Carving a Spoon (Novice)

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Stringmaker

Native
Sep 6, 2010
1,891
1
UK
Yep, that's all there is to it.

You need enough on the cloth/tissue to make it wet; I usually recharge the cloth once or twice for each complete coat of oil.
 

THOaken

Native
Jan 21, 2013
1,299
1
30
England(Scottish Native)
First coat is drying now. I like the colour. Would prefer a rich brown but the yellow is nice and it really brings out the grain. It's very nice to think that my spoon was once a branch of hazel.
 

Ivan...

Ex member
Jul 28, 2011
1,771
0
Dartmoor
First coat is drying now. I like the colour. Would prefer a rich brown but the yellow is nice and it really brings out the grain. It's very nice to think that my spoon was once a branch of hazel.

Well done Pal, really well done, see you didn't need all those poncey vids on You Tube, you just needed to ask the boys on here.

Good old feeling isn't it?

Ivan...
 

mountainm

Bushcrafter through and through
Jan 12, 2011
9,990
12
Selby
www.mikemountain.co.uk
Wet the tissue before you bin it - not really necessary in the winter but a good habit to get into. Linseed oil soaked rags are prone to spontaneous combustion if the conditions are right.
 
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THOaken

Native
Jan 21, 2013
1,299
1
30
England(Scottish Native)
Second coat has been applied. One thing I'm not so happy with about this spoon is that the lip is actually rather bulbous. When I look at other people's spoons the lip is thin which is how a spoon should be both functionally and aesthetically. I really should've carved away at the bowl and made the lip thinner underneath. That and the twisted handle. Oh well I'm still happy with my efforts and it was very fun to make.
 
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Stringmaker

Native
Sep 6, 2010
1,891
1
UK
Second coat has been applied. One thing I'm not so happy with about this spoon is that the lip is actually rather bulbous. When I look at other people's spoons the lip is thin which is how a spoon should be both functionally and aesthetically. I really should've carved away at the bowl and made the lip thinner underneath. That and the twisted handle, oh well I'm still happy with my efforts and it was very fun to make.

The more spoons you make the better you will become at it; trust me now you've started you will always want to have one on the go.
 

Stringmaker

Native
Sep 6, 2010
1,891
1
UK
Wet the tissue before you bin it - not really necessary in the winter but a good habit to get into. Linseed oil soaked rags are prone to spontaneous combustion if the conditions are right.

That is apparently exactly what happened to Tutankhamun; the embalmers didn't let the oiled wrappings dry out properly.
 

Two Socks

Settler
Jan 27, 2011
750
0
Norway
You could keep applying coats untill the wood stops absorbing, but I think 3/4 coats should be fine. If you want to be sure it has had enough submerge it in oil for a night and then wipe off the excess and let it dry.
 

THOaken

Native
Jan 21, 2013
1,299
1
30
England(Scottish Native)
You could keep applying coats untill the wood stops absorbing, but I think 3/4 coats should be fine. If you want to be sure it has had enough submerge it in oil for a night and then wipe off the excess and let it dry.

I didn't realise you needed to apply so many coats. My spoon is already looking rather yellow, but I guess I can put a third on.
 

THOaken

Native
Jan 21, 2013
1,299
1
30
England(Scottish Native)
Not only have I sanded and oiled one spoon today, I picked up the first hazel spoon I made again. Remember that spoon with the split that stopped me from finishing it and making the bowl? It transpired, somehow, that the split healed and I've just started carving the bowl. I liked this first attempt a lot more than the second, and guess what? It doesn't have a twisted handle and I've carved a nice thin lip on it. That'll be my second proper spoon! I didn't know splits could heal...
 
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Two Socks

Settler
Jan 27, 2011
750
0
Norway
Splits never really heal, so I wonder where it went :confused: It can be that it was a shallow split and that it has shrunk back together. I have some spoons with a partial split in them that seem to keep up well, but most of the time after getting them wet a couple of times it shows up again. For now if it seems fine: great! Two spoons in a week! :cool:
 
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THOaken

Native
Jan 21, 2013
1,299
1
30
England(Scottish Native)
[video=youtube_share;i6avVi7g4vo]http://youtu.be/i6avVi7g4vo[/video]

Unfortunately it appears I carved too deep on the spoon that's not oiled and there's a very thin section which might puncture from sanding tomorrow. It's only a small section, however. Lesson learned.

I'm just pretty chuffed with the progress I've been making so far.

Thanks again, BCUK. :You_Rock_
 
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THOaken

Native
Jan 21, 2013
1,299
1
30
England(Scottish Native)
He29ifT.jpg


Spoon 1, "the good one", has been sanded! I'm really rather proud of this. Shame about the thinness (you can see through some parts of the bowl if you hold it up to the light), but at least it didn't puncture.

What do you think? I'll oil this soon and post a photo of both of them completed tomorrow. :)
 
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THOaken

Native
Jan 21, 2013
1,299
1
30
England(Scottish Native)
Nice work!

See how far you've come already?
Thank you, Stringmaker. Yes, it certainly has shown me it's better just to go for it. I could've given up due to the disastrous birch attempt, but I didn't. And for this one I was afraid that the split would snap bowl, but because I took a gamble I now have a second spoon, and I like it a lot.
 

Stringmaker

Native
Sep 6, 2010
1,891
1
UK
Thank you, Stringmaker. Yes, it certainly has shown me it's better just to go for it. I could've given up due to the disastrous birch attempt, but I didn't. And for this one I was afraid that the split would snap bowl, but because I took a gamble I now have a second spoon, and I like it a lot.

That is a fundamental point you've made there about learning craft skills or anything for that matter; try it and see what happens.

I also bet that you will never lose, break or throw them away because of the memories they will invoke.

goodjob
 

THOaken

Native
Jan 21, 2013
1,299
1
30
England(Scottish Native)
Regarding finishing with oil, I'm still a little confused. There seems to be many different guidelines on how many coats you need and how long you should wait. I put 4 coats on my first spoon over the course of the day, yesterday, and let it dry overnight. It seems fine, but is there another way of doing this, a more efficient way? I want to get it right for this new spoon. Thanks.
 
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