Spoon making

[BrutonW]

I managed to get hold of what I thought would be an ideal piece of wood to turn into a spoon with my new Mora knife. Following Ray's instructions to the best of my abilities. However, the bowl part of the spoon is in the same place as a knot in the piece of wood. This is frankly damn annoying! and I can't seem to carve this part of the spoon out because of how hard the knot is. Is it possible? or should I try with a 'knotless' piece of wood?

Will

[tomtom]

you will find it much easier with out a knot.. im not sure how functional a spoon you could get with a knot in the bowl, plus it will be more likly to split..
however if you want to try it anyhow... burning it out with an ember and straw will make it much quicker for you.

[Wayne]

The most essential part of carving is wood selection. If you can find a good piece to carve from amongst the dross your going to make your life a whole lot easier be it carving spoons or feather sticks.

[Paganwolf]

True, Always choose your wood carefully and check the bowl portion for knots , I tend to be very choosy and the wood must say spoon when i see it, this will come with time, you have learnt a very valuable lesson with this spoon i guarentee you wont do it againyou may beable to take the knot away with a very sharp spoon knife a little at a time or burn it with an ember as suggested (i havent tried this on a knot) but you may find the wood will shrink away from the knot causing little splits, keep trying though :biggthump

[Nightfall]

I've carved 3 spoons now. Each one is better than the last so I must be doing something right. But each time the bowl part always seems to end up looking like the thing that one uses to take a pizza out of a oven with.

[Wayne]

I've carved 3 spoons now. Each one is better than the last so I must be doing something right. But each time the bowl part always seems to end up looking like the thing that one uses to take a pizza out of a oven with.

There was a thread with some nice spoons pics. it would be great to see some examples.

[maddave]

I managed to get hold of what I thought would be an ideal piece of wood to turn into a spoon with my new Mora knife. Following Ray's instructions to the best of my abilities. However, the bowl part of the spoon is in the same place as a knot in the piece of wood. This is frankly damn annoying! and I can't seem to carve this part of the spoon out because of how hard the knot is. Is it possible? or should I try with a 'knotless' piece of wood?

Will

If you want to finish the spoon, ty burning the hollow out with a coal and straw, put a small ember in the depression, blow on it with the straw and allow the heat to do the work. Careful you don't burn through and finish up with your knife. Hope this helps