Mug - N - Spoon....finally finished

Daniel Koster

Daniel Koster

www.kosterknives.com
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Oct 18, 2001
Messages
20,978
You may remember me mentioning a renaissance event I'm attending next week.

Well, check out these pics...

All made by hand, hit-and-miss over that last couple of days. Hope a certain Cherokee friend of ours gets a chance to see these...;) and give them his blessing.


mug-n-spoon2.jpg




spoon-top.jpg




spoon-back.jpg



Here's how I'll be carrying the 2 of them on my belt.
mug-n-spoon.jpg



I used the flash to let you see down inside the mug. I actually cut it in a somewhat :rolleyes: hexagonal shape and then glued the parts back together. What you see in the bottom is water left over from the last water-tightness test I did before shooting this.
inside.jpg




Turned out to be quite a fun project. I was out working while my kids were watching Peter Pan this weekend and I could help laughing each time I came in the house covered with yellow "pixie dust". :D
 
Not sure if other thread says, but I'll ask question first, then look later. ;)

What's the wood in these and how'd you finish the,?

And they look great. Makes me wanna go to ren faire again. :)
 
Great work Pen!, you are a talent.
Does the backside of that spoon bear a resemblance to
the same part of the body by design or nature?:D
Regards,
Greg
 
Nice work. Looks like you put some real time into it. Can you tell us a little about the making the handle for the mug. And I, like some of the others, am interested in the wood and how you finished it. I'm sure you will get tons of compliments at the affair.
 
Thanks for the kind words, guys. I didn't expect much response because of the weekend.

I was hoping Yvsa would see this first before I let the cat out of the bag, but since he's hit-and-miss on the net (and I'm taking off tomorrow) I'll just go ahead and spill the beans.

Yvsa sent me a few old fence post segments that were made of Osage Orange. The Mug and Spoon come from one of them.

If you look carefully at the last pic you can see how I did it. Basically I cut 3 sides off (the long strips) and then 3 more (the shorter strips). Then carefully glued them back together and tacked on a base. Everything was hand sanded and then buffed. Last was a coat of Olive Oil. The wood is like magic. It glitters. Plus it's incredibly hard and strong. I give the spoon a 100 yr. warranty...:D

Something interesting about the wood - the heartwood was pithy and about 1/4" (diameter) had come out. In other words, it looked like someone had drilled a hole all the way through the log. Again, if you look closely you can see that I plugged the hole in the bottom of the mug.

I carved the spoon out of the middle section that was left over after cutting the strips off. It too, has the hole through it which you can see in the photographs.

I like that kind of stuff and so I left it visible on purpose. I had to plug it, though...would have made using it a bit impractical. :rolleyes:

The leather strap is rawhide (on piece wrapped completely around the mug) that I distressed a bit to get some discoloration. I glued it in place and coated it with mink oil and parafin wax. Since taking the pictures, I have added some brass upholstery tacks at the 2 ends, as well as right before the handle parts. (I'll make sure to get some better pics when I use it next week)

The outside of the mug is also treated with parafin wax.

The whole effect was to get this thing to look old - I mean ancient. Did it work?


Anyway, I'm quite delighted how it turned out. Rough and rugged on the outside of the mug, glimmery and gilded on the inside. Plus, the spoon is just magic. Can't describe it any other way.


I think it holds about 11 oz. - not as much as I intended initially, but hey, can't complain. I'm just happy it hasn't fallen apart yet.

Greg - your comment cracks me up...*groan* :D :D :D
 
Yessir, that's how you do it, great job Dan. I've got a big old mug for beer, and a smaller cup that hangs from my belt by a leather thong that's used for coffee and "strong spirits". Both were made in Norway from hollowed out sections of Birch logs with the bark left on. Love the look, and wooden vessels actually insulate hot/cold beverages quite well.

Quite a rig you're putting together. Best go cut yourself a good oak quarterstaff like I talked about. You'll need it to drive back the throngs of amorous wenches once they clasp eyes on you laddie. Hee, the Duck can tease us about "dressing up in skirts", but he's never had a comely lass give him a proper "kilt check". Zowee, keep the missus close to hand, stay out of mischief, and remember this verse from the Havamal;

Less good than belief would have it
Is mead for the sons of men:
A man knows less the more he drinks,
Becomes a befuddled fool

That's me in a nutshell as I woke up at one Renfest, flat on my back in cool grass shaded by a hedge, staring up into a sky swirling with clouds (all the more thanks to the mead). The air was filled with the sweet wailing of bagpipes, and I thought I'd died and gone to heaven, until those wee imps from hell known as Texas fire ants rudely interrupted my state of bliss.

Sarge
 
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