German wood carving chisel set Kirschen 3155000

A German wood carving chisel set from Kirschen, reference 3155000, gathers 18 blades in one wooden box. The blades come from several Kirschen series, each with its own nose shape and cutting geometry. That spread covers roughing passes and fine detailing within the same piece. Handles are hornbeam with an octagonal cross-section, so the tool stays put in the hand.

Edges are heat treated to 61 HRC. This sits between hard and tough, holding sharpness while still accepting regrinding. Every set arrives with the Arkansas 3704000 sharpening stone set, so edge upkeep can start immediately. The packing can be the wooden box or a microfibre roll pouch for transport. The tools are made in Germany. Woodcarvers, art joinery workshops, vocational schools and furniture restoration shops work with sets of this type.

What the German wood carving chisel set covers

The 18 blades are grouped by series code and by blade width. Each series brings a different profile: straight edges for flats, curved sweeps for hollows, V-profiles for lines. A carver picks the blade by the depth, width and shape of the cut required. The result is one case that handles shaping, modelling and finishing.

Octagonal hornbeam handles

The handles are machined from hornbeam with an eight-sided section. Flat faces give the fingers a clear reference point, which helps control mallet-free paring cuts. Compared with a round handle, the octagon resists rolling on the bench. Hornbeam is moderately hard, absorbs vibration and stays dimensionally stable over years of shop use.

• Handle material: hornbeam
• Handle shape: octagonal section
• Grip behaviour: reduced slip and roll during detail cuts
• Suited to hand pressure work and light mallet use

Handle geometry matters as much as steel on carving work. A firm, indexed grip lets the carver feel blade orientation without looking at the bevel. That feedback shortens the learning curve for beginners and speeds repetitive relief work for professionals.

Blade hardness at 61 HRC

All blades are hardened to 61 HRC. At that value the steel keeps a working edge through long sessions in hardwood, yet it can be reground on a stone without chipping away. The supplied Arkansas stone set brings the edge back to the original bevel angle when sharpness drops.

• Blade hardness: 61 HRC
• Number of blades: 18
• Included accessory: Arkansas 3704000 sharpening stone set
• Packing options: wooden box or microfibre roll pouch

Hold the factory bevel angle when honing. Wandering from it changes how the blade enters the fibre and forces heavier hand pressure. Wipe each blade after use, then return it to the box or roll so edges do not knock together in storage.

Blade composition of the 18-piece set

Blades are identified by series and by cutting width in millimetres. The mix runs from 2 mm veiners for hair, texture and lettering up to a 20 mm blade for clearing background areas. Having both extremes in one case avoids switching between separate kits mid-project.

• Series 3101: 4, 6, 12, 20 mm
• Series 3104: 4, 6, 10, 16 mm
• Series 3106: 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16 mm
• Series 3111: 2, 4, 6 mm
• Series 3139: 6 mm

This layout gives graded steps in width inside each profile family. A carver can move from a rough sweep to a narrower blade of the same shape without changing technique.

Common applications in wood carving

The set suits carving work from first exercises to advanced sculpture. Typical jobs include figure carving, relief panels and decorative detail on furniture. Restoration shops use it to recut missing ornament on antique pieces. Art joinery workshops rely on the width range for both background clearing and fine modelling. Vocational schools use sets of this kind for structured carving courses, since one case covers the full teaching sequence.

Catalog reference details

Kirschen lists the assortment with 18 blades at 61 HRC, hornbeam octagonal handles, and the Arkansas 3704000 sharpening stone set. Two packings appear in the catalog: the wooden box version and the microfibre roll pouch version. An empty wooden box is also cataloged separately as a replacement case.