Spoons

[Ed]

ah.... I thought they had been waxed, then polished to a high sheen ;-)
Just out of interest, what concoction do you use?


Ed

 

[Matt]

It's just so frustrating that it's poisonous! :-(

Just a thought, but are we still at risk from yew even after the oil has oxidized? Don't they use rhododendron wood for spoons in scandinavia - they must lock away its toxicity somehow.

I would have thought that once the linseed oil in your polish turns to linoxin it should be ok to use, although it will probably take about six weeks; then again i'm not sure i'd like to try

Beautiful work though... :-D

 

[Stew]

I would have thought that once the linseed oil in your polish turns to linoxin it should be ok to use, although it will probably take about six weeks; then again i'm not sure i'd like to try

Absolutely! Do we have any volunteers to try it out?
:twisted:
Personally I think I'll just play safe and not stick any in my gob!

 

[Tricky]

I was recommended a while back something called Liberon Finishing Oil for treating wood that really did the trick a treat , pretty sure it said that it can be used for bowls and spoons etc , i'll have a rummage about and see if i still have the tin lying around to see what it says


Nope it wisnae the Finishing oil after all, its their Tung Oil , bit of a drying time though

 

[jason01]

My oil was made up of whatever I had in the cupboard at the time which happened to be some beeswax dissolved into the linseed oil together with some teak oil! I got the beesway to dissolve by heating the oil up and the spoon had its first soak while the oil was hot. The spoon also gets a wipe with this oil whenever I think to do it and its now starting to take on a really smooth hard glossy finish. The knife just gets the same stuff applied cold and Ive just made it so it hasnt soaked up much oil yet.

Theres really no method to my formula though!

I also suspect that the wood might be safe to use, how much could be ingested from a spoon, unless you chew your spoon and historically Yew has been used to make spoons and even cups, but then the ancients might have been seeking to get "high" from the poisons For safety sake probably best to avoid using it for food.

The Yew was certainly linked to Shamans historically and allegedly if you sit under a Yew on a hot day the evaporating toxins can produce hallucinations!

Jason

 

[Schwert]

Here is my as yet unfinished spoon in Alder. Actually this shot was taken to showcase the carving crooked knives from Kestrel Tool, but I thought this was a great thread.... :roll:

 

[PC2K]

somehow i can't carve out a spoon, i start out with something that looks like a big spoon, than it just shrinks in size everytime i cut something of it, since i can't seam to cut out the exact shape i just keep cutting and cutting, untill i got pencil sized stick...

 

[Tonyjames7070]

Some excellent work from the pics.

I purchased a decent knife and had a bash. I have now made loads of things from found bits of wood. Very enjoyable.

I have made dragons, Japenese warriors, Egyptian Gods, envelope openers and loads of spoons. I will have to get some pics and post them on the site so everyone can have a laugh/look

 

[sargey]

somehow i can't carve out a spoon, i start out with something that looks like a big spoon, than it just shrinks in size everytime i cut something of it, since i can't seam to cut out the exact shape i just keep cutting and cutting, untill i got pencil sized stick...

yep, it's very easily done. here's a slightly daft but simple trick, next time you try to carve a spoon, have a spoon handy, like from the kitchen drawer. as you carve, stop every once in a while and compare the two.

don't be too critical, if you have something that looks like a medium sized spoon, stop carving!

cheers, and.

 

[jason01]

They look like great knives Schwert and thats going to be a cool spoon! Ive just sorted out a couple of likely pieces of wood today, one of English oak from a sapling I planted as an acorn and another from Willow. I think they need to dry indoors for a while, but Im itching to get carving, I keep picking the oak up and roughing it into shape a bit more!

I must admit I cheat and use a small curved wood carvers gouge for spoon bowls if I'm at home.

PC2K thats a good tip to have a spoon handy as a gauge, a sketch is also good and it can help to draw the outline on your blank if you can.

Jason

 

[Stew]

I must admit I cheat and use a small curved wood carvers gouge for spoon bowls if I'm at home.

Wille Sundqvist, the author of Swedish Carving Techniques, also uses a gouge as well as a crook knife for carving spoons.
His technique for using one is slightly different from the normal technique. He holds the gouge so the handle comes out of the top of the fist, and the cutting end coming out the bottom. He chokes his hand up close to the cutting edge so there's only about an inch of gouge visible from the bottom of his hand.

 

[C_Claycomb]

I used that gouge technique, or something like it, before I got a crook knife.

I second Sargey, have a spoon handy for comparison. It is too easy to think about individual parts of the carving, the bowl, the handle and so on, and lose sight of the whole. At the end of the day you want something that you can fit in your mouth. I go so far as testing a spoon's fit as I near final size. It is too easy to make something that is awkward to eat from :roll:

 

[Kath]

Any suggestions for carrying a crook knife with you in the outdoors? Had some nasty cuts from rummaging in my backpack ... :roll:

 

[boaty]

I asked the same thing in this thread and got some good answers - see towards the bottom of the thread

So far I've gone with the two plastic bottle tops to mask the knife, but am working on my super-duper deluxe pouch sheath (very slowly...)

 

[al]

kath , 35mm film case is good :-D

 

[Kath]

Cheers Boaty. At least one of those suggestions came from my other half, I note. (Perhaps I should ask closer to home before posting next time)

I like the shotgun cartridges idea best ... I'll give that a try, while I still have some fingers left. (Being a bushcrafter I tend to carry all my kit with me, being a female that means I carry it in my handbag and so it's rather alarming when you're rummaging for your hankie and come out with your crook knife embedded in your finger!! )

 

[Schwert]

My crooked knives are covered with automobile heater hose. This is tough stuff and if pressed a bit flat slip on easily, but when released they squeeze into the edges and stay on well without causing any damage to the edge. Cheap to replace to.

I also used a scorp for the top of the bowl...it is in the picture background. My spoon narrows too much to use it towards the bottom of the bowl though.

I hacked out the spoon with a GB carving ax and used another fixed blade to clean it up before going to the crooked knives.

That is an Allan Blade large PackPal.

There is just something "productive" about making a spoon, when really the whole point was to be using the sharp tools....

 

[Hoodoo]

I just finished these about a week ago. The ladle is maple and the spoon is mahogany.

 

[Jamie]

hi guys and girls

I bought a crook knife from Axminster which is great but it was a little on the large side (dont know the diameter off the top of my head) so was wondering if anyone knew anywhere I can get smaller crooks?

I am only just getting into whittling and really enjoy it and was also wondering what other tools I might need?

and I have to say that I am in awe of the pics of the spoons up in this thread.....something to aspire to!

cheers

 

[Tony]

Mate, you can get tighter curves but the price shoots up. It might be worth looking into getting a bulk order from the states or some such?

Hoodoo, the ladle is great