• You will need several tools for woodblock carving.Yagi Studio/Photodisc/Getty Images
  
  Whether you're a professional or hobbyist wood carver, you'll need a basic set of tools to get started. As well as the carving tools themselves, you'll also need other items to help maintain your tools and make the carving process easier. Quality tools tend to be more expensive, but will last longer, according to the Wood Carving Tools website.
  
  

Gouges

• Gouges have a similar structure to chisels, except the cutting edge is curved while the chisel cutting edge is straight. Gouges come in different sizes and can have varied blade widths as well as shallow, medium or deep arcs. They're useful for carving hollows or lines. You can also get V-shaped gouges, which are useful for finishing corners or adding fine detail to your wood carving. Bent gouges have a curved blade, which allows you to create curved lines or access areas of your wood that are hard to reach with a straight gouge.
  
  

Chisels

• Chisels plane the wood. You can buy chisels with different sized blades, depending on whether you want to remove large chunks of background wood or add detail to a design. Skew chisels have a sloped blade, which is longer on one side than the other. These blades are useful for shaping corners. Use a rubber or wooden mallet when carving wood with a chisel, particularly if you're using hardwood or carving deep designs.
  
  

Whetstone

• A whetstone is an important accessory when you're using gouges, chisels and knives. Whetstones help keep your tools sharp. One face has a coarse texture, while the other has a finer texture. Sharpen blunt tools on the coarser side, while the fine-textured side is useful for tools that need minimal sharpening. To use a whetstone, apply a light layer of machine oil to the stone and then drag the tool blade across the surface at a 25-degree angle to sharpen.
  
  

Knives

• Special woodcarving knives add finer detail. Like chisels and gouges, blades come in different shapes and sizes. Chip-carving knives cut out V-shaped wood chips, while other knives shave the wood, allowing you to add small veins or carve patterns.
  
  

Clamp

• A clamp is useful for holding the wood while you are working on it. Wood carving can require force so it is a good idea both for your safety and your design to hold the wood in place using a clamp. If you are gluing wood blocks together or laminating wood blocks, you will also need one or more clamps to hold the wood in place while the glue dries. (See references 1)