How to make a kuksa

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alick

Settler
Aug 29, 2003
632
0
Northwich, Cheshire
I'm having a go at carving a couple of bowls out of birch and want to use the traditional method of "seasoning" a kuksa when I finish so that I can use them for drinking from.

I've figured that these traditional cups must be carved from green wood, then boiled in salt water to help stop them splitting and finally finished with a vegetable oil.

Does anyone know more of the details ? How strong the salt solution should be, how long to boil them, how long to dry before oiling and if oil should be rubbed on or the cup actually soaked in it ?

Thanks
 

Gary

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Apr 17, 2003
2,603
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from Essex
Parafin and salt is what the Kuksa I sell are finished in but I dont know the mix other than you can taste the salt quite alot when new.
 

alick

Settler
Aug 29, 2003
632
0
Northwich, Cheshire
Salt and Paraffin are what I'd always heard too - I'm kind of dubious about paraffin for a drinking cup but vaseline is another petroleum derivative and that's not too vile :-D

The comment about kuksa and tuber mugs on this site

http://www.finspirit.fi/tuotteet_en.htm (and follow the link)

is where I first heard about boiling in salt water. This starts to make sense of where the salt comes in - boiling in salt water would have the effect of purging the green timber before the vegetable oil or paraffin/paraffin wax was used to seal the wood.

Cheers
 

Stuart

Full Member
Sep 12, 2003
4,141
50
**********************
you should have asked this question a few days earlier!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm in finnland now and just spent the last few days in lapland visiting kuksa makers!!!!!!!!! I didnt ask about the ration of the mix though!!!!!!
 

Keith_Beef

Native
Sep 9, 2003
1,366
268
55
Yvelines, north-west of Paris, France.
alick said:
I'm having a go at carving a couple of bowls out of birch and want to use the traditional method of "seasoning" a kuksa when I finish so that I can use them for drinking from.

I've figured that these traditional cups must be carved from green wood, then boiled in salt water to help stop them splitting and finally finished with a vegetable oil.

Does anyone know more of the details ? How strong the salt solution should be, how long to boil them, how long to dry before oiling and if oil should be rubbed on or the cup actually soaked in it ?

Thanks

I had some advice about this from Juha (Sajuma on BB).

The traditional wood is birch burl, a bit bigger than the size of your fist.
Cut it in early spring, when the sap starts to flow.
You soak it in salt water for a week, then start by boring a small hole in the middle with your puukko.

Then with a pair of pliers, pull away the fibres to enlarge the hole until you get the right wall thickness, then sand inside and out.

Prepare the inside by filling with cognac, and let it soak. Be careful of evaporation.

Finally, seal the wood with linseed oil, paraffin or beeswax.

The ultimate test, apparently, is to pour boiling water into it. If it holds, great! If not, tough luck!

The alternative method is to take dry wood. I think you bury the piece fo wood in a bag of salt for a week, to draw out any moisture. Drill a series of holes and then carve these out to the required shape. Finish by sanding, as above.

Finally, treat with linseed oil, paraffin or beeswax. Then "fill it with Cognac, Brandy, Vodka and then face north, look for North star and drink up"...

I found a site that I think sells kuksa blanks. Well, everything is in Finnish, but I think[/] that's what I found :D


Keith.
 

Gary

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Apr 17, 2003
2,603
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from Essex
Seems a little long winded to me but I know Kuksa have a lot of tradition associated with them so just maybe that is the case.

It would certainly account for their cost being so high and for the fact they are so highly treasured when given as gifts.
 

MartiniDave

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Aug 29, 2003
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Cambridgeshire
I wonder if a drying routine - or rather a lack of it - is why my attempts to carve spoons from green cherry wood fail due to splitting of the workpiece. The ones in standing dead cedar come out fine. Any thoughts anybody?

Dave
 

Gary

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Apr 17, 2003
2,603
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from Essex
Probably - if using fruit woods (apple) I usually carve the blank then leave it at least over night in a warm airy place before before finishing it.

When you say splitting do you mean small cracks or do you mean major ones?

Do you treat your spoons with anything once finished?
 

MartiniDave

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Aug 29, 2003
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Cambridgeshire
Gary,

The cherry wood splits quite badly, usually when left overnight in a roughed out state.
The cedar ones I've rubbed over with sesame oil, which darkens quite nicely with time. Perhaps I should oil the cherry blanks with veg oil or similar to prevent the splitting?

Dave
 

Gary

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Apr 17, 2003
2,603
2
57
from Essex
Dont think that would help - cherry does split quite badly on the ends where its cut when sawn off - i think your only hope there is to season your wood and to collect a blank twice as big as the spoon you hope to make.

Or go for a more forgiving material.

Sesame oil is my fav too I use roasted sesame oil it smell good as well!
 

Viking

Settler
Oct 1, 2003
961
1
47
Sweden
www.nordicbushcraft.com
Found this site taht shows how a Kuksa or kåsa as we say. The most important thing is that it dries slowly that is why some use salt. The drying can take up to 7 weeks. Then it´s time to sandpaper it, wet it so that the fibres raise and then sandpaper again (use a very fine sandpaper). When you are done you use parrafin or other food friendly oil.

The site is in swedish but might give you a idea how to do it
http://www.yle.fi/matochfritid/hobby.php?id=121
 

MartiniDave

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Aug 29, 2003
2,355
130
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Cambridgeshire
Cheers Gary, I'll give the bigger seasoned blanks a try. Must get down the wood and obtain some silver birch.

I love the smell of the roasted sesame oil too.

Dave
 

alick

Settler
Aug 29, 2003
632
0
Northwich, Cheshire
Interesting stuff ! I've been working away on my blanks over a few days and find that just leaving the unfinished work around a warm house is drying it quite quickly. This makes it harder to work. It's not trivial even though I have a good edge on the woodlore and GB mini that i'm using.

Dave - I'm seeing the same effect as with your cherry spoons - About three days in, the end grain of my birch is showing some significant splits as it dries. This attempt is probably dead.

Lesson - get on with the job and keep the wood wet while you're doing it.

Keith - thanks for the info from Juha - it's really helpful. I wouldn't have thought to soak the timber blank before shaping it. Salt obviously keeps it from going rank.

Must admit that packing the wood in salt to dry before shaping seems a little odd but hey - another thing to try !

Viking - great - thanks for your link !

Alick
 

alick

Settler
Aug 29, 2003
632
0
Northwich, Cheshire
Hi Viking - that was the first time i've ever really looked at the Swedish language - it was fun messing about with an automatic translator program and online dictionary to understand the text on that link you gave :-D

I'm specially interested in the key steps you describe in the middle of the process so I came up with this crude translation :

You need :
A fresh burr of birch "eller sälg".
Time, patience and something good to pour in the completed kåsan

After the burl has been cut from the tree, the kuksa marked out, and hollowed, the outside is roughly shaped leaving 10-15mm thick walls

"Now the kåsan dries, slowly. If drying happens too quickly there is a great danger that materials will crack. One way to slow down drying is to boil the half-done kåsan in a salt solution and later put kåsan to dry at room temperature (salt binds the damp in the wood so that drying happens slowly). Another method is to store the half-done kåsan in an bag with damp (wood?) chip(pings ?). "

Wait a few weeks, then some more. (e.g. 7 weeks)

After drying: final shaping and finishing is done and the finished cup treated with oil.

Thanks for a really good link
 

Viking

Settler
Oct 1, 2003
961
1
47
Sweden
www.nordicbushcraft.com
That was a really good translation, I have translated the few word that your program did not translate. What program did you use for the translation?

Sälg = sallow
Kåsa = kuksa
Trä spån = wood chips
 

Quill

Need to contact Admin...
Jun 29, 2004
80
0
Wisconsin
When working with cherry, I am assuming you are using green wood, use a bigger piece to work with and seal the end grains with something that works for you. You can always cut the area away later. The end grain drying quicker than the center makes it crack. As you have likely observed lumber has painted ends. You could use dry wood. You could do the whole job in a day and seal it with your coating of choice. You could also dampen the piece at the end of the day and seal it a damp plastic bag, like Safeway puts groceries in. The main thing is to slow down the drying.
 

MartiniDave

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Aug 29, 2003
2,355
130
62
Cambridgeshire
Quill,

Thanks, I'll try sealing the endgrain. From the looks of the cherry tree it'll need pruning back some more next spring, so I'll be getting more wood to use.

Dave
 

Stew

Bushcrafter through and through
Nov 29, 2003
6,446
1,284
Aylesbury
stewartjlight-knives.com
I've mentioned this before on a spoon carving thread, but I thought it was worth repeating.


In Wille Sundqvist's book, Swedish Carving Techniques he says

There's one part in particular that I thought might be of interest:

"An old recipe for finishing cooking utensils is merely to boil them in milk for a couple of hours. The casein, which is sometimes used in water-resistant cold-water paint or glue, is absorbed into the wood, protecting and preserving it."

I know it's not the traditional method of finishing kuksas but it does work well on spoons.
 

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