Would Halloween be complete without some pumpkin carving tools?  I don’t think so!  So, I’m adding these tools to my list for next year’s pumpkin carving arsenal.  We didn’t carve any of our pumpkins this year, but next year I want to be ready!

First up is the Pumpkin Gutter.  Kindly reviewed at Toolmonger.  The Pumpkin Gutter quickly removes all the strings and seeds from inside the pumpkin.  This is just great, because I hate trowelling out the seeds and strings with a spoon.  It takes forever, and the kids usually get bored and move on to other things while you’re gutting the pumpkin.  According to Toolmonger and Pumpkin Gutter, this little tool doesn’t damage the seeds, so you can still roast them!  The Pumpkin Gutter is just a bit that attaches to your drill, which (depending on your drill) can give you infinitely variable speeds when thinning out the walls of the pumpkin.  And thinner walls means easier carving!  Also, it’s dishwasher safe for easy cleanup!!!  What could be better?

Next, we have Dremel’s answer to pumpkin carving – The Dremel 764-04 Pumpkin Carving Kit.  This specialty tool from Dremel rotates at either 7000 rpm or 14000 rpm to quickly carve away the face of your pumpkin.  I think this is great, but if you’ve already got a Dremel, I’m thinking you could get a bit that would carve a pumpkin just as well, and cheaper.  You would also gain more control, since most Dremel tools vary their speeds anywhere from 5000 to 25000 rpm.  As a matter of fact, this bit looks a lot like what’s on the end of the Dremel in the Pumpkin Carving Kit!  Though, that would be better for carving away the outside of the pumpkin like R2D2 below (or read about the R2D2 pumpkin).  Carving away the outside of the pumpkin to achieve more depth of color seems to be a trend this year among pumpkin carvers.  I think one of the spiral cutting bits would be even better for cutting out holes.  So, if you’ve already got a Dremel (or think you’ll need one for other projects), just buy a bit and download free pumpkin carving templates from the internet.

Do you have any pumpkin carving tips?UPDATE: Merriweather shows off the tools used to carve R2D2! I think I just found a new blog to read!