Gear guide
Best Speedball Linocut Kits: Which Box Has What
Picked from Amazon listings, not hands-on tests. How we pick
Top picks at a glance
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Closest match for the job
Speedball 4131 lino cutter set, 5 cutters and handle
Contains one each of the #1, #2, #3, #5 and #6 lino cutters, which covers a small V, a large V, a small U, a large U and a knife.
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Most for the money on paper
Speedball 2-handle kit with 6 lino cutters
Six lino cutters, #1 through #6, so it adds the #4 square U that the five-cutter assortment leaves out.
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Most complete listing
Speedball Deluxe block printing kit 3472
Includes both a soft Speedy-Carve block and a mounted linoleum block, so you can try both materials from one box.
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Speedball sells its linocut gear as several kits with similar names, and the difference is in what sits inside the box. All of them use the same red lino handle with a twist-off end for storing push-in cutters, so the cutters themselves are not the deciding point. What changes is the rest: whether you get ink, and if so whether it is water-soluble ink for paper or fabric ink for T-shirts and totes; whether the brayer is soft or hard rubber; whether a bench hook or a baren is included; and whether you get a soft Speedy-Carve block, a mounted gray linoleum block or nothing to carve at all. This guide lists six Speedball kits by those contents, as each listing states them, and names what each box leaves out so you know what else to buy. Nothing here was tested: it is a comparison of the listings.
Compare the picks
- Speedball 4131 lino cutter set, 5 cutters and handle
- Speedball 2-handle kit with 6 lino cutters
- Speedball Deluxe block printing kit 3472
Speedball block printing fabric starter kit, 7 pieces
Speedball Deluxe Linocut Block Printing Kit
Speedball Block Printing Tool Set
Facts are taken from each Amazon listing. Prices are checked daily and shown with their date.
The picks in detail
Pick 1 · Speedball
Speedball 4131 lino cutter set, 5 cutters and handle
See price on AmazonThe standard Speedball starter set: one red plastic handle and five cutters, #1 small V, #2 large V, #3 small U, #5 large U and #6 knife. It covers lines, clearing and edges for a first linocut.
What the listing offers
- Contains one each of the #1, #2, #3, #5 and #6 lino cutters, which covers a small V, a large V, a small U, a large U and a knife.
- The hand-adjustable metal chuck changes cutters without tools, and the twist-off end of the handle stores them.
- Listed for linoleum, Speedy-Cut, Speedy-Carve and other hard and soft blocks; designed and made in the USA.
Limits to know
- Speedball numbers are shape codes, not sizes: the listing gives no blade width in mm and names no steel.
- One handle only, so every change of cut means swapping the cutter, and the #4 square U is not included.
Pick 2 · Speedball
Speedball 2-handle kit with 6 lino cutters
See price on AmazonThe larger Speedball kit: six cutters, #1 to #6, and two storage handles in red and blue. With two handles you can keep a V tool and a U gouge mounted and switch without changing blades.
What the listing offers
- Six lino cutters, #1 through #6, so it adds the #4 square U that the five-cutter assortment leaves out.
- Two hard plastic handles, red and blue, let you keep two cutters mounted and switch between them.
- Both handles have storage compartments with removable end caps and a quick-change metal chuck; made in the USA.
Limits to know
- No blade widths in mm and no steel type are stated; the numbers are Speedball shape codes only.
- The same push-in cutters as the smaller assortment: thin blades that are usually replaced, not resharpened.
Pick 3 · Speedball
Speedball Deluxe block printing kit 3472
See price on AmazonThe big Speedball kit: lino handle and cutters, a Speedy-Carve block, a mounted linoleum block, a brayer, a bench hook and water-soluble inks in black (75cc), red, yellow and blue with extender. The only kit here with a mounted linoleum block and a bench hook.
What the listing offers
- Includes both a soft Speedy-Carve block and a mounted linoleum block, so you can try both materials from one box.
- Four water-soluble inks (black 75cc, red, yellow, blue), described as archival, plus a water-soluble ink extender.
- A bench hook is in the kit, and the hard plastic handle has a hand-adjustable metal chuck and stores cutters in its twist-off end.
Limits to know
- The listing does not say how many cutters are included or what size the two blocks are.
- No baren and no paper are named in the listing, so plan on a wooden spoon and a pad of printmaking paper.
Pick 4 · Speedball
Speedball block printing fabric starter kit, 7 pieces
See price on AmazonA 7 piece starter: 1.25 oz (32 ml) black fabric block printing ink, a hard rubber pop-in brayer, a lino handle with #1, #2 and #5 cutters and one 4 x 6 in Speedy-Carve block. Aimed at T-shirts and totes, with no baren or paper.
What the listing offers
- The listing spells out every piece: 1.25 oz black fabric ink, hard rubber pop-in brayer, lino handle, #1, #2 and #5 cutters, 4 x 6 in Speedy-Carve.
- Cutters #1, #2 and #5 are Speedball's small V, large V and large U, which covers lines and clearing.
- Blades arrive stored inside the handle, and the removable end of the comfort-grip handle keeps them there between sessions.
Limits to know
- The ink is fabric block printing ink in a small 1.25 oz tube: a beginner printing on paper may want water-soluble block ink as well.
- One block, no baren and no paper: the kit covers a first print on fabric and little more.
Pick 5 · Speedball
Speedball Deluxe Linocut Block Printing Kit
See price on AmazonA 14 piece fabric kit: four 1.25 oz fabric block printing inks (black, blue, red, white), a 4 in hard rubber pop-in brayer, a bench hook, a lino handle with cutters, and 3 x 4 in and 4 x 6 in Speedy-Carve blocks.
What the listing offers
- Four colors of fabric block printing ink, so a first T-shirt or tote can go beyond black without buying more ink.
- Two Speedy-Carve block sizes, 3 x 4 in and 4 x 6 in, which carve easily and suit small motifs and stamps.
- Bench hook doubles as an inking plate, so the block is held against the edge while you carve and the ink rolls out on the same piece.
Limits to know
- The ink is fabric ink in small 1.25 oz tubes: anyone printing mostly on paper will want water-soluble block ink as well.
- The brayer is hard rubber and no baren is listed, so printing on paper by hand means a spoon or a separate baren.
Pick 6 · Speedball
Speedball Block Printing Tool Set
See price on AmazonThe tools without the consumables: a bench hook and inking plate, a #49 soft rubber pop-in brayer, a lino handle with #1, #2, #3, #5 and #6 cutters, and a Red Baron baren. Bring your own ink and blocks.
What the listing offers
- Has the full assortment of five cutters, from the #1 small V for lines to the #5 large U for clearing and the #6 knife for cutting out stamps.
- A soft rubber brayer and a Red Baron baren in one box: the two tools most kits leave out or skimp on for printing by hand.
- Nothing in it runs out, so it suits someone who already has ink and blocks, or wants to choose them separately.
Limits to know
- No ink and no block are listed in the contents, although one feature bullet mentions inks: budget for both before the first print.
- One handle for five cutters, so moving between outlining and clearing means swapping the cutter in the chuck each time.
More gear for the tools and setup stage
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