Splitting headache

[Montivagus]

I’ve had a good look to see if this has been said before and found nothing but my search was not exhaustive so apologies if this is old hat.

When I was a kid I sat happily for hours whittling stuff and of all the things I produced, the things that I liked the most were my spoons knives forks and sporks.
Imagine my disappointment when they nearly all split, my having carved them out of not green but not seasoned wood either……Snif.

Along comes Ray Mears and jogs the memory and also reminds me its perfectly acceptable for an adult to do this sort of thing and when I’m out and about I set to carving again. Thing is, when I’m out in the woods and indeed even at home, the wood I’m carving with is often not the fully seasoned grade it ought to be (in fact some of the ash I’ve used from recently fallen branches has been.…well, lets say damp). So in order to avoid further tears I came up with this; top tip.

Once you’ve carved your spoon you have to slowly heat it over a fire or candle. I do mean slowly. Keep moving and turning the spoon so it heats up evenly and steadily until the point at which despite frequent movement it becomes uncomfortable to hold it anywhere. At this point you may even hear slight hissing noises. Now give it a good coating of olive oil (oil choice up to you I guess) but keep it pretty hot and keep applying the oil as it sinks in for say five – ten minutes then remove from the heat but keep rubbing in the oil until the spoon is totally cool. Leave the spoon somewhere warm and keep applying the oil when the spoon looks matt for a day or two.

I’ve not had anything split, even made from pretty dodgy wood, not once.

 

[andyn]

Hiya,

Good tip there

I normally carve with green wood tbh, and have had a few splitting problems with some woods, although I've never found ash or rowan to be a problem.

Nowadays though once complete i tend to soak it in flaxseed oil for a few days and then remove and allow it to dry at room temperature, but out of direct sunlight, for about a week which, along with tung oil, hardens as it dries and polymises (spelling?) in the wood stopping it from splitting

I've also heard people that boil it in salt water and others that soak it in water mixed with fairy liquid (washing up liquid) to prevent the moisture escaping too quickly and thus preventing it from splitting.

 

[Toddy]

I haven't seen that method done in years It was an old fisherman who was carving green wood floats. He poked out the centre of the slices of timber and used another stick in the centre as a handle to *roast* the timber hot and dry and he oiled them with butter. He said it stopped the rings splitting apart. I never gave it it a thought for spoons, etc. Thanks for that I'm going to have try and see if it works for spindle whorls and netting needles

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[Montivagus]

I haven't seen that method done in years It was an old fisherman who was carving green wood floats. He poked out the centre of the slices of timber and used another stick in the centre as a handle to *roast* the timber hot and dry and he oiled them with butter. He said it stopped the rings splitting apart. I never gave it it a thought for spoons, etc. Thanks for that I'm going to have try and see if it works for spindle whorls and netting needles

Cheers,
Toddy

Ohhh.....and I was going to patent that nothing new under the sun!

 

[Toddy]

Ohhh.....and I was going to patent that nothing new under the sun!

No, it's a d*mned good idea and if no one describes it then it may very well not occur to anyone else for another thirty odd years
I like all these ideas that float around actually just wondering is this technique a bit like the fire hardening that used to be done to spear tips and digging sticks?

atb,
Toddy

 

[Montivagus]

actually just wondering is this technique a bit like the fire hardening that used to be done to spear tips and digging sticks?

atb,
Toddy

Essentially yes! I remember doing this as a kid. You just get the end of your stick turning over and over above the fire until it’s just dry (you can hear it when you tap it) and just beginning to char. The only difference is you shape your arrow/spear point after the drying with this method.

 

[Keith_Beef]

Or you could just boil your spoon in a billy can full of oil.


K.