kuksa final prep

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Pignut

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jun 9, 2005
4,097
12
46
Lincolnshire
I have managed to fashon a reasonable kuksa from silver birch (All be it a little small)

It has been sanded and boiled in salt water for about 4 hrs and is now soaking in mineral oil

I pieced this preperation together from various threads on hear and wondered if it sounded anything like correct,

(Or have I just made the worlds most salty firewood?)

As always your help would be much apreciated
 
Pignut,
THough I have no direct experience in kuksa making, you are to be congratulated on making one in the first place, and again for treating it in salt water. But the thing that scares me is the "mineral oil" that you have it soaking in. To my mind you need to use an oil that is not going to poison you when you take a sip of your first tipple, something of vegetable origin.

Or have I just put my foot in it if you are using a parafin based product?

:confused:

Ogri the trog
 
I asked Ragnar (from ragweedforge) about this once, this is what he said...

First, I would not use ordinary "boiled" linseed oil from the hardware store. It's not really boiled, but blended with chemicals to speed curing. These chemicals contain heavy metals and are highly toxic.
The traditional finish is raw linseed oil, but it takes a long time to cure. I've seen estimates of a half a year at room temperature.
An advantage of linseed oil is that it penetrated and then hardes.
On items that are not going to be used for food, it's often suggested that you cut the first coat with turpentine to improve penetration.
I expect it would help to warm the oil to improve penetration, then store the item in a warm place to speed curing. The curing oil generates heat however, and I wouldn't go too far with this. The very best raw linseed oil is "cold pressed", just as the best olive oil is the first pressing. Walnut oil can be used in the same way.
Much of the wooden ware I sold
was finished with mineral oil from the pharmacy. It's non toxic and doesn't turn rancid. You just wipe it on, let it soak in a bit, then wipe it off and wash of the surplus in warm soapy weter, then rince of course. The downside is that it didn't really harden and had to be renewed occasionally.
Another tradtional finish is to boil the item in milk to seal it.
I haven't tried this myself.
I expect you can also use any of the food safe finishes sold by the woodworking shops for salid bowls, cutting boards and other utensils. There's a great variety of products on the market.
 
In the UK, food grade linseed oil is sold in health food shops called flaxseed oil.
 
Thanks for that chaps!

I have used mineral oil sold in the local kitchen shop for
treating chopping boards (I would hope it is non toxic)

This is it after oiling! as always comments welcome

clip_image002.jpg
 
That looks great Pignut, i'm in the process of tryin to do one myself, and if finishes up lookin as good as yours i'll be well chuffed
 
Thanks again for the kind words!

Due to the lack of noggins/Burl it was made out of a section of trunk from a silver birch. (No pics I am afraid)

If anyone can get hold of a burl, I would be interested ;)

Thanks again for the kind words
 
No laughing now chaps, but one of the main things keeping me from attempting this project is a question thats been bugging me for a while... Whats a Burl? Is it a split section/fork? Any chance of a pic? And do i dry it out before i start carving, or carve then dry it out? :confused:
 
Millbilly said:
No laughing now chaps, but one of the main things keeping me from attempting this project is a question thats been bugging me for a while... Whats a Burl? Is it a split section/fork? Any chance of a pic? And do i dry it out before i start carving, or carve then dry it out? :confused:
Si give me a shout at the next meet and we can do a spoon/kuksa carving thing ;) :beerchug: JP ;)
 
Millbilly said:
No laughing now chaps, but one of the main things keeping me from attempting this project is a question thats been bugging me for a while... Whats a Burl? Is it a split section/fork? Any chance of a pic? And do i dry it out before i start carving, or carve then dry it out? :confused:

a question I had to ask befor this project started! (Check This)

But due to a distinct lack of anything burl like I just used a "Green" section of trunk.

If you manage to locate any I would be very interested in obtaining some!
 
Fantastic job there Pignut, I wish I had the know how to make something as good as that.
Speaking of which, is there a thread which goes into the whole process from start to finish?

Cronos
 
cronos said:
Fantastic job there Pignut, I wish I had the know how to make something as good as that.
Speaking of which, is there a thread which goes into the whole process from start to finish?

Cronos

I was not able to find one (In English) if you search for one on BB you may find a link to the Swedish one I found (sorry I have not been able to find it again)

If there is the interest I could have a go at doing one! as I have the other half of the birch I used for this one!
 
Paganwolf said:
Si give me a shout at the next meet and we can do a spoon/kuksa carving thing ;) :beerchug: JP ;)

Definately taking you up on that one mate! Been wanting to do this for a while now... :D
 

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