Carving a Wooden Spoon

**MCBushbaby** · 03-21-2008, 04:42 PM

Friend brought over a crook knife after hearing I needed one. Sharpened it and began testing on a 2x4. Following days found me bored so I just kept at it. This is the result:

pics can be found here.

Basic Steps:

Find a green piece of wood (dry 2x4 with mini knots was agony!) and cut to size
Use a hatchet or saw to cut a block form of your spoon. Meaning height, width and dept.
Use a draw knife or straight-blade to form the block into a recognizable spoon shape
Use the crook (or crooked) knife to dig out the bowl, taper the point where the handle attaches, and round the bowl (rim, outside, and inside)
Slim the spoon down to minimal thickness without compromising integrity
Begin rough sanding to remove bumps
Move on to middle and light sanding to remove burrs and small imperfections
Finish off with a quick soak in mineral oil if you want to preserve the wood and accentuate the grain (I didn't on this one)

And, like all my equipment, I needed to weigh it: 8.2g compared to my stainless steel camping spoon (20.6g). I think I found a new spoon

**Rick** · 03-21-2008, 06:45 PM

You do know that 2X4s are soaked in hydrogonized saclicilic acid to protect them from termites, right?

Nooooooo. Just kidding!! Nice job. I like the knife, too.

**hillbilly1987** · 03-21-2008, 06:51 PM

very nice job on that project bud i like it alot

**MCBushbaby** · 03-21-2008, 07:17 PM

Thanks, glad you guys like it. There was a diagonal knot running just under the bowl so I had to work with that hard piece of hatred. :P

Next I plan to do a bowl using Tom Brown's ember-burning technique where, from what I can gather, you literally burn out the bowl and then carve to perfection. I'll see how that goes

I also want to do one of those Finish cups (the kind with the solid handle with two holes for fingers). Forgot what they're called but I'd like to have one for the trail.

**hillbilly1987** · 03-21-2008, 07:19 PM

Originally Posted by mitch.chesney

Thanks, glad you guys like it. There was a diagonal knot running just under the bowl so I had to work with that hard piece of hatred. :P

Next I plan to do a bowl using Tom Brown's ember-burning technique where, from what I can gather, you literally burn out the bowl and then carve to perfection. I'll see how that goes

I also want to do one of those Finish cups (the kind with the solid handle with two holes for fingers). Forgot what they're called but I'd like to have one for the trail.

well mitch it sounds you are having alot of fun and that is kool and when you get done with the next project can we see pictures of it?

**Rick** · 03-21-2008, 08:09 PM

Mitch - You may be describing a kuksa. It's a traditional Scandinavian cup. There are a couple of variants on the kuksa.

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**MCBushbaby** · 03-21-2008, 08:34 PM

Exactly Rick! Aren't those beautiful cups? For a carving job with functional application, I gotta love em.

**h8mtv** · 04-01-2008, 09:29 PM

I did a bowl from a big chunk of cherry when I was a kid. I dropped a cinder on where I wanted to remove wood and blew lightly with a straw. It burns it deeply and makes it easy to scrape out with a knife. It actually came out real cool.

**Rick** · 04-02-2008, 07:40 AM

Welcome h8! How about burning you way over to the introduction section and tell us a little about your self.

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...splay.php?f=14

**Alpine_Sapper** · 04-02-2008, 10:05 AM

Originally Posted by Rick

Mitch - You may be describing a kuksa. It's a traditional Scandinavian cup. There are a couple of variants on the kuksa.

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Any idea where I can come by one of those with the wolf carving? I see the link is from wikpedia, and a quick google search didn't turn up much.

**Rick** · 04-02-2008, 11:08 AM

You gave me quite a challenge. Unfortunately, I didn't either. I even tried to email the author but couldn't find a viable email on him. I did see some that had pictures of bears or other animals burned into the side of them. Some of those were on ebay. But this is the only carving I found. Sorry.

**Alpine_Sapper** · 04-02-2008, 11:23 AM

Originally Posted by Rick

You gave me quite a challenge. Unfortunately, I didn't either. I even tried to email the author but couldn't find a viable email on him. I did see some that had pictures of bears or other animals burned into the side of them. Some of those were on ebay. But this is the only carving I found. Sorry.

*shrugs* Hey, thanks for trying!

Mitch, between you and Rick you've inspired me. Now I gotta go try and carve a cup with an animal in the handle.

**MCBushbaby** · 04-02-2008, 11:25 AM

Originally Posted by Alpine_Sapper

Any idea where I can come by one of those with the wolf carving? I see the link is from wikpedia, and a quick google search didn't turn up much.

I'm using this guy's site for reference. Pretty good step-by-step for more advanced stuff like fancy bowls and kuksas

**Alpine_Sapper** · 04-02-2008, 11:35 AM

Originally Posted by mitch.chesney

I'm using this guy's site for reference. Pretty good step-by-step for more advanced stuff like fancy bowls and kuksas

Great site. Muchas Gracias.

**Rick** · 04-02-2008, 12:43 PM

That is a great site. Thanks!

**Aurelius95** · 04-02-2008, 03:15 PM

Originally Posted by h8mtv

I did a bowl from a big chunk of cherry when I was a kid. I dropped a cinder on where I wanted to remove wood and blew lightly with a straw. It burns it deeply and makes it easy to scrape out with a knife. It actually came out real cool.

I took a survival class a few months ago, and we tried burning an ember into a chunk of wood. For a straw, we used a small length of bamboo. Turned out pretty good. Found out that if it doesn't burn easily, you can apply mud to the "thinning" side to keep it from burning further.