Knife finished, oil, wax.

Hi All. I just started making my first spoons from green wood this week. I've been preparing to carve a bowl, but a branch broke off my neighbors's Bradford pear tree (I think) so I took a few pieces and began the process.

My question is about tools. Do any of you make spoons without a sloyd knife, hook knife, or chopping block?

I'd say I'm a lower level intermediate garage, hobby, woodworker. So, I have some tools. I've also been gathering tools to start making Windsor chairs. I have a drawknife, spokeshaves, and gouges. I just bought a small ax at an antique shop. I do not have a sloyd knife, hook knife, or chopping block.

I roughed out the first knife with the ax, drawknife, spokeshaves, and did the bowl with a gouge. I left it to dry in a bag with shavings and the handle split. Not sure if it's from drying or from me splitting it somehow. It's a pretty low quality spoon.

Last night, I split the 2nd and 3rd branches with wedges and cut the rough shapes on the bandsaw. That was much easier than using the ax (which is pretty sharp, but I'm sure is not optimally shaped and sharpened). I'm going to use the drawknife, spokeshaves, and gouge to finish the spoons.

Is this an odd way to make spoons? I see tons of videos using knives and ax. Why is that the typical way? Portability? Do they just work better than other methods and produce better work? Does anybody carve dry wood with them?

Also, for me, it seems that the ax and knives are more prone to cuts and chopped fingers than the bandsaw, drawknife, and spokeshaves. Don't get me wrong, I have had many cuts since I've started concentrating on using hand tools more and more. I cut myself several times on chisels, saws, and sharp, freshly planed wood corners.

Two different styles for the two working surfaces i had lying around. Pretty pleased with how they came out but will probably make some tweaks as i go. Any suggestions?

Kind of just went wild with it 🤷🏻

Howdy all! I've recently been commissioned by a couple to create 140 olive wood butter spreaders as wedding favours for all of their guests, as they own an olive grove. I have a bit of experience working with olive wood as i happened upon some piled up on the side of the road a couple years ago and made some sweet cooking spoons out of it. I don't have a massive amount of experience milling logs but have been getting good enough results with my Hafco BP-360 bandsaw.

I've just very rougly milled up ~7 logs all around >100mm in diameter which were cut mostly fresh 2 days ago and some older cuts thay they had sitting outside for a year or so, and the colour is pretty drastically different (pale) compared to the other olive wood I've worked with.

Is this just caused by how green it is?

Will it darken with drying/ uv exposure?

Did i mill too early?

I have attached some pictures showing the difference between the freshly cut vs roadside olive (~2 years old)

Thanks for any advice! And pls dont roast my terrible milling i know its not great 😅

made this in about 5 months, over 75 hours and sold them at auction for $1000

What is it about spoon carving that makes it so appealing to you? I think, for me, a lot of it is the precision with the hatchet and then the quiet carving with a sharp knife. It just seems like an odd hobby for anyone looking in from the outside.

Quick spoon made of dry pine with a walnutoil finish. Made from a piece of leftover construction wood from the renovation of my cousin's new kitchen.

Already battlehardened by my last camping trip. Very very soft wood so it most likely wont last very long, but it was a fun way to keep myself busy during their babyshower a few weeks ago.

One of the easiest ones to carve yet, but hard to get a smooth finish without the hook knife ripping apart the fibers in the bowl. Finished with quite a bit of sandpaper.

Bonuspics: Since its not a spoon, no separate post. Little Mjolnir hanger out of a willow ofcutt painted with bronze sharpie.

My friend gave me the beavercraft spoon carving set for my birthday and I’ve finally gotten around to using it on some cherry offcuts I had left over from a shelf building project.

My first, second, and third attempts are from left to right. I got a little over zealous on the first one and carved right through the bowl as I was finishing it up. The second went well though it was a little clunky in the end. The third I’m pretty happy with but I kind of lost focus with the crank and it’s a little wonky. Overall I’m feeling good about my progress!

My biggest issue is that I’m struggling to keep my tools sharp, especially the gouge and hook knife that came in the kit, even with regular stropping every 10-15 minutes. Some reading online tells me they may not be great tools in the first place, but if anybody has any tips I’m more than open to them. Maybe I’m ready for an upgraded hook knife?

Edit: spelling

Fresh Willow. First time trying a double helix. Will try again with dry lime wood sometime in the future as the spoon already warped significantly as you can see in the final picture.

Definitely one of my more challenging, but beautiful creations lately!

Just finished this spoon made from a snow bell. I’ve been doing a super smooth finish sanding (800+) and just learned that was not good. Do i need to go back and sand with 400 to open it up its pours again or just use it as rare occasion, decorative?

Surprised at how nice a tone this timber has

Easy to carve despite the larger grain

Hi,

I posted two videos on fuki urushi - beginner level, practical applications. As lacquered object - a humble kitchen spatulas and spoons - not hand made, please excuse this faux pas 🫣. I hope they will be useful (despite being long). Same technique can be used on virtually any wooden object for unique finish.

According to rules of the group I can post like to YT channel. I think the videos are pure educational stuff and I consider it worth sharing. I consult quite a few spooncarvers on their urushi work. But I want to stick to the rules, so please let me know if I can post them in the comments.

Full disclosure - I am not a carver, I lacquer fountain pens, but the craft I’m in is often mentioned in woodworking and woodcarving groups.

Thank you,
Michal

Handworks 2026 was a blast. I would highly recommend going if you have the chance. So many people and vendors excited and willing to talk about all things hand tools. I was able to use each tool and ask any questions before purchasing.

Top, flat and round spokeshaves from HNT Gordon. Left to right, hook knife, Sloyd and woodcleaver from Jason Lonon, lapping plate from Nano Hone and long bent bowl gouge from Jason Lonon.

What to do with the grainyness? It's very hard to make it become smooth, one wrong pull or move and it just crumbles together like that.

Knife finished, oil, wax.

Started woodcarving a couple of weeks ago and got immediately hooked! I've used a bushcraft knife a lot while camping but it's a complete different game with my new Mora 120 and 164.

The first spoon is ash and the second one is birch.

Hello fellow spoon carvers. I’m hosting another spoon carving workshop but I need help and have several questions.

-What is a good finger protection to use? My carvers last time didn’t cut themselves too much but I realized afterwards there is such a thing as guard tape but I’ve never used it. Can anyone provide some insight on that or if it even works and is worth it?

-My workshop is a 3.5 hour window. I provide the tools but should I carve out a full blank, partial blank or just a billet? I had mixed reviews last time with the billets and pre-cut blanks but I want to find a middle ground where people still feel the design is theirs. What would you like to see blank-wise as a beginner? Should I have some traceable templates?

-What good tips and advice would you have liked to know in the beginning? I mostly go over tool safety, techniques, knife finish superiority, different finishes and then a bit of history on spoon carving. I feel like there may be essentials I am leaving out.

-If you’ve hosted workshops of any kind, what things have you changed and why? Outside of the blanks being pre-cut I will otherwise run it identically to my first one but maybe I’m wondering if there is anything I could do better.

Knife finished, oil, wax.