I am going camping this weekend and am thinking of making a spoon by way of burning. Can anyone provide any insight into this? How is it done? Thanks
Ember burned spoon
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Hi Joe,
Carve your spoon all except the bowl or hollow part. Then get a small coal (golf ball size or smaller) out of the fire, place it at the center of the spoon bowl, blow to heat the coal. You may have to hold the coal in place with a green stick or a metal tent stake. Don't use your knife to handle the coal as it will heat the metal and over temper the blade, making it too soft. Roll the coal around and keep blowing it. Get a new coal when it burns down too small.
As the wood gets charred it will get to a point when the charring protects the wood from further burning. You will have to scrape the charred wood out of the spoon to be able to burn it any deeper.
Keep working at it and soon you will have a deep bowl in the spoon. You can find a good small round rock to grind or smooth the wood and remove the charred wood from the surface of the spoon. Then rub some oil into it to protect it.
Carve your spoon all except the bowl or hollow part. Then get a small coal (golf ball size or smaller) out of the fire, place it at the center of the spoon bowl, blow to heat the coal. You may have to hold the coal in place with a green stick or a metal tent stake. Don't use your knife to handle the coal as it will heat the metal and over temper the blade, making it too soft. Roll the coal around and keep blowing it. Get a new coal when it burns down too small.
As the wood gets charred it will get to a point when the charring protects the wood from further burning. You will have to scrape the charred wood out of the spoon to be able to burn it any deeper.
Keep working at it and soon you will have a deep bowl in the spoon. You can find a good small round rock to grind or smooth the wood and remove the charred wood from the surface of the spoon. Then rub some oil into it to protect it.
Eric_Methven
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
I agree with eveything that Weaver said. Just to add a bit though, I found it easier to be able to concentrate the blowing through a hollow reed (or straw, or metal arrow shaft). That way you can focus the heat exactly where you want it. Also, when it starts to burn wood out near the edge of the spoon bowl, a little snake or worm shape made from clay or mud, wrapped around the very edge of the bowl will protect the edge so you can get a deeper burn in the middle of the bowl.
Eric
Eric
woodwalker
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jon r said:
It probably would work slowly (depending on how hot the rock is, but you won't be able to blow on it to make it burn hotter.
Probably would work for boiling water though, in the bowl you have just burned out with your ember!
woodwalker
Eric_Methven
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
brancho said:
Yes you can burn out bowls using this method. Burls are best for bowl burning. If you want, you can even make a dugout canoe using this method. It's what our distant ancestors did before metal tools were available. They used flint to scrape away the charred bits and clay to protect the bits they didn't want burned.
Eric
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