Newbie Query - Carving in oak???

[HOUGHTON PIG]

This is my first post. I’m new to Bushcraft, at least in as much as I have only started taking the art more seriously over the past few months. I have always loved and been truly at home in the woods. Bushcraft to me is a little like returning to my childhood as an adult, i.e. making camps, knives, fire and generally spending time amongst the trees and sticks. If there is one thing jasper (my dog) and I cant do without its sticks.

I recently acquired a Gransfors axe to go with my Frosts Mora. I started carving spoons. My god is it addictive, I completed one spoon with the exception of the bowl and immediately ordered a crook knife. I am still waiting for the knife and am in the middle of my fifth spoon.

I wondered if anyone else has had problems carving in oak. I’ve made two spoons in oak only to discover that they have split over night. I have also found that the oak leaves a strange dark stain on both the knife and the axe. The spoons made out of birch are fine with no signs of splitting. If anyone has any advice it would be greatly appreciated.

Nick

( i think i've waffled on a bit here, sorry )

 

[Joe]

Hi Nick,

If you're carving the Oak green then you could try keeping the roughed out spoon in a strong paper bag filled with salt or sawdust whenever you aren't working on it. This slows down the drying out process and should hopefully avoid the splitting. Normally this is only needed with larger pieces like cups and bowls - spoons seem to be of a small enough section to dry out enough from just being handled. But also it depends on the part of the tree you have used to make the spoon. Your project is less likely to split if it's made from a halved round section meaning that there will be no pith present within the finished spoon. Cracks and splits radiate from around the pith so if you can avoid incorporating it then hopefully you've only got to worry about shrinkage and warping, but I welcome a bit of warpage as I think it adds character!

Also, cutting green wood when the sap is down (winter) will reduce the chances of splitting and shrinkage.

The discolouration and staining is due to the large amounts of tannin in Oak reacting with your steel tools. You will also get it from Chestnut as well. Clean your tools after using them on these woods and maybe re-strop or sharpen the edge as the tannin can have a blunting effect.

Hope that helps

 

[HOUGHTON PIG]

Thank you so much, more than helpful, I bought the timber as firewood from a campsite in Wales and took home what I didn’t burn. I think the oak I used was probably from the centre of the branch explaining the splitting. The oak certainly took the edge well off both knife and axe. In addition to my crook knife I’m also waiting on delivery of a diamond stones set. Damn the postal service, both should have arrived today but didn’t. I’m off to the woods tomorrow morning and could really do with the cook knife. Thanks again for your knowledge, I’m leaning new stuff daily just flicking through the website.

Nick

I’ll get some pictures up once I get the bowls sorted

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I just noticed the your wilderness survival site. I dont suppose you were at the river cottage festival in September? I was talking to someone about my local Arun Valley and a kayak trip I had taken. I was wearing a camo parka (it was very wet) and the stinging nettle beer was starting to take its toll.

 

[WoodWildling]

i have only made a couple of spoons from oak - having the same probs as yerself. Oak is such a hard wood it just takes the edge of my tools!!
I think i will stick to bircha nd hazel.
On the other hand when they are finished they do take on a lovely colour...

 

[Joe]

Glad the tips were useful. I should imagine there will be more appearing pretty soon from all the other fanatical spoon carvers on here.
Carving seasoned Oak is an experience my thumbs will never forget!

That was us at the River Cottage festival cooking honey rabbit on a spit whilst sheltering from the pouring rain. Good to see you found your way onto here, if you had given me a bit more notice I could've loaned you a crook knife for the weekend but I've got to run a course in Oxford this weekend.

 

[Joe]

Arun valley...Houghton...? Do people still go and abseil from that 130 foot chalk cliff above the little unofficial campsite on the edge of the Arun just along the footpath from the pub (George and Dragon?).

We used to try and get down it in one bound on an 11mm abseil rope and a hefty pair of leather gloves. I made my wife do it too on our second date. I knew she was the one for me after that....

 

[HOUGHTON PIG]

i have only made a couple of spoons from oak - having the same probs as yerself. Oak is such a hard wood it just takes the edge of my tools!!
I think i will stick to bircha nd hazel.
On the other hand when they are finished they do take on a lovely colour...

The colouration is beautiful on the oak spoon. I will keep them for decoration, as I can’t imagine the cracks are very hygienic. My thumbs are blistered and ache like hell so I think it'll be birch and hazel for me from now on too

 

[DoctorSpoon]

If you're carving the Oak green then you could try keeping the roughed out spoon in a strong paper bag filled with salt or sawdust whenever you aren't working on it. This slows down the drying out process and should hopefully avoid the splitting.

salt??? surely that is a desiccant and will dry it out faster? We just put them in a plastic bag and put them somewhere cool (like a garage), but whatever you do each day they'll get a little harder so don't try to keep them for too long.

When you split the log in half, make sure you axe away a little of the split face to remove the central few growth rings before you carve your spoon. These are where there is most tension in the wood and where the splits always start from.

Happy carving!
Nicola

 

[HOUGHTON PIG]

Arun valley...Houghton...? Do people still go and abseil from that 130 foot chalk cliff above the little unofficial campsite on the edge of the Arun just along the footpath from the pub (George and Dragon?).

We used to try and get down it in one bound on an 11mm abseil rope and a hefty pair of leather gloves. I made my wife do it too on our second date. I knew she was the one for me after that....

A few of my mates abseiled it some time back, not me however, though I would love to have a go. My dog nearly went off the top once, he was only young and went straight for the edge. I jsut spotted him in time and called him back. Houghton is fantastic, I usually camp further up river than the first bowl. I spend much of the summer there.

Have you ever been to Fairmile Bottom? just up the hill from Houghton. I'm off up there in the morning for breakfast and some more carving. There are some great old yew trees lots of chestnut, beech and some birch. Its such a trek up the hill you rarely see another soul

+ My misses took some nice photos of your stall at river cottage. I'll try and post them up at some point

 

[Joe]

Nick,

It always amazed me how completely unmarked the top of that cliff was and that no-one has ever come a cropper on a midnight stroll. I spent quite a lot of time camping up there too, a lovely spot by the river (maybe a bit too public though). Fairmile Bottom - did a bit of rabbit shooting up there with my father in law years ago - amazing views first thing on a summers morning.

It would be great to see your pics of the festival stall although you might have to photo shop a smile onto my face thinking about how hard it was raining all weekend..

Nicola,

I see where you're coming from with the salt thing. Someone told me about it yonks ago and I've used it on bigger stuff like noggins with successful results (but never really looked into why it works). The salt does certainly draw moisture out of the wood but you end up with a moist layer of salt surrounding the item, maybe that's why it works. Or maybe because the salt bag stays out in the workshop where it's cool and draws in any moisture in the air meaning that the bag of salt is permanently a bit damp anyway. Or maybe I completely misunderstood the whole thing when it was explained to me and I've just been lucky ever since - either way I've had more stuff splitting out of the bag than in it.

I had a quick look on google to find something to show you on it and could only find something about green walnut gun stocks being dried in boxes of salt and a bit of info on salt paste being used as a drying method for green wood.

Hello by the way - I like yours and Robins work!