a collage with four wood carvings and text "make more time to carve with stencils for wood carvers"

Wood Carving Stencils and Favorite Carving Tools

Whether you’re new to carving with stencils or looking for your next wood carving project, welcome!

This is where you’ll find our favorite wood carving resources and links to stencils as well as wood carving tutorials.

a collage with four wood carvings and text "make more time to carve with stencils for wood carvers"

When my wife started wood carving, she was frustrated with spending a lot of time sketching designs instead of actually carving. She was also concered that her poor drawing skills would impact her finished carving if the lines were symmetrical or correctly placed.

These stencils allow you to quickly and easily form the basic design so you can get to carving and customizing!

a santa face ornament sketched onto a block of wood

This post includes affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission on purchases made at no additional cost to you.

Where to buy wood carving stencils

Our wood carving stencils are available through the Etsy shop Ronan 3D Prints. Only stencils found in this store are created by us. All stencils found in the shop have carving tutorials.

It’s important to use a mechanical pencil to trace your designs. Most #2 pencils or carpenter’s pencils won’t fit in the slots. Folks frequently ask what pencil I use. It’s the Koru Toga.

uniball Kuru Toga Elite Mechanical Pencil Starter Kit, 0.5mm, HB #2, Silver...
  • Advanced rotating lead engine ensures 0.5mm nano diamond lead pencil is always sharp and your writing is on point
  • A fine 0.5mm #2 lead produces intricate lines for clear text and vivid graphics
  • Extra durable diamond-infused lead is stronger than standard lead, delivering strikingly dark marks

Current stencils include:

Gnome (our best seller!)

Girl gnome

Owl

Scandi Santa

Simple wizard

Santa face

Classic Santa (full body design)

Penguin

Snowman

Parrot

Sheep (perfect for Easter and Nativity sets)

Angel

a wood carved Nativity set with angels

Corner Santa

Spooky Guy (Halloween figure with two face options)

The Spooky Guy stencil has a blog post with painting tips.

Nativity Joseph

Mother Mary (beautiful as a stand alone or in a Nativity)

Manger

Simple Savior (a carved Jesus created in collaboration with AC Riley)

Cat on a log

Spirit face

Jack o’Lanterns (These guys are stackable and have mix and match faces! Learn more in this blog post.)

five hand carved wood jack o lanterns

Christmas goblin

Christmas tree

Toy soldier

Folk art Santa face

Christmas ornament pack (mitten, sweater, stocking)

Jolly Santa (a classic Santa face with high, round cheeks)

Eyeball stencils

3 Kings, flatplane style

Christmas “ghost”

a spooky christmas ghost wood carving on a tree

Simple fox

Cute pug

Chicken

Wood carving tutorials

Carving tutorial videos can be found on our YouTube channel. There are also a few painting tutorials and a couple of carving tips & tricks posts.

Favorite carving tools

I like to keep woodcarving as simple and accessible as possible and do most of my carving with a Flexcut roughing knife.

FLEXCUT KN14 Roughing Knife 2″ High-Carbon Steel Straight Blade,...
  • Generous 2″ Straight Blade: Features a 2″ high-carbon steel blade with a straight profile and a 1-3/4″ bevel for efficient, heavy stock removal.
  • Flexible Spring-Steel Construction: The blade’s spring-steel design absorbs pressure, giving you smoother, controlled cuts that follow the contours...
  • Ergonomic Ash Wood Handle: Built with a sculpted American ash handle that provides a comfortable grip and reduces hand fatigue during long carving...

Most frequently used V tool 8 mm #12

#7 gouge, Pfiel

#3 gouge (3/8″)

# 1 gouge (the flat chisel from Badger State)

Cut resistant gloves

NoCry Cut Resistant Work Gloves for Women and Men, with Reinforced Fingers;...
  • BRAND NEW 3-FINGER REINFORCED DESIGN FOR EXTRA PROTECTION AND COMFORT. We reinforced the three fingers most vulnerable to cuts in these safety cutting...
  • EN388 LEVEL 5 CUT RESISTANCE RATING. Enjoy the highest level of protection on the market. Our tight-knit, lightweight protective gloves are more than...
  • PERFECT FOR MEN AND WOMEN AND AVAILABLE IN PLENTY OF SIZES. Forget about one size fits all work and safety gloves. Our cut resistant gloves come in 5...

How to suggest ideas for future stencils

Many of the stencils were made due to popular demand. If you’d like to make a request or share your completed pieces, please join The Carving Club on Facebook and tag me in your photos!

Happy Carving.

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *