{"id":1128,"date":"2021-02-18T13:13:13","date_gmt":"2021-02-18T10:13:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodiswood.com\/?p=1128"},"modified":"2022-09-07T12:00:55","modified_gmt":"2022-09-07T09:00:55","slug":"what-is-the-softest-wood-for-carving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodiswood.com\/what-is-the-softest-wood-for-carving\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is The Softest Wood For Carving"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Carving soft woods is always a pleasant experience, some of the more well known soft woods such as basswood and cedar have proven that to be true. However, you may not have known what the softest kinds of wood are, so in this article, this is exactly what we will be talking about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The softest wood for carving is the Ochroma Pyramidale, also known as balsa. Balsa wood is by far the softest wood for carving, resisting a force of only 400 Newtons. For comparison, the second softest wood for carving, Paulownia, can resist up to 1156 newtons. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Softest wood does not necessarily mean the best wood, many softwoods have issues such as fluff, cracks, and a short lifespan. Below in the article, you will find everything that you must be aware of about the softest woods for carving including the softest wood, balsa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Of The Softest Woods To Carve <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While balsa is by far the softest wood that you can carve, but it does not mean it is the best wood. <\/strong>Soft woods can be very different in color, durability, smell, price, availability, grain, and much more. Although they do share the same characteristic that they are all easier to carve and almost don’t damage your tools, you should still pick your favorite softwood based on other factors as well.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So here is the list of our top 5 favorite softest woods out there:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Balsa<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Of course, the first and favorite of all the softest woods to carve is the softest wood used for carving; the balsa wood. This wood has many unique features, both good and bad, so let’s get right into it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Balsa wood is perfect for beginners or any other carvers that are looking to try and carve a very soft wood. Balsa carvings are also very light which makes carvings made from balsa wood stand out when picked up. The pale white color also makes balsa wood very distinguishable from all other woods that may look even somewhat similar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Balsa wood is so soft it does not even need carving knives to be carved. Of course, we highly encourage you to only carve with very sharp carving knives, but, for general information, you now know that even a paper knife will be enough to complete a small carving out of balsa wood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One very important downside you should keep in mind is that balsa wood is very fragile and can snap if you hold it too firmly and will break if you drop it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Balsa wood is about twice as expensive as basswood usually sold for $12 per\/ply sheet while basswood can be $4 to $6. Usually, you will also have a hard time finding plywood<\/a> from whole stores or wood suppliers, so you may have to contact local crafts\/hobby stores that may have an even higher markup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With that said, trying to carve balsa wood is a must. the unique feeling of holding wood that feels hollow inside and carving through it with a cracking crisp finding out it is very much densely filled with wood is something I wish every woodcarver experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Cedar<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

There are a lot of different kinds of cedar and they all have about the same density ranging from about 1300 newtons to 1600 newtons. Although it may sound like a very large difference when compared to balsa wood, cedar wood is in the top 10 softest kinds of wood on our planet, and is very pleasant to carve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most common types of cedar wood are the red cedar, white cedar, and yellow cedar (Yellow cedar is our favorite just because of how great it smells). If you would like to know more about each kind individually you can read our article All About Cedar Wood<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are looking to carve Cedar, you should be aware that the luxury of having a pleasant time carving this wood comes at a cost. Cedar wood is not unaffordably expensive, but when compared to other kinds of wood that are similar, you can conclude that you are slightly overpaying for what cedar truly is worth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The average price of cedar will range from 8$ to 20$ per linear foot.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Just like with most woods on this list, you should keep in mind that water does not mix too well with cedar. Although cedar is more waterproof than other kinds of wood with the same density because of its grain, if you don’t seal and varnish it, water will damage the wood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To conclude our opinion on cedar wood, this is a go-to wood that has a lot of variety to it and is very pleasant to carve, while it does not have the best price perhaps you will find that its benefits may be somewhat worth it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Paulownia (kiri wood)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Paulownia is not a very popular wood to carve. Still, it is the second softest wood after balsa, so if you found our article by searching the softest woods to carve, you probably will be interested in paulownia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What you will notice straight away about paulownia wood is the unusual contrast in grain. Once again, you probably have not seen many carvings made out of this wood because it is not very well known, therefore, the grain will look pretty unique to most carvers as it stands out from the usual basswood\/butternut pattern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

if you’ve never carved paulownia before, check out a short 2-minute video below that will serve as a great introduction to what the wood looks like and how you can expect the carvings to look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=n46CodyoKO0<\/a>