Seasoned plum spoon

[GGTBod]

Back in August last year we had some vicious winds and it ripped a few arms off the old plum trees out the back of mine so i took out the saw and grabbed a few chunks and stuck them in a cool dark place to season, last night i decided to see what it was like for carving and whittled out a nice little spoon that i am going to use for my breakfast cereals, i just finished the second coating of hot walnut oil and beeswax, apologies for the slightly dodgy pictures my proper phone is currently being repaired and these were taken on a 6 year old Blackberry

Sadly the pics do not do the grain detail full justice

 

[Mesquite]

Very nice shape and grain on that

 

[GGTBod]

Thanks Mesquite i'm quite pleased with how it turned out plum is really nice wood to carve, even though it was filled with knots the blade carves off lovely long strips of even shavings, i've got a few more chunks from the same tree waiting for the blade

 

[Macaroon]

That's a nice piece of wood and a nice spoon you've made from it; I bet that did your hands no good, seasoned plum!

 

[GGTBod]

You hit the nail on the head there my palms and thumbs are definitely raw, i went from a split branch to a finished spoon with just a Mora120 6cm blade and a number 5 gouge (and 4 grades of cloth backed aluminium oxide abrasives) in just over 3 hours including rest periods to allow hands to breathe, my quickest spoon to date

 

[Macaroon]

Worth it, though, that really is a very nice spoon.

 

[GGTBod]

Thanks Macaroon i'm quite happy with it, i was after a very fine bowl wall so it would be nice to use in regards to the mouth feel

 

[milius2]

What poped to my mind was: magical

 

[GGTBod]

Thanks Millius2 that's high praise i am still a noob to carving, improving slowly but steadily spoon by spoon

 

[vestlenning]

Very nice, that one!

 

[Zingmo]

Nice. It's not easy to make a spoon that is comfortable in your mouth.

Z

 

[GGTBod]

i agree my previous spoons have looked good enough to use but always felt a bit bulky in the mouth, this one feels better on dry test runs i'll see how it is in the morning with my wheatabix

 

[BogdanS]

Very nice stuff - i especially like the gentle appearance

All the best,
Bogdan

 

[crosslandkelly]

Lovely spoon and a beautiful grain. Nice job.

 

[David LaFerney]

Very nice. Did you know that plumb would turn out like that - or get lucky? Either way it looks great.

 

[GGTBod]

Thanks for the kind words folks you know how it is when we make something we're often our own worst critic.

I knew whatever i carved from the plum it was gonna be interesting as when i cut the chunks off the branches you could clearly see about a half inch under the bark the heartwood was a totally different colour, the cross section looked like a bullseye with a reddish centre surrounded by a half inch thick circle of whiter wood and then the bark, to season it i stripped the bark off to aid an even seasoning and then put it in a cool dark dry place and left it for 8 months.

 

[GGTBod]

Here is the other half to the chunk i split for this spoon, just finished the third coating of walnut oil and beeswax to the spoon

 

[Goatboy]

Plum job mate - pun definately intended. Looks a good 'un.

Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.

 

[GGTBod]

GB your funny bone is easily as badly tuned as mine

 

[Goatboy]

GB your funny bone is easily as badly tuned as mine

Odd notes sound better sometimes mate.

Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.