My spoons

[Bisamratte]

I have just finished the one on the left and they are all carved from beech

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Andy

 

[Ed]

Lovely work there mate... beech is such a nice wood to carve


Ed

 

[Tony]

They’re great spoons, :You_Rock_ which is your favourite?

 

[Bisamratte]

They’re great spoons, :You_Rock_ which is your favourite?

Im not sure really, I like the one on the right but I havnt tried the new one yet so it could be better. The second from the right was my first proper eating spoon. The big one is the first one I carved and is great for stirring things but not for eating with.

Im going to start another this weekend and try to make it realy thin. It might end up as a teastrainer though

Cheers for your comments

Andy

 

[Hiker]

really nice spoons , did you carve them from green birch or was the wood seasoned .

 

[Hiker]

sorry beech

 

[Hoodoo]

Very nice!

 

[Bisamratte]

really nice spoons , did you carve them from green birch or was the wood seasoned .

The first three I carved from seasoned wood and the forth from green wood. It was allot easier carving green wood and I put it in an open plastic bag for two weeks to let it dry slowly. The first three (3 on the right) were from a smallish branch and the last from a much thicker branch. The wood from the smaller branch has hardly any grain and is quite dense. The wood from the larger branch is more porus and has a nicer grain, I think this also made it easier.

Andy

 

[jon r]

Fantastic spoons mate! How long did they take to make?

Im going out now to get some beech to make one of my own! :You_Rock_

 

[Too Much Kit To Carry]

Hi,

I have yet to have a go at spoon carving. I have a crook knife and some green silver birch. Two questions please:-

1) Does silver birch make for a good sppon?

2) Should I try and use it green or is it best left to season?

Any help, pointers or advice would be appreciated please.

Thanks,

Phil.

 

[Bisamratte]

Fantastic spoons mate! How long did they take to make?

Im going out now to get some beech to make one of my own! :You_Rock_

It takes a few hours to carve a spoon, and afew days to sand it

Sanding and finishing them took the longest, I gave them all a london finish ( dip it in water and let it dry, then sand until smooth and repeat until it dosent need much sanding), then I oiled them with veg oil.

1) Does silver birch make for a good spoon?

2) Should I try and use it green or is it best left to season?

I have never carved with silver birch but I belive its quite an easy wood to carve.

I would start with green wood and let it dry slowly, keeping it in a plastic bag helps. I normally go for largish pieces of wood so I get more than one spoon out of it. By the time I have finished the first spoon the rest of the wood has already dried out, sometimes it splits, sometimes it dont. Carving seasoned wood is alot harder but you can already see any flaws in it so you are guarenteed to have a whole spoon ( I started carving from green wood one but never finished it because it split into two)

Hope this helps

Andy

 

[weaver]

I have found a way to get round the splitting.

As soon as you cut the wood coat the ends with wax. If in the wild you can take a lighted candle and drip wax on the end of the wood. That will slow down evaporation from the end and equalize the drying so the ends don't dry faster than the middle, making the splits. Go ahead and shave off the bark so the middle part can dry a little faster.

After you do the rough carving soak the bowl in alcohol. I don't know how or why this works buy I think it mixes with the sap and helps to speed up the drying. Anyway soak it for a few hours then put it in a paper bag and roll the top of the bag tight. After a few days you can take it out and finish sanding and oiling your spoon.


Of course, if you are in a hurry this won't do. Then just boil the wood in oil and hope for the best.

 

[Bisamratte]

Its a friends birthday tomorrow so I thought I'd make her a funky spoon

I started at about 3pm today and finished oiling it about ten mins ago.
I really couldn't do this for a job

Andy

 

[Too Much Kit To Carry]

That's a great looking spoon - well worth all the time and effort

Thanks for all the info BTW.

Phil.

 

[seany boy]

Hi Andy
Great spoons, really like the funky one, bet your friend was pleased

 

[Bisamratte]

I've been at it again

These three are intended to be gifts for various people

The top one is beech and the bottom two are birch. I must say that birch is alot easier to carve than beech.

Thanks for looking

Andy

 

[jon r]

nice work! love them all! especially the middle one! there is a real good bowl in all three :You_Rock_

 

[Matthew.Passmore]

Hi, I want to make my first spoon, can they be made with a normal knife or do you need a Crook Knife?

Matt

 

[Bisamratte]

Hi, I want to make my first spoon, can they be made with a normal knife or do you need a Crook Knife?

Matt

Hi Matt,

there are various methods for carving the bowl of a spoon. I use a crook knife but I know that some people just use the tip of a normal knife. I have tried it, but found the crook knife easier to use and less dangerous - you don't have much controll using the tip of your knife.

Another way is to "burn" out the bowl with a coal from the fire. I have never done this so Im not sure how good this method is.

I think the Frosts crook knife retails at £15ish and I went for the double edge version so I can carve both away and towards myself. (most crook knives are used carving towards your body )

Hope this helps

Andy

 

[Matthew.Passmore]

Thanks, Big help.