Thats the one, cut or grind the pointed tip off and reprofile the external bevel, easy to do and turns the knife into a good usable tool, not one of the best, but usable, i'll show you how to do it at the next meet i get to you if you like?
1st attempt with an axe
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Thats the one, cut or grind the pointed tip off and reprofile the external bevel, easy to do and turns the knife into a good usable tool, not one of the best, but usable, i'll show you how to do it at the next meet i get to you if you like?
Dreadhead
Bushcrafter through and through
Very kind although I'm quite happy with my Orford and FGYT. I still maintain that for a beginner like Elen, to have to do anything to a knife before using it is a hassle. I'm sure with you on hand to give instruction she'd be fine (that said, I've been in your company, watching a master at work and my spoons still turn out like weapons...!)
The hand drill idea is interesting, mind, but hard work, I'd imagine
Fair enough, i'll bring a Mora spoony over to the next meet anyway as people might be interested to see how it's done and to feel the difference a few minutes effort makes to the tool.
Steady on old chap, im no master by any any stretch of the imagination, never have been, never will be, i just have a little more experience than others, as others have more experience than me, it's all about practice and having an open mind to try different things, doesn't matter if you stuff it up, make another one and chalk it up to experience, as i say to people on courses, it's not a fail if you cock it up, it's a learning experience, move on & start again, taking note of where you went astray on the previous attempt.
A tooled (i.e. unsanded) finish is for people who are good with their tools (i.e. not me). I tried a tooled finish on a spoon recently (my first attempt) and it looked like a dog had chewed the bowl. Bowl was wonky too. The sandpaper will definitely be coming out on that one.
Besides, I rather like a sanded finish, and as it is your spoon, you should go with whatever you like the look of. For me, vigorous sanding hides a great number of mistakes.
Good to see that you are having fun with my little Wildlife Hatchet Elen. It looks like you have made a good start , blister and all.
Steroid skin is difficult for this sort of repetitive work.You may find that a fine leather glove will help with the blisters.Try TKMaxx.
I agree with what has been said on crook knives/spoon knives already.I have a double sided Mora which is an evil beast which craves human blood , but if you use a carving glove on your free hand and spend lots of time making it sharper and smoother it does work ok.The steel is good and will hold a decent edge if you keep it stropped.Ben has a good video on keeping them sharp as does Nic Westermann , both of whom make fantastic blades too.You do know that the demon smith himself Dave Budd also does the odd spoonie ; and is currently short of funds having purchased a new fiery steed!
It seems a cruel injustice that the more basic the spoon knife is , the more difficulty for beginners in using and sharpening it.The handmade version is so much easier to use and to keep sharp but in one respect they are all the same ; they bite without provocation and often very deep , so have a decent cuts kit close to hand and remember that the sharper the knife is the less chance you have of it slipping and the less effort it requires to use.
I'm looking forward to the next post.
Cheers , Simon
Steroid skin is difficult for this sort of repetitive work.You may find that a fine leather glove will help with the blisters.Try TKMaxx.
I agree with what has been said on crook knives/spoon knives already.I have a double sided Mora which is an evil beast which craves human blood , but if you use a carving glove on your free hand and spend lots of time making it sharper and smoother it does work ok.The steel is good and will hold a decent edge if you keep it stropped.Ben has a good video on keeping them sharp as does Nic Westermann , both of whom make fantastic blades too.You do know that the demon smith himself Dave Budd also does the odd spoonie ; and is currently short of funds having purchased a new fiery steed!
It seems a cruel injustice that the more basic the spoon knife is , the more difficulty for beginners in using and sharpening it.The handmade version is so much easier to use and to keep sharp but in one respect they are all the same ; they bite without provocation and often very deep , so have a decent cuts kit close to hand and remember that the sharper the knife is the less chance you have of it slipping and the less effort it requires to use.
I'm looking forward to the next post.
Cheers , Simon
Ta folks for all the encouragement. Hubby is just doing the fire so we may get to coals for bowls later . Mike I really don't want to slice myself up and was thinking of a single sided Mora, can believe the cheaper kit is much harder to use.
Mark, here is a pic of the back of the spoon - poor thing!
It could feel a lot happier!
. Mike I really don't want to slice myself up and was thinking of a single sided Mora, can believe the cheaper kit is much harder to use. Mark, here is a pic of the back of the spoon - poor thing!
It could feel a lot happier!
Here's what I use, and I find it a lot easier than a spoon knife, although to be fair the two tools do slightly different jobs. The Flexcut is very good for shallow work, like spoons, but less effective as the bowl gets deeper.
Aha! I think I've got a cheapie set of those! Will go and look later. At least it's something to begin to give me a feel for working with wood.
Ta folks for all the encouragement. Hubby is just doing the fire so we may get to coals for bowls later
Mark, here is a pic of the back of the spoon - poor thing!
View attachment 15881
It could feel a lot happier!
Pm coming your way shortly Elen
I must agree with you spandit your spoons could be used as weapons, not like you bouncy axe mind as blunt as blunt can be. 
Agreed! I have a re profiled mora that I used alot with great success I have since learned to make my own knives and tend to use those now, but like Kepis said...the mora is a great little knife with a bit of work!
Having worried about pirce and been thinking about the Mora crook knife I went to look at Ben Orford's page and found this - http://www.benorford.com/OnlineBush...standard-crook-knife/PageIndex/3/Default.aspx . At £27 it's only a wee bit more expensive than the Mora on Amazon. Hmmm might well get it IDC
I have to agree with Spandit. You may as well buy one from Ben or Duncan or Dave B or Nic to start with.
The cost difference is not huge and you will use it forever , whereas the Mora will just not be good enough
when you improve a little in technique.
Better tools are always worthwhile as they are easier to use, to sharpen and to maintain.You could just get a
blade from one of the makers and handle it yourself. I have two silver steel spoonies from Nic that I handled;
one in Yew and the other in antler. Fantastic blades and good handles for my gigantic paws!
Cheers , Simon
The cost difference is not huge and you will use it forever , whereas the Mora will just not be good enough
when you improve a little in technique.
Better tools are always worthwhile as they are easier to use, to sharpen and to maintain.You could just get a
blade from one of the makers and handle it yourself. I have two silver steel spoonies from Nic that I handled;
one in Yew and the other in antler. Fantastic blades and good handles for my gigantic paws!
Cheers , Simon
I must agree with you spandit your spoons could be used as weapons, not like you bouncy axe mind as blunt as blunt can be.
At least the handle hasn't snapped...
I have never had a spoon handle snap on me, now on an axe when working hard yes twice, both handles were made by me in Oak, not a good wood for the job, I always use Ash now.
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