For anyone who wants to explore a wood carving technique, connect with their hands, and develop a new skill. A Primer on Green Woodworking goes over https://woodcarving.info/gallery/ what green woodworking is and why anyone can get started with it. Our blades are high carbon steel so they keep their edge and are easy to sharpen.

spoon carving

We always love the opportunity to collaborate with our good friend, Leslie Wolf Walters, in offering one-day spoon carving classes here at CORD. The class is designed both for beginners and those who wish to refine their carving skills. Leslie will teach all the steps and methods used to carve a freshly cut piece of wood into a wooden spoon using tools that are traditional to green woodworking–an axe and knives. Some years ago, my wife broke a cheap wooden spoon in the kitchen.

Spoon Carving Woods?

The handles made from a dense hardwood to achieve a solid presence in the hand, we also refined the shape for comfort and control. Whenever you make a spoon for eating, you’ll likely be checking that it fits comfortably in the palm of your hand. But it’s easy to forget that it also has to fit in the mouth! So as you carve you need to be testing that you’ve made it thin enough. Similar to willow, lime is good for when you’re learning to be a spoon carver but it isn’t a very remarkable wood. Roasting it gives it this dark, almost aged patina quality.

  • Aim to remove wood from the shoulders without continuing to thin down the handle.
  • I just kept going back and forth from the handle to the bowl to get it closer to the shape I was looking for.
  • Holly is a creamy white wood with a lovely close grain which roasts beautifully.
  • In some cases, the piece of wood itself may well dictate the shape of the spoon – see the curved ‘bone spoon’ box out below, with its defined arc.
  • “Yes” is what I can tell you when you ask me if you should keep going.
  • If you don’t get in the way of arborists and ask nicely, they’ll often give you wood for free.

Repeat, using overlapping strokes, until you get to the other end of the bowl. Turn the stock around in the https://feltmagnet.com/crafts/Carving-Faces-in-Relief-Notes-and-Advice vise and work the other side. Now take light cuts with the grain, beginning at the front of the bowl.

A Course By Andrea Cortés Barcelona Wood Workshops

Hold the knife with your wrist and elbow straight and locked. The movement comes from your upper body and shoulder. Raise your shoulder https://woodcarving.info/top-30-tips-for-ideas-and-patterns/ up as high as it goes, and with the knife engaging the wood at the butt, make a downward thrust while slicing toward the knife’s tip.

Online Resources To Get Started With Wood Carving

The author’s children enjoy watching him use the spokeshave . He checks the workpiece from different angles to be sure the lines flow smoothly and consistently. https://study.com/academy/lesson/relief-carving-definition-tools-techniques.html Any other tips for beginner/enthusiast spoon makers? Let us know in the comments below so we can grow this resource and inspire other spoon makers.

I sketch the top view on the bark side, then make relief cuts where the handle meets the spoon’s bowl. Now I can chop down the handle’s outline without risk of hitting the end grain of the bowl and splitting it. I’ll https://woodcarving.info/gallery/ begin with a serving spoon from a fairly straight blank. Start with a clear piece of fresh wood, the diameter a little greater than the intended spoon’s width. Split the piece down its length with a froe or hatchet.