Weekend at Chopwell spoon carving course

[Eric_Methven]

I had a fantastic weekend at Chopwell forest on a spoon carving course run by Robin and Nicola Wood. It started on Friday afternoon so we could learn all the safety stuff and get to terms with all the Scandinavian type cuts. I must say that that alone was worth going for. My technique improved no end and I realised quickly how inefficient I had been when using a carving knife and axe before. We had a go first of all at making tent pegs. By Friday evening I had knocked out 25 and I saw a possible business opportunity for future re-enactors markets as a demonstration subject.

Saturday was spent in great company making spatulas, cracking jokes supping tea and just whittling wood, under a parachute canopy all sitting round a central campfire. Brilliant!

Sunday consisted of a recap of the different knife cuts where each of us took it in turn to teach it to the rest - by far the best way to remember something is to try and teach it to someone else. We made some spoons, did a session on sharpening and at the end of the day I took the opportunity of teaching Robin and Nicola's two kids, Jo Jo and Ollie how to make fire with a flint and striker. It was a joy to see the big smiles when their bundle of tinder burst into flame.

The only down side for me was that I forgot to take my camera so I'm relying on some of the others to add photos somewhere below in this thread.

I'm knackered somewhat, but completely rejuvenated.

My thanks to Steve (Rancid Badger) for organising it, to Robin and Nicola for running it and teaching me loads of different ways of working with wood and to all those who attended for their great company.

I'd highly recommend Robin Wood if you want to learn to make spoons quickly and efficiently. What used to take me days now takes hours. What used to take hours now takes minutes. I'm one happy bunny.

Eric

 

[g4ghb]

sounds like you had a great time Eric - and I also hope someone else adds some pic's

It is something I wouldn't mind doing when I get some time / cash, i'm sure I could be doing it more efficiently / safer etc

 

[Mesquite]

Sounds like a great weekend Eric. Looks like I'll have to add a spoon making weekend to my list of courses I'd like to do

How about showing us some pictures of your finished items that you made over the weekend?

 

[psycho981]

great weekend lots of great techniques learned and old ones polished.

nice to see peggy tent peg methven again and a big thanks to the badger for sorting out the site and reminding me to get there lol

 

[robin wood]

Thanks for the nice write up Eric, I am glad you enjoyed it, we had a wonderful time. The folk at Chopwell are a great fun bunch of folk and have a very enviable set up, Here are a few pictures to start things off. I think Steve (Rancid Badger) took quite a few and Nicola did a bit of video which she will put up on youtube when its edited (might need some subtitles for the southerners too). Anyway here is the worksite.

Lizzy the ranger carving with the axe.

Eric (left) and Ken hollowing with the hook knife.

Carving is surprisingly hard work requiring serious concentration, we have found it's best to down tools every hour and take a break. Here's Jojo manning the fire and kettle and Steve (Rancid Badger) carving in the background.

Evenings round the fire are always fun but the parachute makes it a lovely space.

We like to concentrate more on teaching skills and sharing inspiration and enthusiasm than producing things on the course and it is always a joy to see what folk do in the weeks and months after a course. We do make some spoons during the process though (and lots of tent pegs)

Now I am really a woodworker not a bushcrafter and had never made fire with flint and steel so it was a real delight to be shown how to do it by Eric. Here is Ollie at that magical moment blowing his first ember into life.

And Jojo.

Thanks to Steve for organising the weekend, Eric for the firefighting and everyone else for the good humour...we had such fun.

 

[morch]

Looks like a great weekend.

Chopwell Woods is one of the few things i miss about living in Whickham

Dave

 

[rancid badger]

Well! what can I say?
I thought I knew how to use an axe, I did but not very efficiently or even, with hindsight, very safely!
I thought I knew how to use a knife safely and efficiently, Hah!
And I knew I could carve spoons , Yeah, right!
Oh and of course, keeping blades sharp? not too bad but, as with all the above; I learned an awful lot, about things I thought, I had sussed years ago.

I'm just posting the carving pictures for now, as there are over a hundred in total and I haven't had time to sort them all out yet, so here you go:

First off was the setting up for robins arrival;
The chute made a perfect outdoor classroom, rigged out tight, for maximum coverage.
Of course, if it had rained, we might well have been dripped on but we were lucky and it was dry all weekend


Robin arrived as I was on my way to collect lunch but we were soon ready to start

We had a disappointing turnout, with 8 places available, only 5 of us turned up! but it just made it even easier to soak up what Robin was teaching us.
We were soon getting into it!( Lizzie, the weekend part time Ranger, joined in on Saturday and Robin was able to bring her up to speed in no time)
I don't have any pictures of the knife tutorials etc, as I was too busy soaking up the information myself
Robin took us through basic safety info, explaining everything clearly.
Below, we see robin trying out my wildlife hatchet, he hadn't tried one before, in the background is the 12ft x 12ft tarp that I helped Eric to sew up last tuesday! ( but that's another tale!)

Above we have Robin in the correct position for not doing your self damage, while this old codger:

got well carried away in the evening, with "Rampant tent peg" fever.
This was the first time I had used the Swedish carvers axe seriously and I found it an absolute joy.
Oh for one of these little beauties:

I love the evening in camp:

Look out! its the tent peg fiend

Saturday morning, Robin went through some more axe work:

A bit of swift sloyd carving and then some nifty crook knife work and more or less done:

And through all of it, including log cleaving, Izzy the hoond lay contentedly by the brazier!

It really was a fantastic weekend, many thanks to Robin, Nicola, JoJo, Ollie and Izzy too!
Thanks also to Eric, Ken, Mick, Bill and Lizzie and John of the Forestry Commission.

I hope we can meet up again with Robin and family in the future, they really are a joy to work with.

As I said at the start; I thought I knew a bit about what we were doing before we started but within minutes, I as well as the others realised there was a great deal to learn.

I had been pondering for some time as to how to get some formal training under way for our small bush/trad craft team. I think I hit lucky with our first shot

If you fancy a weekend away learning "bushcraft" skills, think again and book up with Robin, for his spoon carving workshop, you will come away with a wealth of knife, axe and sharpening skills, as well as a pocket full of tent pegs and as many spoons, spatula's and "whatnots" ( I made a whimmy giggle during a tea break )as you can shake a stick at. All real practical stuff and fantastic company into the bargain.

Thanks again Robin
next installment: sharpening ( yet another eye opener )
very best wishes
Steve

 

[DoctorSpoon]

What a great weekend! Chopwell is a lovely venue, made all the more lovely by the parachute and fire, and the weather was quite warm and dry too. We had lots of laughs as well - Steve and Mick make the funniest double-act - I sat giggling as I was editing the video and just had to keep some of the silly stuff in. YouTube is very slow tonight so it'll be a while but I'll post you a link when it's ready.
Nicola

 

[Eric_Methven]

Nicola's You Tube video link is here.

Eric

 

[shokay]

Hi all is there anything else happening soon in the north east i would like to come along for the day or night or even just a walk.

cheers
shokay

 

[rancid badger]

At Chopwell Wood:

Well on Sunday 12 October, we have a "fungal foray" led by F.C. mycologist; Gordon Simpson.This costs you £3, as with all our events, any surplus goes straight back into the education/conservation/recreation "pot".
these are always very popular and you must book in advance by phoning the office at Hamsterly forest, they deal with all bookings currently.
The number is 01388 488312

Then on Sunday 02 November; we have a coppicing taster, basically you come along, are shown how to do it and then you set to!
there's a bit more to it than that; such as safe tool handling etc but if nothing else, you could always take a bit of birch, sycamore etc for a bit of carving
That one is free by the way, or rather subsidised by F.o.C.W., again though, you need to book in advance on the same number as above.

There is a bigger project coming up next year, involving the planting of a hectare and a half of hazel, on a clear fell site. We need to get rid of as much of the "brash" and crap left by the fellers as is possible, so we will be looking for as much help as we can get.

As far as bushcraft goes; we're done for this year, at least for public events.

We are always looking for "local" folk to come along and help out, our biggest task now is to look after the Christmas tree sales car parking,We rarely get many takers for this but it is, in fact, our main source of income every year and any help, even just for a day, is welcome.
If there are any BCUK members out there, who fancy coming along and directing traffic with us, let me know.

Cheers
R.B.

 

[Daegurth]

hmm... i might try and get back up for that fungal foray- while i live in chopwell, i'm currently at uni in hull. still, i need to go home and pick some stuff up anyway, so it might still be worth my while.

i may be able to do christmas trees, depending on term times- what dates is it? i've gone past the banner so often, but still forget what it says...

 

[shocks]

Robin, I'm curious of your impressions of the wildlife hatchet compared to the carving axe you usually use? I'm planning to buy some kit and get myself on a course (yours hopefully) but patience is a virtue I lack so I'll probably have a hack about first.

Assuming I retain all my fingers in the mean time, going on a course should be all the more satisfying

 

[robin wood]

Robin, I'm curious of your impressions of the wildlife hatchet compared to the carving axe you usually use?

I like both. There is no question the carving axe is the absolute perfect tool for carving if you are happy with the weight but some find it a bit heavy and if that is the case I recon the hatchet is good value, I have a course running this weekend and two folks are choosing to use Cegga axes which are about the same weight as the hatchet. I do miss the upper curved part of the blade when using the hatchet or Cegga rather than the carving axe there are some useful cuts that I do with that part of the blade but it is important to have an axe you can use for a good time without getting tired.

 

[shokay]

Thanks for the info. I will be in palma nova when the funghi foray is on but will not be anywhere leading up to crimbo so i could at least show willing and put my name down for a day or two. Appart from Chopweel woods are there any other place in the north east that have any activities going on over the coming months. And where would i find out any information.

 

[rancid badger]

hmm... i might try and get back up for that fungal foray- while i live in chopwell, i'm currently at uni in hull. still, i need to go home and pick some stuff up anyway, so it might still be worth my while.

i may be able to do christmas trees, depending on term times- what dates is it? i've gone past the banner so often, but still forget what it says...

You know, I haven't got a clue!
If you fancy a bit of car parking, your best bet is to contact Liz Searle, she runs most of the admin for the Friends. If you check out the F.o.C.W. website, you can get all the relevant info, rather than get it second hand from me

the car parking is a laugh but I'll warn you now; it can get a bit hectic as well very boring by turns
seriously though, we do need a hand at this time of year and any help, even a couple of hours is always gratefully accepted

best wishes
R.B.

 

[rancid badger]

I like both. There is no question the carving axe is the absolute perfect tool for carving if you are happy with the weight but some find it a bit heavy and if that is the case I recon the hatchet is good value, I have a course running this weekend and two folks are choosing to use Cegga axes which are about the same weight as the hatchet. I do miss the upper curved part of the blade when using the hatchet or Cegga rather than the carving axe there are some useful cuts that I do with that part of the blade but it is important to have an axe you can use for a good time without getting tired.

Just to chuck my two penneth in

I took my hatchet along, fully intending to use it for the whole course but then thought I'd give the carving axe a go.
I couldn't get my head around how much easier the carving axe was to use!
Then I got to thinking that the weight of the carving axe was one of it's advantages. With the hatchet; you don't have the weight, so you end up having to work that bit harder to get it to cut in the same way as the carver. Also, that upper curved part is very good for fiddly bits, allowing you to continue carving with the axe, where you would have had to switch to the knife, if using the hatchet.

I knocked up four 12" tent pegs this morning, with a bit of poplar that Robin left for us to practice with. I set to with the hatchet, just to see how I'd do and gave up, switching to my small forest axe.I actually found the hatchet way too light and very hard work. It was better with the axe but still nothing like as easy as the carver.

This is just my thinking on the subject, I wouldn't use the carver as a utility axe, although I suppose you could:bluThinki
When I buy one it will be specifically for craft work

hope this helps
best wishes
R.B.

 

[rancid badger]

Thanks for the info. I will be in palma nova when the funghi foray is on but will not be anywhere leading up to crimbo so i could at least show willing and put my name down for a day or two. Appart from Chopweel woods are there any other place in the north east that have any activities going on over the coming months. And where would i find out any information.

That's a shame about the foray, or then again, maybe not?

if your up for the car parking, contact Liz via the website, same as Daegurth your more than welcome and if you can put up with us, you never know, you might even come back!

As far as other stuff going on in the region; I haven't a clue, I tend to spend most of my spare time at Chopwell, usually just pottering, weighing up potential instruction sites or collecting materials. I often just wander aimlessly for a couple of hours after work, it's a good way to keep an eye on the place, and you can easily reach any part of the wood for a scout about and be back within the two hours or so. Mind you, you can easily lose yourself for a full day if that's what you fancy

I will be organising an informal "wander" at some point over the next few weeks, they tend to be a bit, "last of the summer wine" just me, Eric, Ken and anyone else we can kidnap .
If anyone fancies joining us, let me know and I'll pm when we get sorted out.

best wishes
R.B.

 

[spamel]

It looks like you had a grand time, I got a taster at Hill Holt Wood with an hour or sos' worth of carving techniques from Robin and Nicola. I've met Nicola a few times since, always nice to see her. Robin showed me a few things that really opened my eyes, locking the elbow in when using the axe was the best tip though, you can be so accurate when you follow that tip. I've not done a lot of carving since though, I intend to get up Wharncliffe to the clear cut logs and get myself a good piece of wood to make one of those natty three legged chopping blocks/coffee tables!

 

[spamel]

<snip>
I will be organising an informal "wander" at some point over the next few weeks, they tend to be a bit, "last of the summer wine" just me, Eric, Ken and anyone else we can kidnap .
If anyone fancies joining us, let me know and I'll pm when we get sorted out.

best wishes
R.B.

Holy ****, a bath on wheels!