My first (very small) bowl

[humdrum_hostage]

This is my first attempt at bowl carving. So far about 8 hours work. My hands are sore and one of my first fingers looks like a self harm victim!

I am yet to buy a bigger crook knife so I am struggling to gouge deep as I only have a shallow flexcut curved knife.

Question.... I have whittled this 100%, should I have taken the bulk down first with an axe or should I have just used a larger knife?

The beginning




My tools of choice


A cracked apeared where the wood had a bit of spalting!


Nearly there!

 

[crosslandkelly]

Nicely done. An axe would have been a bit big for using on that piece.

 

[Clouston98]

Good work mate!

 

[Goatboy]

That's a sweet little bowl. I like it. Are you going to oil it or leave it plain? Despite it's size, must've been a concentrated 8 hours going using just a knife. Good work.

 

[humdrum_hostage]

That's a sweet little bowl. I like it. Are you going to oil it or leave it plain? Despite it's size, must've been a concentrated 8 hours going using just a knife. Good work.

It was late at night in front of the TV once the little ankle biter was in bed over the last week.

I have got some walnut oil as advised by a few people. I probably wouldn't use it much as it's got a crack but I thought It would be good practice to carry on.

Can I use the oil cold? Some people said to heat it first?

 

[Harvestman]

Nice work. Walnut oil works fine cold. I usually heat mine, but not always.

 

[Hammock Hamster]

Very nice, I wish my first attempt had turned out anywhere near as good. I would probably have used an axe to rough out some of it but would really depend on your axe skills and how much you like your fingers.
Walnut oil will work great and you can heat it or leave cold. I sometimes warm up the wood in the oven first too. Just make sure that you apply several coats before you put any liquid in it.


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[Macaroon]

The walnut oil will work just fine cold; the idea is not for it to soak in but to harden on the surface. That's the whole point of using it. The traditional way to oil wooden utensils was to oil it once a day for a week, once a week for a month and once a month for a year...............Indestructable!

 

[humdrum_hostage]

Thanks for the advice guys!

 

[DocG]

Really nice job. I've got a bigger knife and I'm thinking that a smaller one may be the way forward after seeing your work as I've been struggling to develop deeper bowls.

 

[Dean]

Nice first bowl, you might want to buy a dedicated spoon/hook knife the flex-cut ones are nice just a little too small for bowl and kuksa making. Dave Budd, Ben Orford and Nic Westermann do some nice ones.

 

[humdrum_hostage]

Nice first bowl, you might want to buy a dedicated spoon/hook knife the flex-cut ones are nice just a little too small for bowl and kuksa making. Dave Budd, Ben Orford and Nic Westermann do some nice ones.

One step ahead my friend

 

[gjclayton]

I like it.
I have a very dull spoon knife and some lovely Northwest coast crook knives I need to handle. I want to be able to get into this too. A whole kit full of small bowls!

 

[humdrum_hostage]

I have applied the walnut oil and after its runs over the wood you can see it soak straight in. is this right? does it need drying out a bit more or should a keep applying it daily until it stops soaking in?

 

[Harvestman]

I have applied the walnut oil and after its runs over the wood you can see it soak straight in. is this right? does it need drying out a bit more or should a keep applying it daily until it stops soaking in?

Walnut oil seals when it dries, so you can keep soaking it in if you want, but after the first coat the wood is sealed.

 

[Robson Valley]

Another readily available crooked knife (revised to 12 degrees) is a farrier's hoof trimming knife.
They even end in a scorp-like hook.
Mora/Frost (Sweden) #171 is better than the wider #172, #188 has a double bevel.
Diamond (Taiwan) #271 looks like a clone.
Hall (Canada) are big, tough, expensive hoof knives, worn out ones from your local farrier might be $5 or less.
UKAL/Supervet (France) makes great little 2-edged hook knife, meant for sheep & goats.
I have hafted and carve with about 20 of these. Various sweeps.
Here in the PacNW, Kestrel, North Bay Forge and Cariboo are probably the best bladesmiths for PacNW style tools.

I take advantage of Charles' Law from basic gas physics. 3 minutes at 325F and as they cool, the oil finish
is sucked down into the wood so far that it can't be moved out in boiling soup. Any room temp finish
will (predicably) be blown into the hot soup.

 

[humdrum_hostage]

Thanks for the replies guys, much appreciated. With regards to the Charles' law, do I need to dry the wood out fully naturally before putting in the oven or can I literally put a freshly carved item straight in and "cook" it so to speak?