Hugh Manatee
Veteran
I can do those:
This one is 90% done. She Oak handle. With the carving knife though, with the blade being much smaller, it would use an awful lot more metal.
Any spoon carvers/wood carvers, turners here?
- Thread starter Fab Foodie
- Start date
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I can do those:
This one is 90% done. She Oak handle. With the carving knife though, with the blade being much smaller, it would use an awful lot more metal.
Hugh Manatee
Veteran
Thread resurrection!
My first go:
I know the wood is very unsuitable; soft pine keeps tearing out but, it is only a practise run! I also made both of the knives shown. The Mk II carving knife is already planned plus, I now own a lathe so the handle will be different. It will look more like @Hill Wimp 's Mora.
How do you manage to keep the spoon knife sharp? Very awkward until you develop the knack?
My first go:
I know the wood is very unsuitable; soft pine keeps tearing out but, it is only a practise run! I also made both of the knives shown. The Mk II carving knife is already planned plus, I now own a lathe so the handle will be different. It will look more like @Hill Wimp 's Mora.
How do you manage to keep the spoon knife sharp? Very awkward until you develop the knack?
Randomnerd
Bimbleur
- Location
- North Yorkshire
Good effort! Pine won’t reward you or teach you much except new swear words. You really want to get some fresh, green willow or birch etc.
The knives work best when linished to a mirror finish. The aim is to have the blade so sharp that you’re stropping the cutting edge with leather, jewellers rouge or Autosol. The hook knife is trickier, but doable. Make a set of dowels to fit the radius. A hard wood is best. And strop the honed inside bevel with the dowel coated in the compound.
For more detail go https://pinewoodforge.com/sharpening-tips/
The knives work best when linished to a mirror finish. The aim is to have the blade so sharp that you’re stropping the cutting edge with leather, jewellers rouge or Autosol. The hook knife is trickier, but doable. Make a set of dowels to fit the radius. A hard wood is best. And strop the honed inside bevel with the dowel coated in the compound.
For more detail go https://pinewoodforge.com/sharpening-tips/
Hugh Manatee
Veteran
I'm having another go. This time, I found some green willow recently downed. I roughed out the shape and carved the bowl. It was then I noticed the great big split all around the front of the bowl.
I used it once to make soup and then was resigned to condemning it to the firewood pile. This morning having been stopped from working on the Mk II version of the Biolite stove pot stand by a welding helmet that randomly doesn't darken, I thought I would look at the spoon again.
I carried the split around and am now giving the bowl a new profile:
The bench clamp is on lightly and helps keeping the sharp gouge away from my fingers. I really don't want to end up in A and E!
I used it once to make soup and then was resigned to condemning it to the firewood pile. This morning having been stopped from working on the Mk II version of the Biolite stove pot stand by a welding helmet that randomly doesn't darken, I thought I would look at the spoon again.
I carried the split around and am now giving the bowl a new profile:
The bench clamp is on lightly and helps keeping the sharp gouge away from my fingers. I really don't want to end up in A and E!
Randomnerd
Bimbleur
- Location
- North Yorkshire
Keep at it. I’m trying to find time to post some free vids to the Craftcourses website, but suddenly got busy with decorating, gardening, riding on quiet roads etc.
here’s a pic of how to hold th blank and cross cut with your hook knife
And here is a pic of what is called ”crank” - the form across the spoon section that helps with function. This one is and eater so needs to fit the hand and the mouth. A stirrer can be flatter of course. etc etc
And finally a few roughed out blanks for finishing later. I find a blue pencil the best for keeping a grip on shape. Best to draw and redraw your basic mid line and edges as you go, otherwise freehanding can leave you going haywire.
Best
Tom
here’s a pic of how to hold th blank and cross cut with your hook knife
And here is a pic of what is called ”crank” - the form across the spoon section that helps with function. This one is and eater so needs to fit the hand and the mouth. A stirrer can be flatter of course. etc etc
And finally a few roughed out blanks for finishing later. I find a blue pencil the best for keeping a grip on shape. Best to draw and redraw your basic mid line and edges as you go, otherwise freehanding can leave you going haywire.
Best
Tom
Bazzer
Setting the controls for the heart of the sun.
- Location
- On the edge of reality
Current work in progress
The background to starting work on this is that Mrs B's church is very community orientated and the decision has been made to convert an area which is currently grassed over, to edible plants and fruit, as well as scented plants and somewhere to sit on better days. And those visiting the planted area can help themselves to fresh food; either to supplement need, or to give some variety to their diet.
Mrs B asked if I would carve something for the intended area. I had a piece of "railway sleeper" left over from some work in the garden a couple of years ago, so have used that.
The idea is the wood spirit looks out to the newly planted area.
Mrs B wants "something tactile" carving into the top or sides, but I have no idea what and that is on the to do list.
The background to starting work on this is that Mrs B's church is very community orientated and the decision has been made to convert an area which is currently grassed over, to edible plants and fruit, as well as scented plants and somewhere to sit on better days. And those visiting the planted area can help themselves to fresh food; either to supplement need, or to give some variety to their diet.
Mrs B asked if I would carve something for the intended area. I had a piece of "railway sleeper" left over from some work in the garden a couple of years ago, so have used that.
The idea is the wood spirit looks out to the newly planted area.
Mrs B wants "something tactile" carving into the top or sides, but I have no idea what and that is on the to do list.
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Randomnerd
Bimbleur
- Location
- North Yorkshire
There’s sometimes no need to throw work away, if you take a more Zen approach, and find a wabi sabi way to deal with the wood’s challenging behaviour. Here’s a piece of cherry which seemed stable, but opened up a stress crack. (Even the slight shock of felling can damage some woods - your willow is a very crack-prone wood.) Stopped up with pine resin mixed with dry elm dust, I think it’s spirit is even bolder than an uncracked spoon. I gave it the Japanese kanji for ”crack”, part of the kintsugi tradition of repairing things to make them more beautiful.
Kempstonian
Has the memory of a goldfish
- Location
- Bedford
More than 40 years ago I did a night school course in woodcarving and thoroughly enjoyed it. I still have my chisels and I'm thinking of having another go now. Here are three of the very amateur efforts I carved:
Penguin from a length of 4" oak gatepost
Angel fish (can't remember what the wood was)
... and a mahogany 'froad' ( I wasn't sure which it looked like most)
I also did a relief carving of a woodpecker on a tree but I gave that to my sister.
Penguin from a length of 4" oak gatepost
Angel fish (can't remember what the wood was)
... and a mahogany 'froad' ( I wasn't sure which it looked like most)
I also did a relief carving of a woodpecker on a tree but I gave that to my sister.
Handlebar Moustache
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Scotlandia
More than 40 years ago I did a night school course in woodcarving and thoroughly enjoyed it. I still have my chisels and I'm thinking of having another go now. Here are three of the very amateur efforts I carved:
Penguin from a length of 4" oak gatepost
View attachment 525971
Angel fish (can't remember what the wood was)
View attachment 525972
... and a mahogany 'froad' ( I wasn't sure which it looked like most)
View attachment 525973
I also did a relief carving of a woodpecker on a tree but I gave that to my sister.
Wow - they’re beautiful 😍
Handlebar Moustache
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Scotlandia
Ludwig
Hopeless romantic
- Location
- Lissingdown
Got my wood bundle from a sawmill and ready to go. It is mostly oak
Handlebar Moustache
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Scotlandia
Super - what are you making with it?
I would love to whittle oak - so far I’ve only tried my hand at silver birch, sycamore, cherry, rowan and ash. Of these I vastly prefer cherry. But I have a sneaking feeling that if I carved green oak it would be my new number one.
Kempstonian
Has the memory of a goldfish
- Location
- Bedford
I like those! I don't have the right chisels to have a go at something like that though. Maybe I'll take a look at getting some.
Handlebar Moustache
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Scotlandia
I like those! I don't have the right chisels to have a go at something like that though. Maybe I'll take a look at getting some.
I just use a Mora knife. I have some small gouges but a
Handlebar Moustache
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Scotlandia
Butter knife today. Gutted to see a crack in the front of the ‘handle’ so I just chopped it away and I actually rather like the resulting notch.
Also - quick question - what do you all use to sharpen your knives? What do you find most effective? I’ve experimented with wet stones and found them both a faff and not very efficient - using a (manual) kitchen knife sharpener with a carbon blade at the moment but would love to know better ways
Also - quick question - what do you all use to sharpen your knives? What do you find most effective? I’ve experimented with wet stones and found them both a faff and not very efficient - using a (manual) kitchen knife sharpener with a carbon blade at the moment but would love to know better ways
