dish and ladle

[robin wood]

Been working on a couple of commissions this week. First a big dish for English Heritage. They are recreating medieval interiors at Dover Castle, Time Team are filming the project. I did them a load of bowls and mazers earlier but they had a last minute request for a big dish to put a boars head on. It took me a while to find any sort of precedent, there are no surviving medieval boards head dishes not surprisingly. The nearest I got was 200 years earlier, smaller and in Oslo but better having something to base it on than nothing at all. We liked this one because it had chevron chip carving round the rim, a motif found on contemporary stonework locally. Any way here is the Oseberg plate

and here is my scaled up version in progress, because they wanted it quick I had to use dry wood and the only bit I had big enough was a 2" whitebeam board I milled a couple of years ago, it was rock hard.

I ground an old chisel to a finely beveled skew and it did a great quick job of the chip carving, first time I have done it.

The other commission was for a soup ladle but the birch crook I made it from was huge and I am not sure if it is going to finish up too big for a domestic ladle or not, here it is roughed out, I'll let it dry a couple of days before finishing.

and another to show the scale

 

[Gailainne]

Robin I can feel the blisters rising on my hands just looking at that first picture, the texture of the bowl is wonderful tho, the zigzag motif must have taken an age to do.

That's a proper portion ladle if ever I saw one nice one.

Lovely work

Cheers

Stephen

 

[lou1661]

Both brilliant Robin. Just one question though, where did you find the minature apple?

Cheers
Lou

 

[robin wood]

Both brilliant Robin. Just one question though, where did you find the minature apple?

Cheers
Lou

You found me out, actually it's a cherry....not.

 

[robin wood]

Robin I can feel the blisters rising on my hands just looking at that first picture, the texture of the bowl is wonderful tho, the zigzag motif must have taken an age to do.

That's a proper portion ladle if ever I saw one nice one.

Lovely work

Cheers

Stephen

Each triangle is 3 quick cuts, one down another to meet it and then a sideways slice to remove the waste. Still takes a while though.

 

[Toddy]

Beatuiful Robin, really special

I have a wooden ladle not quite as big as that one, it's a really useful tool

cheers,
M

 

[firecrest]

absolutely fantastic Robin! Its no wonder you are able to make a living in woodwork, your stuff is always top notch.

 

[Bravo4]

Each triangle is 3 quick cuts, one down another to meet it and then a sideways slice to remove the waste. Still takes a while though.

Hello robin wood, thanks for posting your work. I very much enjoy your threads here .
Do you use just one tool to make all 3 cuts? The reason I ask is that I happen to be (a very interested newbie) reading E.J. Tangerman's "Whittling and Woodcarving" and there is a description of this type of work being done with a "sticking" knife and a "splitting" knife. I have something like a sticking knife but not the other. Guess I should just give it a try but am curious to know if there is a blade shape that is best suited for this type of carving.

 

[robin wood]

Hello robin wood, thanks for posting your work. I very much enjoy your threads here .
Do you use just one tool to make all 3 cuts? The reason I ask is that I happen to be (a very interested newbie) reading E.J. Tangerman's "Whittling and Woodcarving" and there is a description of this type of work being done with a "sticking" knife and a "splitting" knife. I have something like a sticking knife but not the other. Guess I should just give it a try but am curious to know if there is a blade shape that is best suited for this type of carving.

Small scale chip carving is normally done with one short straight bladed knife. This wood was too hard and the chips quite large that was why I ground the chisel shown in the pic, just used that tool for all 3 cuts. As I said I am no expert it's the first time I did chip carving.

 

[Shewie]

Great work Robin

 

[robin wood]

absolutely fantastic Robin! Its no wonder you are able to make a living in woodwork, your stuff is always top notch.

Thanks Lindsey. Your work is equally top notch, making a living from it involves a lot of other stuff as well as just making nice things though, it's always the selling that is difficult for craftsfolk and artists, you put a bit of yourself into everything you make so selling it is not like selling commodities that you bought in, never easy.

 

[Bravo4]

You guys are setting the bar pretty high; I'll have to show some of my firsts, lower that bar a bit. I just went and gave it a try, not too pretty but I now understand how it is done at least. The little knife I have seems to work well. Fun

 

[Scoffham]

Great Work Robin, I've become a quite the fan of your work, and found it to be an inspiration. Look forward to seeing the finished platter.