Scumpia (sumac) and peach woods.

The cabinet shop I work at has unlimited supply of 3/4 scraps. So I carve. Does anyone have techniques for carving really hard dry wood? I’ve been dipping the spoon in some water after I cut down through the wet outside layer.

So, I’ve been making sloyd knives for a while now with a lot of success. Next I want to try my hand at hook knives but there’s just not a whole lot of info on the process out there. I’ve seen videos of people making simple one-off hook knives. I have a general idea of how to go about it and have been carving for a few years and know exactly what I want out of a hook knife, but do any of you make hook knives and have any tips or any great youtube videos or articles on the matter? Thanks!

Hi, the title pretty much says it all. Has anyone here tried the GB hand hatchet for roughing out spoon blanks? I am intrigued by the low weight and the looks, of course 😄

Thanks a ton in advance for your thoughts!

Hi all!

I was wondering if I could get some advice on what gouge set to buy. I am looking to make a Kuksa as a Christmas gift(I am also interested in making spoons and other kuksas and maybe cups and bowls in the future). I will mainly be working with dried wood so I figure that a gouge might be best. I do have a hook knife from Beavercraft but I haven't been very fond of it (to be fair, I was using it on dry wood and also haven't properly honed it)

HOWEVER: I am wanting to do a relief carving on a jewelry box for my mother as well and I am on a bit of a budget. So I am trying to find something that will be helpful enough for the kuksa, and also be helpful for the jewelry box.

I was thinking about these sets:

Beavercraft Chisel - Gouges

Flexcut Craft Carvers Set

Flexcut 5 Piece Palm

I have also thought about getting just a #7 Pfeil as I have seen recommended. I am also considering getting a Mora sloyd knife. I have a detail knife and a roughing knife from Beavercraft, but I really have to hone those.

I am getting huge analysis paralysis and any advice would be helpful

*I am using Kuksa blanks as I am new to this and don't have the budget for a carvers hatchet

TL;DR: What gouge set would be best for both relief carving AND using for Kuksas.

Thank you in advance

Beautiful peach wood.

First 5 from the left are the cherry spoonies.

The schmal ones are the spice spoonies and they both cherry and pear.

The 2 on the bottom right are black walnut and pear.

The 2 on the top right are pear that I toasted in the oven. The sanding job on them isn't the greatest but those were just pieces of pear I almost threw out so I wanted to try and make something out of it.

I have been at carving spoons for a few months and I'm slowly getting there. Looking forward on learning to carve some soup and eating spoonies. I just need to figure out what technique to use with the tools I have to carve them with a crank. The axe I have isn't great. No bandsaw, only a jig saw.

UPDATE I ordered the Craft axe from Green Haven Forge. A friend said their knives were good and it seems like its made for carving. Thanks to everyone who commented with suggestions. This is a great community, you people are amazing!!! —————————————————————————

Hi everyone, I just got into spoon carving as a hobby. I’m looking for a carving axe that i can use to get the green wood shaped roughly to a spoon blank. I found a couple axes in my budget range:

Prandi Axes German Type Hatchet 3.003.06.CH- Carbon Steel C45 with Hickory Handle and Leather String - Camping Hatchet and Splitting Axe for Outdoor Activities - 14.25" L x 5.75" W https://a.co/d/j4l4o92

Tivoli 11 Inch Hatchet Camping Axe,Small Bushcraft Axe for Chopping and Wood Splitting,Ash Wood Handle,Perfect for Outdoor Survival and Adventures,Hunting, Trekking,Gardening https://a.co/d/2dyZjV6

BeaverCraft Bushcraft Hatchet Axe Wood Carving Axe AX6 - Forged Hand Axe Camping Axes & Hatchets Wood Splitting Axe Forest Axe for Chopping Wood, Camp Gardening Axes https://a.co/d/9YaHgeD

I also thought about getting a cordless mini chainsaw, but not sure if that’d be a great idea for my purpose. I would really appreciate your thoughts (and experience if you have used any of these), and any other recommendations? Thanks!

Made his and hers spoons for my wife and I. Alaskan birch with tung oil.

I had to break out my full collection to make my Thanksgiving day meal.

What number/size/type Pfeil gouge would be the best for spoon carving? I carving small to medium sized spoons atm so unsure what would be best, I’m using a mora hook knife right now but find it hard doing the finishing cuts with it

I don’t understand the number/sizing system at all so any advice welcome TIA :)))

Hello everyone, I've made my first spoon and I wanted to know what kind of finish I could use that is food safe ? Also I use 220 grit sandpaper on it, should I go higher ? Thank you for your time

I am still rather new to this but have carved a few decent spoons by now and learn more with every one. One thing I see a lot of people (maybe mostly slöjd carvers cuz that's a lot of what I watch?) mention is "finishing cuts," which I can only guess means you carve most of the shape while the blank is wet so it's easier, but let it dry out more before coming back for a cleaner finish?

This brings up a few questions for me - where exactly are the finish cuts? Is it like a whole very thin layer comes off the entire spoon, or just on choice edges and transitions? Is it absolutely necessary? Do you always make the same ones or let a particular spoon dictate what it needs?

Trimmed his cherry tree

Hey, I'm looking at trying to whittle basic spoons and I found a website that says you can finish them by boiling them in skim milk for a bit then taking them out and wiping them down. I cannot for the life of me find anything else about this, all the google results I'm getting are for milk paint, do any of y'all do this or does this sound plausible?

Making some Christmas gifts

No worries you can always make a salad tosser (Excuse the missing be sheet I’m doing laundry)