Nicole Alderman wrote:You're almost there, Jay! Thin out the handle a bit more, and work a little more on the "bowl" and you should be there!
(Thinking about all the submissions in this BB, it honestly seems like carving a bigger spoon is likely easier, because you don't need as much finesse. A smaller spoon seems to need to be a bit finer in construction than a ladle or mixing spoon would need to be. It is harder to find bigger sticks, though!)
I thinned the handle as much as I dared, and made the bowl deeper. The spoon is currently under a cast iron in the hopes that it won't warp more as it dries XD
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side view
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top view
bit by bit, I'm gonna get my bricks out in the sticks / bit by bit, I'm gonna build my house in the wildest thickets
I made a spoon. I found a piece of wood in the woodpile that looked like it wanted to be a spoon. I don't know if it'll be a good spoon but let's find out.
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starting piece
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taking away all the wood that isn't a spoon
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finished guy, the tools I used, and the other half of the wood I split off
Nicole Alderman approved this submission. Note: I hereby certify that this badge bit is complete! I love the roundness at the end of the handle. Well done!
Nicole Alderman wrote:You're almost there, Jay! Thin out the handle a bit more, and work a little more on the "bowl" and you should be there!
(Thinking about all the submissions in this BB, it honestly seems like carving a bigger spoon is likely easier, because you don't need as much finesse. A smaller spoon seems to need to be a bit finer in construction than a ladle or mixing spoon would need to be. It is harder to find bigger sticks, though!)
I thinned the handle as much as I dared, and made the bowl deeper. The spoon is currently under a cast iron in the hopes that it won't warp more as it dries XD
Looking so much better!!!
Once it dries, give it a sanding so there's no splinters, and I'm thinking you'll be good to go!
This is my first time carving a spoon, I’ve always wanted to but I didn’t have a hook knife until now. My wood wasn’t quite as soft as I would’ve liked, but it worked.
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The cherry wood that I used
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Me sawing the wood in half
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Pattern sketched out and the bowl of it carved out
The guy in the video in the first post makes this look easy… even using green wood, my first spoon was more challenging than I expected.
Made me really wish for that fun looking question-mark-knife.
I cut some maple from a tree in the back, used Mike’s log peeling tool to get it started, my draw knife to finish the peeling, split with a chisel, started with my folding knife, bowled out with a carving chisel, then sanded, and sanded, started to post and heard everyone collectively say “keep going” so I kept sanding.
Hoping you all like it! It’s not half bad to use.
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Starting hunk
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Mike’s peeling tool
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Draw knife
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Chisel
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Shaping
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Bowling
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Sanding
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Started from the bottom now we’re here
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I left that channel where the pith was because I liked the aesthetics
I've carved spoons off and on for years. This comes from some limbs that fell from my neighbors beech tree. I thought they were greener than it turned out to be, the way beech holds on to it's leaves fooled me. It didn't carve quite as nicely as fresher beech would have but worked out fine. I won't show it here but I usually bake spoons from beech and other light colored woods in an oven to make them darker colors or make the grain stand out more.
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branches
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splitting
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axeing out a blank
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lay out
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carving
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ready to let dry completely in a paper bag
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after finishing touches with scrapers
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side view
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with some early spoons I've saved for teaching aids, carved 15-20 years ago