I"m not a very experienced carver, but I learn each time I do a project. I have two Flexcut knives, a v-tool and a small round gouge. I wanted something with a longer blade and the curve on the cutting edge, mostly for rough cutting. This knife is all I wanted and more. It has quickly become my favorite knife. Rough cuts are easy and I find that I don't put it down when the detail work starts. Very sharp. The blade is thicker than I was expecting, but it doesn't seem to matter. Thanks for selling a great product!