Who wants to spoon?

tonym

tonym

Joined
Mar 18, 2008
Messages
9,491
I knew you would look:p





Just thought I'ld share this. I made it pretty quick with my Helle today. Nothing more relaxing than having a beer and doing a lil whittling is there...














I really need to get one of thosed curved carving knives, but I guess it could of came out worse.



I would love to see some of your carvings, so feel free to post up.
 
Is that to eat with, it just looks too thick and bulky. I'm not saying that your spoon is bad, but I see alot of people make big spoons like that. Do you ever use that? It seems it'd be hard to eat noodles out of a soup can with that.
 
Masteroffajitas said:
Is that to eat with, it just looks too thick and bulky. I'm not saying that your spoon is bad, but I see alot of people make big spoons like that. Do you ever use that? It seems it'd be hard to eat noodles out of a soup can with that.
Click to expand...

Everyone's a critic;):p

Just kidding. It is big and bulky, you are correct. But with over 4000 post in one year, you should know I have a big mouth:foot:

:D
 
tonym said:
I really need to get one of thosed curved carving knives, but I guess it could of came out worse.
Click to expand...


Ragnar at Ragweed Forge has them... $17-20. I'm always tempted to get one but really doubt I'd get much use out of it. I have a heavy-duty spork in all my packs. With my carving skills, I'd starve without one. ;)


What wood is the best for carving eating utensils? Do you pick a soft wood for ease of carving or avoid them for flavor reasons?



Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
Good question Desmob. I know Oak is a safe wood to eat with, but a real PIA to carve.

I am obviously not an avid carver, but I made this spoon out of Basswood. Basswood is extremely easy to carve and I believe it is safe to eat with.

Edit-- Thanks for the tip on Ragnars. Bensbackwoods has them also for the same price. I ordered them a couple of weeks ago from there, but for some reason my card was never charged. I haven't followed up on it yet....
 
desmobob said:
What wood is the best for carving eating utensils? Do you pick a soft wood for ease of carving or avoid them for flavor reasons?



Stay sharp,
desmobob
Click to expand...

Beech, sycamore and birch are all good "food" woods, avoid hardwood burls which can be VERY difficult to carve, also avoid poisonous woods like yew. Lots of woods make nice spoons, my favourite is sycamore, it was in fact imported into the uk for the specific purpose of making eating utensils.

i'll go and ifns a couple of pics.

Nathan
 
DSCN0261.jpg
 
Tony,
You are pretty talented. Good work. If your wife ever lets you come up to PEACE or WAR you could do a seminar on spoon carving.
Oldman/Marty
 
Tony, you see how much further you can carve a spoon with the 'curved/spoon type knives' Nathan used. The one you made with my, cough, Helle would be fine in a pot for stirring. If you size down what you made it would work fine for eating. Just make your spoon 'bowl' wider when you start and you'll end up being able to make it flatter and as deep as you want.

Nice to see a post here Marty!
 
Tony - That seems like a darn good spoon/ladle to me!

It's raining today - my plan was to sit in the yard and try my Laconico out stripping some bark and doing some general whittling. You're right! It's pretty darn relaxing.
 
I won’t be spooning with Tony anytime soon. :barf:

If fact, Marcelo gets nervous going to Lover’s Leap State Park with Tony. :eek:

Rightfully so. ;)

p1010021eve.jpg


Photo: Tony assumes the position. :rolleyes:




"If you're not living on the edge, …you're taking up too much space."

Big Mike
 
Last edited:
Nathan -:thumbup: nice work

Tony I like both the Helle and the spoon! I used to make big, oak kitchen spoons, but I've given them all away. Below is a Oak spatula I made along time ago, as well as a a small one that I was messing with today... My kuksa failed.. It did exactly what I said it would do, cracked and split while drying.. So I busted out the monster nessie and started over!

mike395.jpg


mike394.jpg
 
Do you guys treat these spoons with anything before using them in your home kitchen?
 
myright said:
Do you guys treat these spoons with anything before using them in your home kitchen?
Click to expand...

Yep,

Linseed oil or tung oil... They make oils for treating wood that will be in contact with food... I like linseed oil a lot, it polymerizes and seals.. but be careful with rags that it comes in contact with, it oxidizes slowly and can spontaneously combust. Either throw the rag in the fire or hang them open to dry...
 
Last edited:
mneedham said:
Yep,

Linseed oil or tung oil... They make oils for treating that will be in contact with food... I like linseed oil a lot, it polymerizes and seals.. but be careful with rags that it comes in contact with, it oxidizes slowly and can spontaneously combust. Either throw the rag in the fire or hang them open to dry...
Click to expand...

Those two statements in the same sentence crack me up :D

Thanks, bro!
 
Nathan,

Nice spoons! And thanks for the tip on the suitable wood varieties. There are lots of beeches and birches in the area I usually camp, but sycamores are pretty scarce. I've only ever noticed them in low areas along rivers here in upstate NY. I've never tried to do anything with beech, but I remember trying to make a mouse-shaped cheese cutting board out of a piece of birch when I was a kid, using the sabre saw I got for Christmas. It was like cutting iron, IIRC. That always stuck in my mind because I'm amazed how fast birch rots once it hits the ground. Seems like it goes punky overnight and there's nothing left but the bark by the night after that. But when it's green, or cut and dried, that tight grain pattern makes it strong and tough.

One of my friends is a woodcarver and he has told me basswood is great for carving. As for it's safety for food use, we'll just have to wait around and see if Tony keeps posting. ;)


BTW, Tony:

How do you like the handle on that Helle?

I have the Harding which appears to be the same size and same handle shape, but the handle is walnut/leather/birch/leather/walnut. Anyway, I have fairly large hands and something about the lip at the butt end of the handle doesn't quite fit. I've sanded off a bit and I'm tempted to remove more, but the handle is so darn pretty I don't want to mess with it. :rolleyes:

Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
Man, I bought a carving set a while ago and have never really gotten going on it. I made wooden 'knife' for a letter opener and a few other odds and ends. You have inspired me though, if I can dig up a nice chunk of wood in the next few days I may give it a go! Good looking spoon you got yourself there!
 
desmobob said:
Nathan,

Nice spoons! And thanks for the tip on the suitable wood varieties. There are lots of beeches and birches in the area I usually camp, but sycamores are pretty scarce. I've only ever noticed them in low areas along rivers here in upstate NY. I've never tried to do anything with beech, but I remember trying to make a mouse-shaped cheese cutting board out of a piece of birch when I was a kid, using the sabre saw I got for Christmas. It was like cutting iron, IIRC. That always stuck in my mind because I'm amazed how fast birch rots once it hits the ground. Seems like it goes punky overnight and there's nothing left but the bark by the night after that. But when it's green, or cut and dried, that tight grain pattern makes it strong and tough.

One of my friends is a woodcarver and he has told me basswood is great for carving. As for it's safety for food use, we'll just have to wait around and see if Tony keeps posting. ;)


BTW, Tony:

How do you like the handle on that Helle?

I have the Harding which appears to be the same size and same handle shape, but the handle is walnut/leather/birch/leather/walnut. Anyway, I have fairly large hands and something about the lip at the butt end of the handle doesn't quite fit. I've sanded off a bit and I'm tempted to remove more, but the handle is so darn pretty I don't want to mess with it. :rolleyes:

Stay sharp,
desmobob
Click to expand...


basswood is a lovely wood to carve, you should be able to get some really nice detail in it. Never used it for spoons though.

i've always used either plain vegetable oil or walnut oil on my spoons, i wouldn't use linseed or tung oil, they both have a strong taste if i'm not mistaken?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top