Happy Birthday Laura

Here is a spoon that I carved yesterday for a friends birthday. With it you can see the carving knife that I made a couple of years ago (looks like I made it in prison, right?!) and a hook that I forged to hang it. I haven't made any object that has more to teach about the nature of grain direction in a chunk of wood. I know that for some, this may come dangerously close to seeming too "crafty", but I assure you, it ain't as easy as it looks. I try to work with the shape of the piece and its fibers to decide all of the design aspects as I carve. This has led to some pretty ugly spoons, but I like the challenge. Both Roy Underhill and Drew Langsner have some good info on spoon carving. Personally, I like to make simple spoons that show the tool facets all over and only scrape and sand the interior of the bowl. I carve them green, usually from crabapple tree (this one is cherry) and then once they are almost to final size, I put them in a paper bag to dry. A little finish surfacing and some walnut oil finish them off. I get much joy from seeing a well used spoon of mine when visiting friends, the only problem is that I always give the good ones away and keep their ugly cousins for myself!