sycamore kuksa

[walkswithnomoccasins]

hi,
I have read that in th past sycamore was used extensively through europe to make kitchen utensils and tables etc. I am guessing that the would is non toxic. Is this the case?? My folks have 15 acres of wood there is a large amount of sycamore that they want to thin out a bit would be ideal if i could use it.
thanks for any input

 

[Toddy]

Sycamore was, and is, widely used for domestic utensils.
It is non toxic, carves well, is of good size, fine grained, light coloured and doesn't taint food.
I still use a sycamore chopping board, and a rolling pin, my father made forty years ago, and one of my friends has an old wooden trough of sycamore that is over one hundred and fifty years old and is still sound and in use.

Lucky man to have access to such a resource

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Eric_Methven]

I've been using sycamore for food use for many years. One of the joys of using it is not feeling guilty at chopping it down. It's a weed. At least it's treated as an invasive, non native species and many conservation groups are actively removing sycamore from their areas to make room for true native species. So it's a double bonus for me to be able to use the stuff - helping conservation and getting a very nice wood to make kitchen utensils from.

Eric

 

[walkswithnomoccasins]

thats great news cheers mate. whats the best oil to oil it with?

 

[Peterlee_Paddler]

Danish Wood Oil ?

 

[robin wood]

If way out west means west wales it was the wood that nearly all of the west wales turners were using from the 18th to early 20th century. It is very stable, work it green as much as you can it gets harder as it dries. If you search on oils you will find lots of info there was a thread only yesterday I think.

 

[John Fenna]

One of the things about Sycamore is its ease of carving, another is that it stains easily - even with felt pens! - and another is that there is a lot about, just waiting to be cut...
I have one in my garden that I saw grow from a seedling. I have "harvested" it for firewoood three times now, the logs burning OK, but the odd bit has been used for spoon carving. I use Flaxseed oil on food related carvings.
The wood looks very "clean" and pale (until you stain it) with often very straight grain (I was splitting logs with a hammer for fun - overlap the chopping block with the sycamore log and wack the upsupported bit - splits along the grain....pointless but showy ) and easy to "plank".

OK - with all that woodland in the family, when are you hosting a Local Meet?

Has any of the kit I lft with you sold through your excellent shop yet?
And am I right in thinking that your "Username" 'Walkswithnomoccassins' is based on the same incident as the name" Barefoot Bushcraft" that you gave your shop?

I will drop by the shop again next time I am in Haverfordwest and hope to see some of your Beadwork - if you have come to an agreement with the jewelers in the riverside market about your having "jewelery" on display in there as well!

How about a sycamore "Totem Pole" in the shop window? - that would look good!

 

[DoctorSpoon]

We use sycamore quite a bit and it's great, but it can look a bit pale and boring. If you fell it and leave it in long lengths for a bit then it can take on more interesting colours, or you can stain it with coffee.

Re oiling, check out this thread http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37421

Nicola

 

[walkswithnomoccasins]

HIya John, Has been a fair bit of interest in your items in the shop but no one has purchsed any yet. My username is from the same incident as the barefoot in the shop name.
I was attending a native american powwow selling our jewellery. I was dressed in full eastern woodland regalia apart from my moccasins which i couldn't find therefore i was barefoot (in mid november). A chickasaw lady there started calling me "walkswithnomoccasins" and still does to this day. So thats where my username comes from.
I really like the totem pole idea have already started planning it in my head.
Also my folks are considering letting us use the wood for a local meet. The wood is just accross the valley from whitland abbey.
I just wanna thank everyone for thier help.
Kind regards
Pete