Carving tools from PFEIL

PFEIL was initially founded in 1902 as a cutlery workshop for professional knives and surgical instruments in Langenthal, Switzerland. It was not until the 1940s that PFEIL produced its first carving tools. Even then, the quality convinced professional and amateur carvers and carving schools, and the tools sold like hot cakes. The family business is now in its third generation.

PFEIL chisels, gouges and gouge feet, like all other PFEIL carving tools, are forged from a high-alloy special steel and are manufactured entirely in Switzerland. The carving tools are delivered ground ready for use and are razor sharp. To drive the carving irons, globes made of wood in different weight classes can be used, but also – brass globes or bronze globes depending on the type of use –. Brass and bronze mallet are very handy and are suitable for small and delicate work. For fine carvings and to create smooth surfaces you can also work without mallet.

Chisels or carpenter's chisels

Chisels are also called gouges or chisels, chisels, mortise chisels or flat irons and are used mainly in carpentry. Chisels have a flat blade and are often fitted with a ferrule at the head of the handle (grip) so that they can withstand a stronger blow.

Chisels with a straight or angled cutting edge are particularly suitable for surfaces and for carving out straight, rectangular shapes. As a special shape, they are also available with a curved blade.

Gouge iron

Gouge chisels or gouges have a more or less curved blade. The stitch width indicates how much the blade of the gouge is curved (from stitch 1 = straight to stitch 11 = u-shaped). In carpentry, gouges with a uniformly wide blade are often used; in sculpture, gouges become wider from the handle to the cutting edge. In addition to straight gouges, there are also, for example, curved gouges, offset gouges or inverted gouges. With these special carving irons you can also carve out deep cavities and more complicated shapes very well. So-called Berner or Swiss irons are particularly suitable for large woodwork – they have a wide cutting edge and a strong curvature for powerful material removal.

Gaiss feet

Sculpting irons with a V-shaped cross-section are called gouge feet. They also come in different stitch variants, whereby the stitch in the gouge foot refers to the angle of the V-shaped blade. In addition, a distinction is also made here between straight, curved and cranked irons. Apart from the straight V-shaped one, there is the curved gouge foot, which does not have a straight cross-section, but a V curved like a dovetail.

Hobby irons – fine irons for small carvings

For small carving jobs, bildhau recommends the so-called tinkering irons from PFEIL. These fine gouges have a blade length of 85 mm and are only 20 cm long in total, but of course of the same high quality as the large carving irons. The crafting irons also fit very well in children's hands.

Maintaining carving irons

Care of the carving irons includes regular honing and sharpening of the blades. The hollows of the PFEIL carving irons made of high-alloy chrome vanadium steel are very finely and geometrically precisely ground. It is therefore easy to sharpen them by hand e.g. with a Belgian chunk, polishing cream and strop or with a water-cooled sharpening machine.

When the carving irons are not in use, it is best to store your tools in a roll case or a suitable wooden case to protect the blades.

Carving tools from PFEIL at bildhau

bildhau has almost all PFEIL carving irons in stock. From the range of PFEIL sculpting irons, we naturally also offer carving iron sets in various combinations. In addition, we are happy to supply you with any tool from the complete PFEIL range. If a carving iron is not in stock, we will order it for you immediately. The delivery time is one to three weeks due to the manufacturer.