First Spoon

[mick miller]

Well, inspired by all the workmanship on here and armed with a fresh lump of beech rescued from the hands of the forestry firestarters on this weeks woodland wander I have managed to carve my first spoon!

Using nowt more than a cheapo axe (please no requests for pedigree, it's from screwfix) a Frost's Mora and a Frost's Crook Knife (arrived 5pm today) I have managed to fashion this little beauty, okay so the handles a little wobbly and its not going to win any awards for symmetry but I kinda like it, no actually I love it.

Apparently beech has antibacterial properties too, although I'm not too sure about that, I do know that the tight grain was a little bit of a pig to work with and being green wood maybe didn't help. But it's all a learning curve and I'm quite pleased with the 6 hours it tooks to get from log to elegant spoon.

I sealed it with a little extra virgin olive oil. Thanks for looking!

 

[andy_e]

Nice one MM, has lots of character.

 

[Schwert]

Nice. Fun and addictive is how I rate working with found wood. You are just certain there is a spoon in there somewhere....and it is nice when it shows itself.

Good work.

 

[Earlyturtle]

Great spoon there, and especially for a first go (mine looked like I tried making it with my eyes closed and my hands behind my back). Love the shape where the handle runs into the bowl.
I think wood quite often has antibacterial properties, and Id've thought the wood being green would be more of a help than a hindrance.
Mike

 

[mick miller]

Thanks, it definitely has character, I did very much enjoy the whole process although my numptie use of the crook knife has left me with a numb forefinger, it's been numb for about 4 hours now so I'm really rather hoping I get the feeling back soon, there's yet another lump sitting in the bucket out the back, I got a feeling I need a teaspoon too and a working finger would be nice.

I love the way that the errors and their workarounds during carving make the whole process very organic, the wood dictates to some extent the eventual shape. Not having a natural leaning towards woodwork I'm really quite bouyed up by the result (its erm, actually usable!).

 

[hiraeth]

Nice spoon there Mick, well done ,time sounds about right with my first spoon, includes a lot of oohs and ahhs .

 

[Hoodoo]

I think ya got the hang of it right off the bat.

 

[SOAR]

Nice looking spoon Mick, love the handle its got a very elegant shape to it.

 

[mick miller]

Thank you all for your kind words of encouragement. I spent this evening carving another, this one is slightly straighter with a fatter end so I can get a hole and leather cord through, the spoon is much shallower as I found the first one a little deep for soups.

I managed to get it nailed in 5 hours, so getting quicker although its still tough going just using the Mora once the axe has got the rough shape, that may be due in part to the material (Beech), apparently not the best wood for beginners.

I'll post some piccies tomorrow, thanks for all the inspirational posts that led me to trying spoon carving, a bowl is next on the agenda I think.

 

[mick miller]

And here's the one I made yesterday, straighter, shallow bowl with a little flattened and tapered end to help steady the spoon on level surfaces.

 

[DoctorSpoon]

Beech can be quite fibrous, if you can get something like alder, willow or poplar you'll find they are really easy to carve with. Whatever the wood I find it is best to do the rough shaping when it's really green then leave it for a day or two to dry out before doing finer cuts to finish it.

 

[mick miller]

Thanks Doctor, I must say I'm a complete newbie when it comes to wood let alone carving so any tips are gratefully received. I used beech because thats what had been cut down by the forestry management, it was all destined for a bonfire so at least I managed to make use of some of it, I did find the carving hard going though and I know the woodland mainly comprises of beech, birch, alder and hornbeam with the occasional hazel but they're very thin on the ground, so I'll keep an eye out for some Alder trimmings and try a bit of that.

Is silver birch any good? There's loads of that otherwise an old willow by my local lake may be making a donation, a few gnarled & broken lower branches (which look dead) could do with tidy up anyway.

Poplar is the wood clogs are made from if my memory serves me correctly. As I remember it can hold a lot of water when green/ fresh, I remember one of those tacky clog making demos, the guy carved the clog wet then blew into the opening (sealing the clog against his face), the water literally ran out of the thing!

 

[DoctorSpoon]

Birch is also an excellent spoon wood and relatively easy to carve, but not as easy as alder. Here's one I just made out of birch:

The log it came from had a natural curve which means you don't get short grain at the tip of the spoon so it's stronger.

Clogs were traditionally made out of alder mostly, although there were some other regional variations; the Welsh liked sycamore and in some parts of Scotland they favoured birch. Sounds impressive seeing the clog maker blowing the moisture out of the wood like that!

 

[Matt Weir]

Nice one Mick

 

[Celt_Ginger]

Very nice spoons. I used a frosts spoon knife a few times and also got the numb finger. I reciently got a Djarv spoon knife and had no numb finger. I got a blooming blister on my fore finger instead!!

 

[mick miller]

Fingertip still slightly numb. Thanks Doctor Spoon, I'll make sure I gather some birch on my next visit and give that a try, also I'll try your tip of hewing out the rough shape then leaving for a few days to dry.

I think I'm a long way from your standard though, maybe in a few more years eh? Although, I'm enjoying the learning process immensely.

 

[kippers]

nice spoons! i tried my hand at carving a spoon at the weekend for the first time, it was quite relaxing and a challenge since i have only ever worked with metal since im a fabricator. i finally finished mine but didnt have a scoop to finish it off so had to use the tip of my knife. not as tidy as yours as i must say, but still very satisfying. gonna try a chest of draws next

 

[Schwert]

This is a blank I hacked out of a birch crook last night. Birch is a rare wood for me around here. This chunk came from a neighbor's ornamental tree. This is wrapped in green shaving ready for shaping this weekend. I hope this one works out.

I like that new one Mick.

 

[GreenmanBushcraft]

Looks very good! Well done mate.

Kris

 

[Schwert]

This one is nearly finished. I decided to not sand this one. This was from a birch crotch and the handle was starting to spalt.

I just took this out of the flax oil. I have a few small refining cuts to make and I want to thin the bowl just a bit more.