Spoonylicious!

[Paganwolf]

I managed to grab my self a couple of bits of spoon fodder this weekend,Ash, willow but in particular a piece of hawthorn, hawthorn is a very wet and closed grained wood when cut, fantastic for carving with, heres what i did with it.
First i split the wood using an axe (no pics of that sorry :cry: ) then i drew out a spoon on the blank and cut four stop cuts into it prior to carving, stop cuts STOP you cutting through the piece you are carving and splitting through into other more delicate parts of your carving,

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v479/jlamour1/Picture1138.jpg

i then removed the wood creating a spoon shape, when carving a spoon carve it in 2 dimensions draw it out in one plane and carve it out keep looking at it as you carve and remove small amounts until you are happy with the results.Stay outside the lines you have created this will give you a small margin of error.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v479/jlamour1/Picture1140.jpg

once i had carved the top profile i then drew the side profile on following the curve of the wood cutting stop cuts as i went,

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v479/jlamour1/Picture1146.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v479/jlamour1/Picture1149.jpg

i then continued to remove the wood on this plane to create the shape to the spoon, as you carve keep looking at your piece and where you think it needs work carve it a little more.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v479/jlamour1/Picture1150.jpg

you are then left with the roughed out spoon, notice how i have left the wood on the end of the handle so it gives you something to hold whilst carving. As you carve constantly look at and hold and feel what you are doing, after all this is something you are going to use it must be comfortable to hold and pleasing to YOUR eye as you have created it and if you have created it then it is a thing of beauty to you as well as being functional

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v479/jlamour1/Picture1152.jpg

oh then have a bru (this is not mandatory while carving)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v479/jlamour1/Picture1154.jpg

then i look at the spoon from the end seing if it is flat along the first plane i carved, if not i remove wood form the top face of the spoon so it is flat(ish) on the uppermost surface

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v479/jlamour1/Picture1155.jpg

I then remove the piece i was using to hold the spoon as i am now carving in more detail

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v479/jlamour1/Picture1157.jpg

then i continue to whittle and carve till i have the basic spoon shape, i find i go into a state of meditation it seems to relax me immensely so i stop at this point, phone a friend and have another bru :naughty:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v479/jlamour1/Picture1162.jpg

at this point i carve the bowl using a crook/spoon knife

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v479/jlamour1/Picture1164.jpg

as i carve the bowl of the spoon i continuously try it in my mouth, after all you will be eating with it and there is nothing like a custom made spoon to fit your gob! :lol:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v479/jlamour1/Picture1166.jpg
you will now have the spoon in the rough,remember this is a practice makes perfect project as you carve your wood will split where you don't want it to, you will over cut into the next bit you are carving ect as you do this you will gain experience so when it does occur you will know how to rectify your mistake, play around with your cuts and techniques, its hard enough putting this thread together without showing this!! you can use wood from your local wood yard or hard wood specialist so just because you cant get a piece from a woodland doesn't mean you cant create a lovely spoon, as this hawthorn wood is so wet i will leave it indoors for 3/5 days to dry until raising the grain and sanding and oiling,
so watch this space. ps hope you enjoy looking at this as much as i enjoyed doing it :wink:

[TheViking]

Excellent tutorial. :You_Rock_ I have never tried carving a spoon, though I have the option, as we have loads of trees. Perhaps me should one day. :wink:

[Neil1]

Andy,
You must its an essential piece of your kit. I broke my favourite one a couple of days back, so I'm off to carve a new one tommorow.
Neil

[TheViking]

Andy,
You must its an essential piece of your kit.
I use a metal spoon. :nana: But I can see the idea with a treespoon as it's more personal. But don't have a spoon knife... :cry:

[Paganwolf]

are your right or left handed? You can use the curve of your knife to carve the bowl make sure it is razor sharp first though should have enough curve at the end of the blade to get a reasonable bowl....

[leon-1]

Andy you don't need a crook knife, you can carve it out using a normal knife or you can use an ember to burn out the bowl and then sand it down :wink:

[TheViking]

Thanks. I will try. :pack:

[Snufkin]

Nice tutorial :biggthump , I know what you mean about going into a meditative state while doing these things, very theraputic.

[Paganwolf]

i know its weird i have to stop for a mo when i get to a certain stage or i end up with a matchstick! :rolmao: most relaxing :wink: this one will be nice me thinks once finished, i have just started another out of ash also..

[Snufkin]

So do you sand yours or leave the tool marks in?

[Paganwolf]

I like to sand mine, then i give it a wipe over with tung oil then dip it in water for a while and leave it to dry this raises the grain of the wood, i then allow it to dry and then use a very fine grade sand paper to smooth the spoon once more, i repeat this process once more till the grain no longer raises then give it a good oiling, It can then be used for everyday use..

[jamesdevine]

You can also burn the bowl of the spoon out with a ember. Start by carving the spoon shape then drill a small hole where the bowl of the spoon will be. Place a small ember in the hole and then blow the ember to live(you can use a strew for more). You only need to blow it hard enough to widen the edges of the hole until it is large enough to use effectively. Be careful not to burn through the wood and you should not allow a flame to form.

After this you can use sand from a stream and water(or sand paper) to grind out the chard edges and you have a beautiful spoon in a matter of minutes. This technic can be used to also make bowls and noggins. They are bit rougher maybe then the use of hook knife but still very functional.

This technic is in Ray's Outdoor Survival handbook and believe in some of Tom Browns books as well.

Sorry PW great tutorial I can't see the pics maybe you could put one in the Gallery. :You_Rock_

Sorry just reread the thread and relised that PW had mentions this technic already. Sorry for the over lap but maybe someone might find it usful :wink:
James

[hootchi]

Well said Paganwolf. Nicely done and nice end result :biggthump :super:

[Paganwolf]

Needs a few more coats of oil but you get the idea :wink:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v479/jlamour1/100_0514.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v479/jlamour1/100_0513.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v479/jlamour1/100_0512.jpg

(apologys for blurryish pics camera has mind of its own! :rolmao: )

[tomtom]

:biggthump looks like a great job to me!!

[tenbears10]

Yep top spoon there PW. I need some serious spoon practice to get up to your standard.

Bill

[Paganwolf]

If you have created it spent time on it and enjoyed doing it and it gets food in your mouth then its a beautiful damn fine spoon. looks can be deceiving im quite a nice bloke really :rolmao: :rolmao: :rolmao: before you say it Gary :nana:

[Kim]

Cracking spoon.
:biggthump

[tomtom]

Cracking spoon.
:biggthump

not if you oil it propperly :nana:

[Snufkin]

That's really nice, I'll have to see if I can get hold of some hawthorn.

[TAHAWK]

My last "field" spoon benefited from finding a 35mm sandstone ball in a stream bed. It does a great job of "sanding" out the bowl. Somehow, it seemed better than using my crooked knife. (Good Lord, I've caught the spoon pox! :yikes: )

[masongary44]

Thats ace!!.. I like what you did at the end of the handle, I am always short of inspiration there......

My spoons always seem to end up a little delicate.... hours of "just a little more off that side" normally leaves me with a nice spoon / toothpick combo :roll:

[Paganwolf]

It helps to draw what your thinking of with a soft pencil and just remove the wood to just outside the lines and then sand to a nice finish,your not on your own with the spoon tooth pick combo though :rolmao:

[philaw]

I just made my first ever spoon! In fact, it's one of the first things I've made a long time. It's not straight, but I love it anyway. The main reason I'm telling you is because I was inspired to try it by someone who said you didn't need a crook knife and could even use timber. In the end, I had a £3 hacksaw, a hammer and a mora knife, and I made a spoon from a 2cmx15cm x30cm section of pine plank. In true bushcraft style, I improvised an axeless way to split the wood using a hammer and an old cleaver, sawing in stop cuts. The bowl of the spoon is very shallow and was made simply with sandpaper. I'm tempted to splash-out £3 on a hoof knife to make another attempt at the bowl before I oil it, and turn it into a rustic masterpiece. :o):

[Paganwolf]

Well done :biggthump you can deepen the bowl with a small ember from the fire also, take a small ember place it in the center of the bowl and jently blow it and move it around burning away a small amount of wood accross the surface of the bowl gradually deepening it, it can then be sanded if you want a smooth finish or use the curve at the tip of your knife to get a shallow bowl as long as it can stir your tea and get food in your mouth its a good spoon :wink: what it looks like will come with practice :biggthump

[philaw]

Thanks paganwolf! I'm going to avoid burning this one because it's small will be difficult to do. Sand paper and lots of effort will see a spoon this small finished. I want my first spoon to be an unqualified success, so I stay enthusiastic!

[Paganwolf]

:biggthump

[Wayne]

Thanks paganwolf! I'm going to avoid burning this one because it's small will be difficult to do. Sand paper and lots of effort will see a spoon this small finished. I want my first spoon to be an unqualified success, so I stay enthusiastic!

Don't forget to post a pic. Your first spoon is very special.

[philaw]

:-) I wanted to but didn't know how! I've found how to link to a pic, but can't see how to upload them. Do I need to get storage space elsewhere?

[tomtom]

phil.. depending on your membership you can upload them to the BCUK gallery..

or you can store them here (http://photobucket.com/albums/v217/BCUK/) the password is "bushcraftuk" anyone can use this account to host pics if they wish!

[bushblade]

Nice spoon Pagan wolf, though I am curious as to why you split the billet with your axe and then proceeded to put in stop cuts with your saw? If you had the axe to hand why not blank out the spoon with the axe? Its much quicker.

Spoon blanked out with axe
http://img1.yoxio.com/img/127311.jpg (http://www.yoxio.com)

Finished with knife, and spoon knife
http://img1.yoxio.com/img/127312.jpg (http://www.yoxio.com)

I sanded it at home but have since given this one away, though I may have some pics somewhere.
Sorry for the bad photagraphy.

[Paganwolf]

Nice spoon Pagan wolf, though I am curious as to why you split the billet with your axe and then proceeded to put in stop cuts with your saw? If you had the axe to hand why not blank out the spoon with the axe? Its much quicker.



Hi Bushblade, theres more than one way to skin a cat, this is just one method easy to follow for a first spoon, if your not used to handling an axe one wrong chop could see half of the bowl in the fire and the rest quickly follows, it gives confidence if your first one comes out good, and yes much quicker to rough out with an axe and its how i would usually blank one, but i just thought showing this method was a tad easier and usefull for carving other small items that can be whittled and carved.. :?: :biggthump

[bushblade]

Hi Bushblade, theres more than one way to skin a cat, this is just one method easy to follow for a first spoon, if your not used to handling an axe one wrong chop could see half of the bowl in the fire and the rest quickly follows, it gives confidence if your first one comes out good, and yes much quicker to rough out with an axe and its how i would usually blank one, but i just thought showing this method was a tad easier and usefull for carving other small items that can be whittled and carved.. :?: :biggthump


Good point, I was showing someone how to carve a spoon the other day (a large willow fell down at work) and it was easier to explain how to do it with the saw rather than the axe.
And I do remember telling him to learn how to use a knife and saw before the axe, walk before you run sort of thing. :-)