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Some very talented DIY people here...but spoons?

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I started with spoons to train my knife-skills, but somehow got a bit addicted to carving them. And I don`t really know why. I carve other things like pegs or potstands when I need them, but when I carve for the sake of carving (and I do that quite a bit) it always comes back to spoons. It is a nice thing to do. A small project that is completed quickly, offers a lot of different grips and techniques to use and gives you the nice feeling that you get from making things in general. Whats not to like? :)
 
Is it just the same as any other skills.... you use them and practice them... just another one that some of use like, and does it really matter what you do.. as long as your enjoying it.... and as far as the argument that we use to use animal Horn... what happens when you have not got Horn to make it from.....

Three posts in four years... do something join in, put something in to the Forum, and you may find out what we like about it....

Perhaps you would like to show some of your skills.......
 
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As has been mentioned, it's great practice of knife skills and it's fun. I've got the very first spoon I carved - an ugly club of a thing - and it is useful to see that I have got better at making them over the years. There's also the challenge of making them in different shapes - ordinary, Scandinavian, Galician, Roman - whatever takes your fancy - and, of course varying the size of them. I find that carving them also gives you a better insight to the qualities of different woods and, lest we forget, it leads on to other, more advanced projects like bowls, kuksas and whatever else.
 
For me it is the pleasure of making something unique, it's as simple as that.

Along the way though, I have learned a huge amount about the characteristics of different woods which has made me look at the tree through different eyes.

When you've cut the wood, split it, de-barked it, roughed it out and then chipped, cut and scraped away at it, you have invested something of yourself in both the process of creation and the final object. In a world where everything can be bought and discarded it is a very rewarding exercise.

The spoon is almost incidental; it is the journey of learning and appreciation along the way.
 
Stringmaker said:
For me it is the pleasure of making something unique, it's as simple as that.

Along the way though, I have learned a huge amount about the characteristics of different woods which has made me look at the tree through different eyes.

When you've cut the wood, split it, de-barked it, roughed it out and then chipped, cut and scraped away at it, you have invested something of yourself in both the process of creation and the final object. In a world where everything can be bought and discarded it is a very rewarding exercise.

The spoon is almost incidental; it is the journey of learning and appreciation along the way.
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+1

:)
 
It's how I learnt to carve using lots of different techniques. Those techniques have translated into other things, but I still see development in my ability by carving another spoon. Also it takes a small amount of wood, is quick to do, very personal and makes a great gift for people. I've made about 6 or 7 that I've given away and not one of them is used as a spoon, rather kept as an ornament.

I guess I see a bit of artistic beauty in creating them and enjoy sitting round a camp fire with friends playing with wood. Yes, we could do wood spirits, and that would be a good progression, but at the moment I'm happy spooning.

I didn't know Ray Mears was noted for doing them when I did my course, I just find it a fun thing to do.

Anyway, my next big project is going to be carving a canoe paddle, which to be honest is just a big spatular at the end of the day.
 
Maybe it's a way to get use out of those £200+ knives people like to buy?

Or maybe it's a gateway to bigger and more elaborate things?
 
Yup, all the positive things already said about spoon making. And quite a bit of the questioning. For me it's also that every piece of wood is different and will often throw up something to challenge you. Plus the pleasure of watching the grain come to life as you work. Granted, this is true of most carving. Maybe it's the relative quickness that makes the difference.

Cheers,
Leif
 
Consider this, in the UK we can't go about cutting down trees with huge axes, making big shelters and shooting mooses for dinner. So the main uses of a knife here are to craft small things for use around the camp site. i.e spoons, bowls, baskets etc.

This is also the reason why people of this fine island prefer smaller knives, unlike our colonial offspring who love a rambo esque knife and all the fluff that goes with it.
 
I do it as I like to hone my skills, excuse the obvious pun, I have now got to the stage where I don not need to use sandpaper to finish them off, also it is therapeutic and whiles away the time when relaxing out in the woods.
By the way Alex, I am a spoon carver who lives in Brighton and Hove City.
 
rik-uk3, I live in Western Canada. Edmonton Alberta. This is a very fine part of the country, great for bushcrafting. All the bushcraftuk folks are more than welcome to visit, you won't be disapointed...and you can all bring your spoons! ;)
Hugo, would love to visit Brighton one day. I just found out that my great grandparents owned a hotel on the waterfront in town, but unsure of it's name. Family history is fun. Used to listen to my nan talk about when she was a little girl going down to the fishmongers to pick up fish for the hotel meals...a bygone era I guess.
Cheers
Alex
 
huntergathereralex said:
Hi everyone. I've been looking through the DIY threads, and gotta say, there are some very talented folks here making beautiful useful bushcrafty items, but I've noticed a plethora of carved wooden spoons folks make, EVERYWHERE. :dunno: Now, my family is three generations removed from Brighton(we all migrated to Canada), and things may be lost in 'translation', but what's the big fascination with carving wood spoons? In all humility I'm perplexed.
Help me out with this odd cultural trait. Welly's, Brelly's, and chip buddies I understand, but spoons?:slap:
Cheers
Alex
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hi my friend
i'm wih you i don't get it i can buy three spoons from poundland for guess what one pound
lol
 
huntergathereralex said:
rik-uk3, I live in Western Canada. Edmonton Alberta. This is a very fine part of the country, great for bushcrafting. All the bushcraftuk folks are more than welcome to visit, you won't be disapointed...and you can all bring your spoons! ;)
Hugo, would love to visit Brighton one day. I just found out that my great grandparents owned a hotel on the waterfront in town, but unsure of it's name. Family history is fun. Used to listen to my nan talk about when she was a little girl going down to the fishmongers to pick up fish for the hotel meals...a bygone era I guess.
Cheers
Alex
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Brighton is Britains gayest sea side resort these days! home to several many celebrities and hordcore homo erotic night clubs..

Yeah.. I'd rather make a spoon than go there any day of the week! ;)
 
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