It had to be done - you can't be a true bushcrafter until you've done a "my first spoon".
This is still a work in progress, so if anyone wants to give me any advice or comments, please feel free to do so.
This is a piece of applewood from a Bramley apple tree that died over last winter and I took down early in the Summer. I started trying to rough out the shape using my (recently sharpened) axe and nearly gave up because I just wasn't getting anywhere, thinking that I'd just have to carve it out with my knife. But then things just clicked, and the axe carving went really well.
I then carried on trimming it into shape using my knife until it was more or less the shape it is in the pictures. I have to confess that I liked the rustic look of the knife carved finish with the multitude of facets, but as I was carving I thought that I'd like to give the spoon to my wife as a Christmas present (I had intended it to be for myself) so I really do need to go for a sanded finish.
I thought I'd better take out the bowl (crook knife a birthday present from my daughter) and again, found that using this was very difficult to start with, until it just clicked. I then started sanding it, but I only had medium and fine grade paper, so I think I'm going to have to get some coarse paper to take out some of the nicks from the knife carving that are still showing.
The outside of the bowl is quite 'chunky' but I do like the shape that it is so I'd like to leave that as it is. This does mean that the inside of the bowl is going to be 'small' compared to the outside, but I think it would be too deep if I carved it out to match the outside. In the end, I don't think it really matters as long as the spoon looks good because I suspect that the spoon won't actually be used.
Thanks for looking.
Geoff

This is still a work in progress, so if anyone wants to give me any advice or comments, please feel free to do so.
This is a piece of applewood from a Bramley apple tree that died over last winter and I took down early in the Summer. I started trying to rough out the shape using my (recently sharpened) axe and nearly gave up because I just wasn't getting anywhere, thinking that I'd just have to carve it out with my knife. But then things just clicked, and the axe carving went really well.
I then carried on trimming it into shape using my knife until it was more or less the shape it is in the pictures. I have to confess that I liked the rustic look of the knife carved finish with the multitude of facets, but as I was carving I thought that I'd like to give the spoon to my wife as a Christmas present (I had intended it to be for myself) so I really do need to go for a sanded finish.
I thought I'd better take out the bowl (crook knife a birthday present from my daughter) and again, found that using this was very difficult to start with, until it just clicked. I then started sanding it, but I only had medium and fine grade paper, so I think I'm going to have to get some coarse paper to take out some of the nicks from the knife carving that are still showing.
The outside of the bowl is quite 'chunky' but I do like the shape that it is so I'd like to leave that as it is. This does mean that the inside of the bowl is going to be 'small' compared to the outside, but I think it would be too deep if I carved it out to match the outside. In the end, I don't think it really matters as long as the spoon looks good because I suspect that the spoon won't actually be used.
Thanks for looking.
Geoff




Last edited: