what wood?

[mikethescout]

What wood has the nicest patterns?
I want to carve some spoons and mabey some bowls, but i want them to have an intresting pattern/grain in the wood. Is there any specific wood that gives this or is there something speical that you need to look for?

Any adivce appricated.

Mike

 

[launditch1]

Spalted beech has a nice pattern,any kind of burr woods,with careful cutting on some woods you can get a beautiful grain effect.For example oak that is quarter sawn has a nice figuring,theres so many to choose from!

 

[hog]

Most burls,spalted maple,apple,cherry,loads of wood but these are very nice

 

[launditch1]

BTW,burr/burl..same thing.

 

[robin wood]

personally I would recommend using fairly soft plain woods to start and learn your skills on. Alder, willow, poplar, lime, birch. Carve it green it is much easier that way. The form is much more important on a spoon or bowl than the figure of the wood, once it has seen some use or has a bit of age the grain and figure fade but the form is always there.

 

[mr dazzler]

I'd agree with Robin. Good form is important and is what distinguishes a good spoon from a poor one (and I have made lots of poor ones....) Alder is probably the best wood to use to start, if you can get it. It has some wild colouring, it turns red/brown even purplish when its opened and cut. It can have burrs as well. The other softer easier woods Robin mentioned might not have the wow factor of purpleheart or zebrano or jarrah or bird eye maple, but they are easier to carve. And additionally they can be stained or painted too, this is an apect which is often overlooked. Sycamore is a nice wood to carve. It can get a very fine smoth finish polished almost like ivory. Lime is OK but it sometimes impart a peppery taste to food.

 

[tytek]

Where would you look to get a piece of wood for a knife handle?
Something intresting - not the 'usual' maybe a bit exotic...

 

[SOAR]

All woods can have interesting patterns, when trees are infected with fungi they can produce decay where the wood is too dry for the fungi such as during the seasoning process, Where the process is allowed to continue naturally the wood has usually begun to decay at different speeds often producing different colours and textures. These areas are surrounded by dark lines called pseudo-sclerotial plates which are produced by either different
species of fungi or different individuals of a particular fungus ‘defending’ their territory.

This is Whitebeam

As for grain trees like Laburnum, Sweet Chestnut and even Lawson Cypress have really pronounced growth rings.

 

[mr dazzler]

Where would you look to get a piece of wood for a knife handle?
Something intresting - not the 'usual' maybe a bit exotic...

I am at the moment woorking on some knife handles and sheaths made from elm and burr elm. Elm is an attractive wood, not as common as it once was, but a very raditional english wood. It has a wild interlocking grain, and one of its key strengths is the fact that it is extremely resistant to splitting. So its ideal to use with a peened stick tang blade.
Another possible solution to your question is to visit cabinet makers or shopfitters who do quality high end better class of work. They might well have small offcuts of exotics that would be just right for pairs of scales if you do full tang knives? Just a thought

 

[Kerne]

I had to cut down an old plum tree in my garden. This is the result:

Really pronounced grain after I'd treated them with olive oil.