch-ups to rough carving very quickly.
Sweep Cut
Sweeping Cut
These wood cuts create a curve inside the cut thanks to wrist movement. I’ve already talked about them in an older article, so I’ll skip the details here. They combine the Thumb Push Cut technique with a wide wrist motion.
Stop Cut
This type of cut is useful in many situations. Its main purpose is to guarantee sharp corners and precise separations. It’s a cut made in two phases: the first is the clean cut — the Stop — and the second is tilting the knife and sliding until you reach that cut.
To reach the Stop Cut, you’re essentially applying either a Push Cut (moving toward the Stop Cut) or a Pull Cut (from the Stop Cut toward yourself), depending on the position you’re carving in.
Clearing Cut
IIt can happen that when making a Stop Cut, we misjudge the depth of the cut. No problem — the Clearing Cut is useful exactly for this situation. You make a series of light cuts in the same direction toward the Stop, using your thumb on the blade to apply pressure.
In the same way, you can proceed when you want to increase the depth of a cut, or when you simply want to clean it up. These small adjustment movements leave the cut clean, as if it had been done perfectly.
V-Cut
It’s the classic cut used for details. I mention it here briefly because it’s also part of the article on the 4 basic cuts, where you’ll find detailed instructions on how to perform it.
These wood cuts are compound cuts, meaning they’re done with three movements — or three cuts, if you prefer. First, you make the straight Stop Cut. Then you perform a Push Cut and a Pull Cut. The result will be a V shape in your wood.
It’s also perfectly fine to do it without making the Stop Cut line. With a bit of practice, you can perform a Push Cut and a Pull Cut that meet to form the V. In this case, you’ll get a perfect triangular chip as waste.
We’re lucky! 😅 This cut seems to be known by only three different names! Here they are:
Vee Cut
V-Shaped Cut
V-Notching Cut
Pull Cut
As mentioned earlier, it’s the opposite of the Push Cut. It’s a cut better suited for shaping rather than roughing out a figure, but it can also be useful when we realize we’re carving against the grain of the wood.
This is also an easy cut to master. It’s very effective because it combines control and power, but since the blade is directed toward the body, it requires a few extra safety precautions.
With this particular type of cut, the first thing to do is protect the finger beneath the cutting line. In this way, the protected finger pushes the wood toward the blade, cutting the strain on the carving wrist in half.
If it’s not possible to protect the finger with the wood, it’s necessary to use a thumb guard. That way, when the knife gently stops against your finger, it won’t injure you.
Cut-resistant protection
We can simply say that it’s the classic cut we use when peeling an apple — the blade moves toward the body and toward your thumb!
The Pull Cut also has many names, but unlike the Push Cut, it doesn’t have many variations — except for whether the thumb is used or not. The most common names used are:
Thumb Brace Cut
Pull Stroke Cut
Pull Draw Cut
Paring Cut
Pare Cut
Thumb Cut
Back Cut
Cut Back
Squeeze Cut
Pyramid Cut
This cut is widely used to create details or subtle shadows in a carving. For example, it’s used to define eyes or create geometric carvings. It essentially consists of three cuts that form a triangle. When done correctly, the chip that comes out is a perfect pyramid.
You’ll also find the details of this cut in the older article on the 4 basic cuts. The Pyramid Cut is no exception and is known by several different names — let’s see which ones:
Stab Cut
Chip Cut
Triangle Cut
Line Cut
Let’s finish with a cut that’s used extensively for details: defining clothing and separating it from the body, folds, eyes, eyebrows, and so on.
The Line Cut is quick to perform: you make an incision line as long and as deep as needed. Then, on the side where you want to carve (either right or left of the incision), you insert the knife tip at a slight angle until it reaches the Stop line, and carve more or less deeply, moving parallel to the incision line.
It too gives in to the temptation of having multiple names — though they’re just small variations:
Curved Cut
It’s performed in the same way as the Line Cut, but with a wavy or curved starting line — and obviously the side cut follows that curve as well.
Linear Cut
I’m including here a Line Cut variation that doesn’t actually have a specific name. Once the “long” cut is made, before carving to the side, two small Stop Cuts are added at the ends. This helps prevent going too far and, where possible, ensures greater precision.
Channel Cut
You carve a deep line as long as needed, even curved if desired — exactly like with the Line Cut. But instead of working on just one side of the cut, you clean both sides, creating a channel.
Running Cut
And here we are at the end of the ultimate guide! You’ve just graduated as skilled knife woodcarvers! 🥇 Try them all!
I’ve also prepared a tutorial with video support for you! Here it is — or you can find it on the YOUTUBE channel: https://www.youtube.com/@whittledlovelies!
If you feel I’ve forgotten any cuts or names, don’t hesitate to contact me!
Happy practice! Learn, learn, and learn! Try checking out other articles related to the basic topics category too — see you in the next article! Bye! 🤗😘
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