Love that grain.💚

I got into spoon carving a few months ago. I think this is my 12th one. Thought I'd share it here.

Hey everyone!

Just wrapped up this spoon project carved from local green Istrian oak, using only manual tools (hand axe for roughing out and sloyd/detail knives for the rest). Oak is always a challenge to work by hand, but the grain and durability are so worth it.

The handle features a carved Norwegian flag as a small tribute to my fascination with traditional Viking shipbuilding—I'm always amazed by how they still construct ships in Norway using ancient hand-tool methods.

Process & Finish:

- Hand-carved the flag pattern into the handle top.

- Applied a strong coffee stain over the carving so it settled into the lines, giving it a subtle contrast against the light oak.

- Finished with traditional burnishing to smooth the fibers, then sealed with a coat of natural oil.

I’ve included the progress shots in the post so you can see how it evolved from the initial sketch on the split log to the final piece.

Would love to hear your thoughts on the finish!

What is a glue I can use on a wooden spoon that is split?

Second spoon I’ve ever carved and only like the 4th thing ever I completed. It’s made from a 1x1 piece of basswood that’s why the bowl is so skinny.
What types of wood are you guys using and where do you get it from?

I posted a question about using green wood for carving and got a lot of good responses. So I cut a limb off a pear tree and tried it. Roughed it out that day and put it in a box of wood shavings between carving times. The difference in hardness was amazing and it didn't split. It's not pretty but I made it to use stirring large pots of sauce. A couple of people requested I post my results so here it is.

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This is a spoon that I carved from applewood. It's decorated using a Japanese technique called ukibori.

With this technique you can achieve a toadskin-like surface. You have to press or hammer little dents into the wood (I used a metal rod that I rounded off on one end) sand it down, so all the dents are gone and then apply some drops of water onto the sanded surface. The water lifts the compressed fibers up, and you'll end up with a cool pattern. I recommend dense, but not too hard wood like maple or apple for this technique.

This spoon was also finished with 7 coats of urushi lacquer.

Sandpaper, oil, wax.

London plane harvested literally in Brooklyn, NY from a tree that fell during a storm (the very nice parks department guy said I could take all I wanted). I have some more spoon blanks in my fridge, but it’s def annoying with the grain.

I’ll do a full writeup when I’m done, but this is only my second spoon and my first with green wood, so trying to understand how thin I need to go/even

I have a question for you. I haven't carved in a couple of weeks and already I am noticing tarnishing / corrosion on my new knife blades. How are you all combating this? Keep them in oil? Oil Rags? Something similar?

Thanks in advance,

WorWizard

Did my first spoon carving workshop on the weekend. Spalted pear cooking spoon

Another cherry eater but a bit bigger. The pinks and greens! Sorry it’s a little shiny I was eager to share it.

Roughed out a cooking spoon. It's been a while since I had access to some rowan. What a gorgeous grain and delight to carve!

I have to admit that I could not understand how one axe could be so much better than another. Plus I was using a Wood axe which is great. However, I felt a difference right away and am so glad I got it. Not sure what your experience has been but the extra cost is well worth it. As my gramps always told me, buy the best you can afford. Guess he was right.

If any of you can explain why it seems so much better, I’m always open to learning something.

I’ve been trying to split a 4 in cut of ash to break into blanks for carving some spoons and all the froe seems to do is compress a v notch into the end grain.

This is a new Froe from lehmans that I’ve sharpened a bit. It was very dull when it got to me.

Trying to pick up a new hobby post chemo and I’d like to work with green wood and material found on hikes instead of kiln dried blanks.

Thank you all for your input.

should i add something ?

I've been spending a lot of time on woodworking projects lately, and started carving spoons while I waited in glue or finish to dry. 1-5 a walnut, 6 is maple, 7&8 are yellowheart, 9&10 are padauk.