Birch wood and a little of chip carving.

My first three spoons (actually my first whittling anything) that I’ve made in the last few weeks. The center was a little basswood blank and the left and right are leftover scrap cherrywood.

I still have so much to learn and my technique is still developing to put it mildly, but it’s been so rewarding so far. I don’t quite understand why whittling is as mentally soothing and engaging as it is, but at least I’m not the only weirdo who picks up a whittling knife and then realizes an hour has slipped by.

I really like tight grain and am wondering if y'all could help me find more of it. Aside from species, I've found one of the best place to find tight grain is in the lower branches of older trees. While those years get added to a smaller diameter, they are usually slow growing since trees are pretty much all apically dominant. Just a hypothesis. Another thing I look for is stunted looking trees or trees; trees in areas where they are likely not thriving are more likely to have dense grain i.e. bonsai haha.

Any tips are super welcome, thanks!

I'm ordering a little skorp from Flexcut (the KN22 3/16") to help with the small scoops I've been enjoying carving. I figure while I'm ordering I might as well pick up a gouge to have in my arsenal. What would be a good all-purpose size/shape to have on hand? I'm a new carver and mostly doing spoons, scoops and cooking tools. No kuksas (yet!).

I’m looking at these cheap $30 froes on Amazon. Will they do the job for smaller logs? Am I just wasting my money? I’m open to spending more if the results are worth it. Any help or advice is appreciated.

New carver here working on my first spoon and I’m having trouble getting my Mora 106 to stop taking digs into the wood. Its easy to do inside curves like the neck but getting smooth convex cuts like the spoon back are difficult.

I know cured wood plus walnut = a difficult carve but I’ve gotten about 75% to a good rough finish and am trying to smooth the back of the saw marks and really struggling to get a nice even surface. I actually was getting just as good, if not better results, with my paring chisel vs the sloyd.

Are there any tips or guides I can look to do different cuts or carving techniques?

I’ve been carving some random green wood I found outside, possibly aspen wood, and it’s leaving a residue on my knife, sort of like some sap or something is collecting on the blade, is that normal or something that would ruin the knife? Can I just occasionally wipe it clean before stropping? I don’t want to risk ruining my knife

So i assume we all love our knives and they are never enough, while looking around for different knives i noticed that some metals are getting quite as good or if not better then carbon steel is used in 99% sloyd making. I know mora has a stainless steel variant.

But i was wondering does any of the artisans use it ? I know people dont like change and like traditions but i would embrace it if its better so yea wondering about more unconventional knives.

Oh and helle seems to have some too

I live in the uk countryside, I’m fairly new to wood carving and find the pre sanded basswood blanks you can buy on amazon boring to carve with and expensive! This may be a dumb question but can you carve from fallen branches I can find outside? Or freshly cut branches? Or even timber from a DIY store?

any advice welcome!! :))

Saw a post about different woods to try earlier and thought I would make this post to show off the contrast in sap/heartwood of black walnut. Mostly because I couldn’t put a pic in the comment to show OP.

Ash, birch and baked ash woods.

I I took some beautiful split mulberry wood and put it into a Rubbermaid container with a 1:10 vinegar water solution. Put on the lid and kept in my garage. Two weeks later, there’s a thin layer of white mold on top. A month later, and there are fruit flies and a thriving mold culture.

How are some of you keeping your wood?

I’m looking for a recommendation for a good hook knife to upgrade from a beavercraft. I saw some recommendations for Deep Woods Ventures for hook knives and they seem to have great reviews but would love any other suggestions. I’m okay with paying in the $40 to $90 ish range.

Also, what is your preferred stropping setup for a hook knife?

I'm curious about what woods others enjoy using for spoon carving.

So far, I've tried black cherry, bird cherry, crab apple, callery pear, maple, European buckthorn, and staghorn sumac.

I find maple the easiest to carve because its grain is regular and predictable, though it looks a bit plain. In contrast, I find apple difficult due to its irregular grain and tendency to crack, but the finished pieces are stunning—it's the prettiest wood I've used.

What are your favorite and least favorite woods to carve, and why?

I just made my first "stirring spoon" to be used while cooking... An I supposed to seal this it condition it before I cook with it?