The last thing I did before Covid lockdown in March 2020 was a very enjoyable 1-day spoon carving workshop with Jeffrey the Natural Builder. Highly recommended – worth every penny. Carving a spoon from green wood with an axe and knife is wonderful, it’s like a meditation.
So while everyone else was panic buying toilet roll, I bought myself a very nice carving axe from Woods Tools.
Richard’s Rice Paddle
I made a rice paddle for Richard. For the first time, I left the surface much more naturally rough carved than the earlier spoons. I like this – it reminds me of the planishing on the titanium spoon. Somehow, I forgot to take good photos of it before I gave it to him. Maybe Richard will read this and send me a nice photo.
Like most of my spoons, it starts with a quick sketch, an axe, a mallet and a piece of green wood.
David’s Organic Spoon
The plan for this spoon was a larger bowl and it wasn’t so asymmetric, but the wood had other plans – a couple of knots. Finding a spoon in a bit of wood is about following the grain and working with the wood, rather than against it.
Rob’s Spencil
Rob challenged me to hand-carve a hexagonal spiral. This turned out to be quite hard. It also became a spoon-pencil with a hexagonal theme. Perfect for having great ideas while you’re eating.
Lucy’s Spoon
Images to come.
Spork
It turns out that sporks are a lot more work to make than a spoon. About twice as much, especially if the wood is quite hard, as this turned out to be.
Second Spoon
Second spoon made on the 1-day workshop with Jeffrey the Natural Builder. Birch.
First Spoon
First spoon made from Birch on the 1-day workshop with Jeffrey the Natural Builder. Stuck it in a jiffy bag in the freezer and finished it off at home during the week after. I use it for frying my egg every morning.
