spoon knife

[Askdamice]

Hello all,
I'm attempting to make my first spoon knife and with all the different styles of hooks, spoons and crooks out there, it's difficult to make a decision. I have made several knives in the past but with the crook, I'm a little in the dark about hardness, internal or external bevels... how do they differ from that of a straight knife? Any advice would be appreciated. Great site, by the way. I'm a newbie!

 

[Joseph]

Here's something that may help.

http://www.caribooblades.com/makingahook.html

Joe.

 

[billycan]

Good link joe

 

[Askdamice]

Good stuff, Joe. Thanks for the link ])

 

[Joseph]

No worries the frost spoon knives have the bevels on the outside. There in a similar shape to these and from the looks of it have the same bevel side (though it difficult to tell because of the high polish). The guy who runs this site says he's happy to answer questions.

http://www.pinewoodforge.com/catalog.html

The crook knife i made from a hoof knife had the bevel on the inside which I found worked but would dig in and take of more than I wanted. I'm in the process of making the bevel lest acute. I think it depends how you want material to be removed. With a chisel grind it makes the cut go deeper or takes material of in a controlled manner depending the angle of attack and its orientation on the blade.

I got the first link from www.outdoors-magazine.com which has a lot of info on grind styles and sharpening as does this site.

I've only ever carved one spoon but I'm on the lookout for some decent wood. All the knowledge I've aquired are from sources such as these. Have fun making and it would be great to see how you get on. Joe.

 

[cariboo]

On the Pacific Northwest coast. red and yellow cedar is used a lot for spoons, masksand bowls. Good soft wood if you're beginning spoon and bowl carving. First Nations there have carved some pretty elaborate cedar utensils.

Birch is also another good softer wood to start with.

Yew wood is used for spoons on that coast. It is a much harder wood. Traditionally used for tool handles for adze and hook knives as well. A great wood with hardness, strength and flexibility. Keeps detail really well.

Cherry is a good hard wood for spoons. A good way to carve it is to keep it wet while you're carving and when you're finished wrap it and let it dry slowly in your basement. Cherrywood ages into a dark rich brown. It also keeps detail well. Fruitwoods in general are harder to carve but keep detail and make for beautiful, durable spoons.

On the Pacific Northwest coast carvers have traditionally made their own tools.

Here are links to some carvers from the past and present who use the hook knife as their main carving tool

Scott.

Reg Davidson

[Bill Reid

 

[woodwalker]

How do you guys normally go about attatching the tang of the crooked blade into the handle. Do you just drill a slot and glue it or use pins as well? I'm quite interested to find out

cheers
woodwalker

 

[Joseph]

From a bit of searching, post 13 of this thread gives a good ideaof one method. Plenty of info if you search about this site for crooked knife.

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/communit....php?t=10185&highlight=straight+crooked+knife

 

[Tadpole]

Yew wood is used for spoons on that coast. It is a much harder wood. Traditionally used for tool handles for adze and hook knives as well. A great wood with hardness, strength and flexibility. Keeps detail really well.

Yew for spoons? very brave
poisonous it is, brave Padawan

The leaves are more toxic than the seed.
Poison is found in all parts except for the fleshy fruit.
The poison is called Taxine. “The alkaloid ephedrine, as well as a volatile oil and traces of a cyanogenic glycoside, taxiphyllin, are also present.”
HMSO 1984

Unless you mean "Pacific yew" 'Taxus brevifolia' which contains Taxol now being used as an anti-cancer drug

 

[cariboo]

Sorry about that, Pacific yew of northwest Canada.
They are protected now because people are cutting down the yew for the bark where the anti cancer fighting drug is found.

If you want to know exactly how to make a strong hook knife that was developed by some Haida carvers look at how to make a hook knife
It has already be mentioned. There are pictures on how to mount the blade tang to the handle.

Despite what some say, the hook (crooked or bent) knife is a precise and fine wood carving and bushcraft tool.

Cheers, Scott