Chapter 1
Carving in Build 42
Carving is the new Build 42 skill for small wood and bone things. It is how you make tools when the hardware store is empty.
With a knife and a branch you can carve spoons, forks, handles, spears, buckets, spades, needles, bats and bone armor. Carving is also the skill that feeds Blacksmithing, Knapping and Tailoring with handles, tongs and needles.
Utensils
Spoons, forks, bowls. Cheap early XP.
Handles
Small, medium and long handles. Every crafted tool and weapon needs one.
Spears
The reach weapon you can make anywhere.
Bone work
Needles, hooks and a full set of bone armor.
The whittler's loop
- GatherBranches from foraging or chopping.
- CarveRod and handles first.
- UtensilsSpoons, then forks.
- ToolsSpears, buckets, spades.
- BoneNeedles and armor.
- SupplyHandles for every other craft.
Why it matters
Build 42 wants you to make things instead of finding them. Carving is the first rung of that ladder, and the cheapest.
Chapter 2
Build your whittler
Carving is the fastest crafting skill to level. Even so, a cheap trait puts you 2 levels ahead on day 1.
Whittler (trait, 2 points)
+2 Carving and better foraging. The best 2 points in crafting.
Bushcrafter (trait, 8 points)
+1 Carving, Knapping, Foraging and Maintenance. Knows the Wilderness Survival magazine.
Handy (trait, 8 points)
+1 Carving, Carpentry, Masonry and Maintenance.
Carpenter, DIY Expert, Park Ranger (jobs)
Each gives +1 Carving.
Watch out: point costs change
The game makers still tune traits and jobs. Always read the numbers on your own character screen.
Carving is a normal skill with 5 books at 3, 5, 8, 12 and 16 times XP. Crafty and Fast Learner both raise crafting XP to 130%.
Chapter 3
Knife and wood
Almost every carving recipe needs a knife and some wood. That is the whole kit.
A knife
Any kitchen or hunting knife. Or a stone knife knapped from a sharp flint flake. Some recipes want a whittling knife, drill, saw or whetstone too.
Tree branches
The main material. Forage them in forest and deep forest. Chop trees and bushes for more.
Long sticks, saplings, logs, planks
Spears want long sticks. Some handles come from planks. Logs give a lot.
Animal bones
From butchering. Bone recipes start at level 2.
Secret: the Foraging guide is the Carving supply chain
Firewood focus, deep forest, and you have branches for a month. See that guide.
Chapter 4
The branch loop: your first levels
One tree branch can be worth about 140 XP if you carve it in the right order.
Branch into rod and handles
At level 1, carve a tree branch into a wooden rod and 4 small handles.
Handles into spoons
Carve each small handle into a wooden spoon. With the first step, that is about 60 XP from one branch.
Spoons into forks
At level 2, carve each spoon into a wooden fork. That adds about 80 more. One branch, about 140 XP.
Secret: read the book first
Carving I triples that. 1 branch becomes about 420 XP for the first 2 levels. A pile of 10 branches and a book is level 3 in an afternoon.
Watch out: level 0 has almost no recipes
At level 0 you can carve a long stick and a spear. The branch loop starts at 1. Get that first level from the spear recipe or the book and a few sticks.
Chapter 5
Handles: the crafting backbone
Nearly every crafted tool and weapon in Build 42 is a head on a handle. Carving makes the handles.
| Handle | Carving level | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Small handle | 1 | Knives, small tools, utensils |
| Medium handle | 2 | Hammers, hatchets, mid tools |
| Large or long handle | 3 | Axes, mauls, spears, rebuilding broken weapons |
Secret: a handle crate saves weapons
When an axe head survives a broken handle, Maintenance lets you fit a new one. Keep a crate of carved long handles and no weapon is ever truly lost. See the Maintenance guide.
Chapter 6
Spears
The spear is the weapon you can always make. Build 42 moved it from Carpentry to Carving.
Carve a spear
Level 0. A long stick, sapling, or a long handle like a broom or rake, plus a sharp knife or cleaver that is not dull. Look for Carve Spear in the crafting menu.
Fire harden it
A wooden spear held to a lit campfire with a knife in hand becomes a fire-hardened spear. More condition, more crits, slower wear. The recipe must be learned, from Spear skill or literature.
Bind a head on it
Tie a knife or a forged spear head to the shaft with zip ties, leather strips or twine at Maintenance 1. Or use 2 duct tape with no skill. A headed spear lasts and hits harder.
Watch out: every spear is two-handed now
Old builds let you carry spears in each hand and on your back. Not any more.
Chapter 7
Bone carving and bone armor
Bones from the butcher hook become tools and a full set of armor.
| Item | Carving level | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Bone pectoral and mask | 2 | Chest and face armor. |
| Bone gloves | 3 | Hand protection. |
| Bone needle | 4 | A sewing needle you never have to loot. See the Tailoring guide. |
| Bone forearm and shin armor | 5 | Limb protection. |
| Bone thigh and shoulder armor | 6 | The rest of the set. |
Secret: bone hooks catch fish
A carved bone hook has the same bite bonus as a store hook. See the Fishing guide.
Watch out: bone armor is heavy and hot
Great defense. Terrible in summer. Wear it for planned fights, not for foraging.
Chapter 8
Tools you can carve
Past the utensils, Carving starts making real tools.
| Item | Carving level |
|---|---|
| War hatchet head, large handle | 3 |
| Bucket, wooden spade | 4 |
| Cutting board, knitting needles, pipes | 3 to 4, players report |
| Short bat | 7 |
| Baseball bat | 9 |
Secret: a wooden spade digs clay
Clay deposits need a digging tool. A carved spade counts. See the Foraging guide.
Chapter 9
What each level unlocks
Here is the ladder players report on the current version.
| Level | Unlocks |
|---|---|
| 0 | Long stick, spear |
| 1 | Small handle, wooden rod, wooden spoon |
| 2 | Medium handle, wooden fork, bone pectoral and mask |
| 3 | Large handle, war hatchet head, bone gloves |
| 4 | Bone needle, bucket, wooden spade |
| 5 | Bone forearm and shin armor |
| 6 | Bone thigh and shoulder armor |
| 7 | Short bat |
| 9 | Baseball bat |
Watch out: this list is from a player-maintained guide
It matches the official wiki where the wiki gives numbers. Gates can move between patches. Your crafting menu is the final word.
Chapter 10
Carving for the forge
A blacksmith cannot start without a carver.
- Simple wooden tongs, a branch and a rag, 5 XP each. The first tongs a smith uses.
- Handles for every forged head: hammer, axe, knife.
- Wooden mallets and other shaping tools.
Secret: carve the tongs before you build the furnace
The Blacksmithing guide's first chapter needs wooden tongs. Make 2. They burn out.
Chapter 11
Carving for the kitchen and camp
Small things that make a base feel like a home.
- Spoons, forks, bowls for eating without loot.
- Cutting boards for cooking.
- Buckets for water and clay cement.
- Notched planks and stakes for fire starting and tents.
Chapter 12
Training plan: 0 to 10
Carving is the fastest crafting skill in the game. A book and a pile of branches does most of it.
Level 0 to 1: spears and sticks
Read Carving I. Carve long sticks and a few spears. Keep the spears. They are good weapons.
Levels 1 to 3: the branch loop
Rod and handles, spoons, forks. About 140 XP per branch, times 3 with the book. Keep every handle.
Levels 3 to 6: handles, buckets, bone
Read II and III. Large handles at 30 XP. Buckets and spades. Bone armor pieces as bones come in from the butcher hook.
Levels 6 to 10: bats
Read IV and V. Short bats at 7, baseball bats at 9, 90 XP each. You are now making weapons from scratch.
Level by level: Carving
The best single thing to do at each level. Read the matching book first when one exists.
| Level | Do this for most of your XP | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 1 | Read Carving I. Carve long sticks and spears | The only level 0 recipes |
| 1 to 2 | Branch into rod and 4 handles, handles into spoons | About 60 XP per branch |
| 2 to 3 | Spoons into forks | Another 80 per branch |
| 3 to 4 | Read Carving II. Large handles, 30 XP each | Keep them for broken weapons |
| 4 to 5 | Buckets, spades, bone needles | Useful and high XP |
| 5 to 6 | Read Carving III. Bone armor pieces | Bones from the hook |
| 6 to 7 | Thigh and shoulder armor | Finish the set |
| 7 to 8 | Read Carving IV. Short bats | Real weapons now |
| 8 to 9 | More bats and tongs for the forge | Supply the smith |
| 9 to 10 | Read Carving V. Baseball bats, 90 XP each | The top craft |
Whittling session checklist
Tools
Wood
Plan
Your ticks are saved in this browser, on this device only.
Chapter 13
Tips, tricks and fixes
20 tips from the whittling bench
Setup
- Take Whittler. 2 points, 2 levels.
- Knap a stone knife if you have no metal one.
- Forage branches with the Firewood focus.
- Read Carving I before the branch loop.
- Keep a whetstone. Some recipes want one.
Carving
- Rod, handles, spoons, forks. In that order.
- Keep every handle. Toss the forks.
- Carve spears at level 0 for weapons and XP.
- Fire harden spears at a campfire.
- Bind knife heads with duct tape for a strong spear.
- Bone needle at 4 ends your needle problem.
- Wooden spade at 4 digs clay.
Supply
- Carve 2 tongs before you build a furnace.
- Keep a crate of long handles for broken weapons.
- Bones come from the butcher hook.
- Bone armor for fights, not for chores.
- Bats at 9 are real weapons.
- Crafty or Fast Learner speed all of this.
- Check the crafting menu for exact gates.
- Carve indoors. Zombies wander.
Fix-it table
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| No carving recipes at all. | No knife. | Any sharp knife, or knap a stone one. |
| I cannot carve handles. | Level 0. | Carve spears and sticks to level 1. |
| Carve Spear is grey. | Dull knife, or no long stick. | Sharpen. Carve a long stick first. |
| Fire Harden is missing. | Recipe not learned, or no lit fire. | Level Spear skill or find the literature. Light a campfire. |
| No bone recipes. | No bones, or level below 2. | Butcher an animal. Level up. |
| Out of branches. | Foraging in the wrong zone. | Deep forest, Firewood focus. |
| The recipe wants a drill or saw. | Some do. | Loot a hand drill and a saw. |
| My spear broke fast. | Plain shaft. | Fire harden it. Bind a head on it. |
| Bone armor is making me overheat. | It is heavy and warm. | Take it off in summer. |
| Carving XP stopped. | Repeating a low recipe at high level gives little. | Move up the ladder. |
Chapter 14
Whittler's test
7 questions. Get them all right and you can carve a camp from a tree.
Chapter 15
Words and sources
Whittler's word list
- Whittle, carve
- Shaping wood or bone with a knife.
- Wooden rod
- A straight piece from a branch. The start of many recipes.
- Handle
- The wooden part a tool head fits onto. Small, medium or large.
- Long stick
- The shaft of a spear.
- Fire harden
- Toughening a spear tip in a fire.
- Bind
- Tying a head onto a shaft.
- Bone needle
- A sewing needle carved from bone.
- Stone knife
- A knapped flint blade on a handle.
How sure are we?
Every fact here was checked in September 2026 for game version 42.20.4. Order of trust: the official wiki, then well-sourced fan guides, then player reports.
- The branch loop, tongs XP and knife requirement. Confirmed on the official wiki.
- The level ladder. From a Steam Community guide for 42.20 that matches the wiki where numbers overlap.
- XP per recipe. From a fan guide citing the wiki's 42.18 pages. Approximate.
- Spear recipes and gates. From a fan guide for 42.20. The fire-harden learn rule is player-reported.
- Trait values. Whittler confirmed on the wiki. Others may change.
Sources
- PZwiki (the official wiki): Carving, Carving (crafting), Whittler
- Steam Community guide: All Crafting, Farming and Survival Skills XP Gains, Build 42.20
- Build42guide.wiki skill leveling page (XP values), citing PZwiki 42.18 pages
- Projectzomboid.wiki spears and carving guides (spear recipes, two-handed change)