Jon - I vote a hearty YES to videos making and using utensils, barrels, furniture and even wagon wheels! We've seen you making and using wooden canoes, now we need to see them in use more often. That lathe is sweet!
Randy, coopering or barrel making is often specific to the woods available in the area and iron hooped barrels/buckets were often purchased, reused or imported into areas because the area didn't have the correct wood available to make a barrel that would seal properly after setting the ends and the rings. Even to this day, a quality cooper can earn a nice living from this skilled trade. The other items sound like great projects for the Nutmeg clan!
@@townsends This was probably my most favorite part of the video. When you mentioned using a lathe for the bowl, I was wondering how you were going to do it without electricity, since those are the only lathes I'm familiar with. It was impressive seeing one that worked like an antique spinning wheel.
I received that spoon carving set for Christmas last year, it's really nice. They come absolutely razor sharp out of the box, and what Jon didn't mention is they also come with a pack of bandaids, which you might need. I have not needed them yet though. The small chip carving knife also comes in handy as a marking knife for laying out joinery.
Spoon and bowl are beautiful. Your videos are entertaining, and informative. It’s a pleasure to dive into the various topics and be able to smile and learn at the same time. Thank you very much.
Not only did this inspire me to get back to carving spoons again, I bet it will allow me to do so with much less wear and tear on my hands and arms. Some of the techniques you showed were really helpful to see, as I taught myself and hadn't thought of them. Thank you for inspiring people to be makers again!
Everyone on this youtube channel are very talented. So much knowledge. Without channels like this we would lose our history. Thank you so much, I can't stop watching and learning from this channel. That lathe is amazing.
You guys have great content [all of which should be taught to those who pay too little attention to our history] and you are delightful folks to listen to! 🤠
I remember reading an article in Mother Earth in the early-80s on making wooden spoons using an ember to do most of the work by burning away the concave bowl. I imagine it would work with a bowl as well.
The reason why that isn't actually done in practical work is because of cracking; the heat causes extreme stress and cracks, plus it hardens the material under the burning spot, making it harder to work.
To make a spoon or bowl with a simple straight knife you carve it out, lightly burn it out, scrape it out until it is just fibres again, finish your rough shape with the point of the knife, and then use round stones with a bit of abrasion either in the stone itself or in the bowl with the stone (or sandpaper if you have it) to finish it out. A bit longer of a process, but requires no specialised tools.
Quick question and observation (not intended as a criticism). It looks to me that the gouge being used is a modern High Speed Steel tool. Wouldn't a High Carbon Steel tool be better. HSS is designed to be sharpened on a grinder and normally cannot be honed to the degree a HCS tool can. With hand (foot) powered tools, sharpness is the name of the game. I have seen blacksmith made hook tools commonly used to make bowls on spring pole lathes. They are capable of taking off a lot of wood without a lot of force, and still leave a fairly nice surface. Even a HCS spindle gouge honed to a very sharp edge would be a better tool for this application than HSS, IMO. I do understand about using what is at hand. Keep up the good work.
Very interesting. You make great videos. Was their any special reason why the outside of the bowl was finished with the curved chisel and not a straight edged one?
I needed to see this video in march during quarantine when i decided to learn to spoon carve, every video i saw people cut towards their thumb with the hook knife. Hook knife cuts are awful messy.
not to grump but I made plenty of camp spoons with my boy scout pocket knife... tools your showing might end up out on the homestead, but its not essential to make a very functional spoon
What sort of options for staining/preserving wooden cookware were common at that time? Or was it more likely that new pieces would be crafted often enough for that to not be an issue?
Back then they had plenty of high quality wood, straight grain with no knots. If they wanted to make a dinner plate, called a trencher, they would have started with a piece of wooden plank and carved it as they did the bowl of the spoon, only larger.
It's always boggled my mind how people used to sharpen their tools. Before you had factory made stones with the perfect grit and shape. How did they pick up a river rock, slap a pig iron knife on it and then shave?
Some people used a razor strop which was a length of leather lined with a type of fungus,known as razor strop fungus! Birch polypore is its scientific name.
GOOD WOODWORKING!!!!! I HOPE THAT YOU'VE ALSO BEEN MAKING SHINGLES AS YOU GO ALONG!!!!!! YOU SHOULD HAVE A LARGE STACK THAT'S READY TO GO,THAT ROOF LOOKS AWFUL ROTTEN!!!!! A TREE BARK ROOF WON'T LAST VERY LONG!!!!!
@@deathsheadknight2137 it can make you puke. I've only done it a few times. Definitely you will puke if you eat that much on an empty stomach. The weird thing is. It takes about four hours for you to start feeling the effects. Then it can last for 24 hrs or more. And I'm not talking about that big of a wooden spoon like he made. Just a normal tablespoon.
@@deathsheadknight2137 here's the easy answer. I went to college in the 90's. And that semester I happened to be taking botany and found a book in the library called Green Medicine that had a chapter on nutmeg. I don't recommend it though. It's a rough ride.
In addition to hallucinations a few spoonfuls of nutmeg can melt holes in your stomach lining and cause your stomach acids to kill you from the inside out.
Use that honing compound on the "rough" side of the leather. The "skin" side is for final honing. I was working on another snuff spoon when I got the notification for this video. Small world.
I wish you and the Townsend's crew would give the actual man-hours required for these projects. Just to give these projects some prospective of the effort required. Have a good day.
A larger spoon depending on techniques, size and skill can take between 1-3 hours. A bowl of that sort can be done in less than a day. Search "Robin Wood" in youtube and gaze upon a modern professional pole lathe turners work.
@@Pygar2 a safe and reliable drinking water supply caused more than one homestead to be abandoned, so I wouldn't be surprised that Foxfire would go in depth on the subject.
For wood utensils hear are some tricks I have picked up. 1 you can friction burn in bee's wax before taking it off the lathe. For a waterproof seal. 2. About once a month wet a paper towel with a teaspoon of cooking oil then rub it into the wooden utensils to prevent cracking. Edit fond a better mixture called wood butter. To make it liquefy 1 part beeswax. Then add two parts warmed but not boiling food-grade mineral oil. Then allow to cool before rubbing your utensils with it. 3 Never wash wood in a dishwasher, including wood-handled knives. This will dry out and crack the wood. As for cleaning hot water is fine but don't leave them soaking in it. For long periods of time. These steps will keep a wood idem around indefinitely.
@Icar-us get a big cheap 2 sided stone from the hardware store. Use water instead of oil. Prepare for your fingertips to bleed and a fair amount of frustration. There are knife and sharpening resources if you look around. Best of luck!
I'm in the process of putting together a woodworking shop with to the most part for using hand tool. I am hoping to make my spring lathe next month. I was so glad to see the process of turning the bowl. I was wondering how the wood was centered for turning. I really love how your videos are progressing to include other aspects to the time period other than cooking, which I still love watching. Both the spoon and bowl look excellent. Thanks very much for sharing
nice im doing the same eventually lol. if you havent you should watch wood by wright hes a wood worker that uses mostly hand tools th-cam.com/channels/bMtJOly6TpO5MQQnNwkCHg.html
If you're considering making a lathe, I can also recommend checking out Mr Chickadee's channel, he made a great treadle lathe with a flywheel and everything, it works amazing!
Ahh, I was wondering if you'd need specialized tools to hollow out the curvature of the spoon. Very satisfying to watch 👌 -Do you lacquer the utensils at all? In Japan, we use a sort of mixture made from the sap/resin of a kind of pine tree.
Usually, for items that will be used on food, a non toxic oil is applied to seal and protect the wood. I would be interested to learn what exact oils they would have used in the 18th century
There used to be a show on PBS called 'The Woodwright's Shop' and one episode dealt with spoon making. One method used was to carve the general shape of the spoon much as was shown here. Afterward, a hot coal from a fire was placed on the bowl of the spoon and allowed to burn the wood. The coal would be removed before it set the spoon on fire and the scorched wood would be scraped out of the spoon. The process was repeated until the spoon was the desired depth. Alternately, instead of a coal, a piece of hot iron or steel was used.
Anonymous Accordionist My guesses are flaxseed or linseed oil, corn oil, hemp oil, cottonseed oil, and walnut oil, based on native plants of North America. If you have an expeller press, you can make these oils.
I showed this to my six year old daughter, and she was very interested in seeing how the spoon and bowl were made. I'm so excited too see her have an interest in history, especially because we live now at what was once a Continental Army encampment. Colonial history is very much local history for us, and I'm so glad your video sparked an interest in my daughter.
My favourite part of this channel is the effect it has on grabbing the attention of children - it's one thing to know we use something everyday, it's whole other thing for a child to be curious enough where it comes from. And not just that... from materials they would NEVER associate with making a bowl and spoon! Makes me smile :)
I have a unfinished spoon in my haversack that I bring to events. If I'm not cleaning my musket I'm whittling away on my spoon. Still haven't finished it yet
Sir Frederick , you might know: would they have finished the wood in anything back then? Like soak it in something, a wax or an oil or something, to make it last longer or maybe be more waterproof? Or was spoon making so common that once one is dirtied they just made another? Thanks!
@@tmihnahmygahn2789 Tools wouldve been likely sealed with Corn oil, and beeswax. Tools couldve also been burnished, but its not necessary for usable utensils
For wood utensils hear are some tricks I have picked up. 1 you can friction burn in bee's wax before taking it off the lathe. For a waterproof seal. 2. Wet a paper towel with a teaspoon of cooking oil then rub it into the wooden utensils to prevent cracking. About once a month. 3 Never wash wood in a dishwasher, including wood-handled knives. This will dry out and crack the wood. As for cleaning hot water is fine but don't leave them soaking in it. For long periods of time. This will keep a wood idem around indefinitely.
I don't know but I have a set of wooden salad bowls that must be 50 years old. I clean them with a damp wash cloth, or just wipe them with a paper towel, never soak in water. They came with a varnish like finish which I believe is linseed oil, occasionally I wipe them with salad oil. Wooden spoons from the dollar store are cheap, when they get dark and stained from use I throw them away, never wore one out. They may last several years.
Why didnt you use sandpaper or shagreen to finish the bowl and spoon? Most people dont know, but they did have sandpaper back then, and a lot of people actually made it themselves. It would actually be interesting to see you guys make some 18th century sandpaper. I was looking online and they actually have receipts for sandpaper from the period.
Jon - I vote a hearty YES to videos making and using utensils, barrels, furniture and even wagon wheels! We've seen you making and using wooden canoes, now we need to see them in use more often.
That lathe is sweet!
Randy, coopering or barrel making is often specific to the woods available in the area and iron hooped barrels/buckets were often purchased, reused or imported into areas because the area didn't have the correct wood available to make a barrel that would seal properly after setting the ends and the rings. Even to this day, a quality cooper can earn a nice living from this skilled trade.
The other items sound like great projects for the Nutmeg clan!
@@Bear-cm1vl Sounds like a great learning opportunity! Plus a fun one.
These kind of videos make me hopeful during this hard time . People years ago had it much worse and they persevered . Thanks
@OldPossum Seriously? 163k dead in the US, 732k dead worldwide?
@OldPossum Good for you for staying positive .
@OldPossum A hard time where far too many of these skills are lost to the average adult.
@@carmenclemons2556 Is there any lie stupid enough that you won't fall for it?
I'm still very impressed with the handmade lathe. I wonder how common those would have been on your average homestead
Thank you! We're excited about how it turned out. Fairly common.
I'd love to see a video detailing it and its construction!
Willaien, they detail this in a video of this current series: th-cam.com/video/IShxXtAev9U/w-d-xo.html
@@townsends This was probably my most favorite part of the video. When you mentioned using a lathe for the bowl, I was wondering how you were going to do it without electricity, since those are the only lathes I'm familiar with. It was impressive seeing one that worked like an antique spinning wheel.
I would love to have one of these, but I don't think I have the skills to build it. I may try anyway!
I received that spoon carving set for Christmas last year, it's really nice. They come absolutely razor sharp out of the box, and what Jon didn't mention is they also come with a pack of bandaids, which you might need. I have not needed them yet though.
The small chip carving knife also comes in handy as a marking knife for laying out joinery.
Where do get those carving tool? They look great!
@@appalachianpreparedness133 Townsends.us sells them. They are made in Ukraine. Fantastic tools.
@@Cadwaladr thank you 😊
Remember to rub some nutmeg all over that bowl and spoon to "season" them .
Adam Ragusea / Townsends crossover ep: Why I Season My Hand Carved Utensils Instead Of My Steak
Lol!
@@Triptophantastic Sounds like a good title for a book! Lol
G slam yep lol
Expertise in fine axe work is a hallmark of this channel that shows what the settlers were able to do
I do so enjoy seeing the methods used to create things of necessity out of necessarily anything at hand or within the homestead.
Brilliant work making that bowl.completed with hand made tools. I was scared the neck of the spoon was going to be too thin. Great vid. Thanks
How did I miss this episode? I have hand-carved a few spoons myself. Such a satisfying hobby!
Spoon and bowl are beautiful. Your videos are entertaining, and informative. It’s a pleasure to dive into the various topics and be able to smile and learn at the same time. Thank you very much.
The lathe is amazing!
Humans can be so industrious! Bowl and spoon were awesome too!
Are you carving a wooden knife? With a knife?
"You got a better way?" -Dwight Schrute
Not only did this inspire me to get back to carving spoons again, I bet it will allow me to do so with much less wear and tear on my hands and arms. Some of the techniques you showed were really helpful to see, as I taught myself and hadn't thought of them. Thank you for inspiring people to be makers again!
More videos like this one please! These skills are beyond valuable.
So want more how to make cooking implements and how to clean them! What to make them with without any “special” equipment would be awesome too!
Everyone on this youtube channel are very talented. So much knowledge. Without channels like this we would lose our history. Thank you so much, I can't stop watching and learning from this channel. That lathe is amazing.
I would love a video on how that lathe was made. Great video as always!
They made a video of that - you should be able to find it on the channel.
During these trying times I can always count on your videos to make me happy. Thank you.
You guys have great content [all of which should be taught to those who pay too little attention to our history] and you are delightful folks to listen to! 🤠
I remember reading an article in Mother Earth in the early-80s on making wooden spoons using an ember to do most of the work by burning away the concave bowl. I imagine it would work with a bowl as well.
The reason why that isn't actually done in practical work is because of cracking; the heat causes extreme stress and cracks, plus it hardens the material under the burning spot, making it harder to work.
Definitely would love to see more videos like this. Super great video
This is awesome to see these two items being created ❤️
I am beyond impressed I'm down right astonished. Thank you for your videos jon the always inspire me
Love carving wood!
Pretty cool woodworking.
To make a spoon or bowl with a simple straight knife you carve it out, lightly burn it out, scrape it out until it is just fibres again, finish your rough shape with the point of the knife, and then use round stones with a bit of abrasion either in the stone itself or in the bowl with the stone (or sandpaper if you have it) to finish it out. A bit longer of a process, but requires no specialised tools.
great episode...love the long-handled spoon...
btw, when was sandpaper invented?...did they have something, perhaps sandstone, to do the final finishing?...
I Love it! Oh my Goodness! Love these videos! Thank you for sharing.
That zhhhoooop noise as the bark came off that log at the beginning was SUCH a pleasing moment. @_@
I’m in the midst of an Outlander phase so I love these videos all the more 😍
love woodworking, reminds me of the work my great grandfather made.
Yes, I'd love to see more videos like this!
I got an ad including Jon.
Neat!
Another great and informative video. It is pleasant to watch connoisseurs of colonial times keep the spirit alive through modern times.
I can't wait to see you make farming implements, then go foraging for wild nutmeg, then start a massive organic nutmeg farm.
This is how I like it... very well done.
Yes, more builds.
I wish you would show how to make that carving bench, I love it
Quick question and observation (not intended as a criticism). It looks to me that the gouge being used is a modern High Speed Steel tool. Wouldn't a High Carbon Steel tool be better. HSS is designed to be sharpened on a grinder and normally cannot be honed to the degree a HCS tool can. With hand (foot) powered tools, sharpness is the name of the game. I have seen blacksmith made hook tools commonly used to make bowls on spring pole lathes. They are capable of taking off a lot of wood without a lot of force, and still leave a fairly nice surface. Even a HCS spindle gouge honed to a very sharp edge would be a better tool for this application than HSS, IMO. I do understand about using what is at hand.
Keep up the good work.
This is pretty cool. I love the results of this. Cheers!
Love it. Certainly want to see loads more carving
great work sir!!! ❤️❤️❤️ i hope you could
also tackle about home iron works in the 18th century...
Wow I absolutely loved this
That was so awesome to watch
I have the same Beavercraft set! So awesome.
More utensils please!
Impressive! Good job!
Honestly, it could be a video of you making absolutely anything and I'd be like :o
we're here on the homestead and we've got nothing to eat with. this guy. this guy? this guy. probably put nutmeg in it.
Amazing job!
That is so neat!
I really like this content. Did you do a video on constructing the spring pole lathe?
Very interesting. You make great videos. Was their any special reason why the outside of the bowl was finished with the curved chisel and not a straight edged one?
I needed to see this video in march during quarantine when i decided to learn to spoon carve, every video i saw people cut towards their thumb with the hook knife. Hook knife cuts are awful messy.
Great stuff!
Wow that makes me want to make something.
I like how his glasses are even in character
Keep Simple. People will learn shortly.
Nice job
Balsa is the softest of the hardwoods.
Thanks
Very nice.
I didn’t know that you can make wooden utensils from scratch. Now I do. Also, do you HAVE to season them with nutmeg?
Did I miss a video about making that bench Brandon was finishing the bowl on?
not to grump but I made plenty of camp spoons with my boy scout pocket knife... tools your showing might end up out on the homestead, but its not essential to make a very functional spoon
What sort of options for staining/preserving wooden cookware were common at that time? Or was it more likely that new pieces would be crafted often enough for that to not be an issue?
Jon posting on TikTok at 2:58 on his 18th Century iPhone
Could you have used the bottom part of the bowl as a small plate? I know it had a whole but not the in the “top”.
Back then they had plenty of high quality wood, straight grain with no knots. If they wanted to make a dinner plate, called a trencher, they would have started with a piece of wooden plank and carved it as they did the bowl of the spoon, only larger.
It's always boggled my mind how people used to sharpen their tools. Before you had factory made stones with the perfect grit and shape. How did they pick up a river rock, slap a pig iron knife on it and then shave?
Practice
Some people used a razor strop which was a length of leather lined with a type of fungus,known as razor strop fungus! Birch polypore is its scientific name.
GOOD WOODWORKING!!!!! I HOPE THAT YOU'VE ALSO BEEN MAKING SHINGLES AS YOU GO ALONG!!!!!! YOU SHOULD HAVE A LARGE STACK THAT'S READY TO GO,THAT ROOF LOOKS AWFUL ROTTEN!!!!! A TREE BARK ROOF WON'T LAST VERY LONG!!!!!
Who needs a carving set to work with wood? Just consume 8oz of nutmeg, black out, and you get a whole set of wooden utensils.
Some say he carved that spoon himself, from a bigger spoon...
That's a paddle, not a spoon! Lol I thought it wouldve had more of a concave part
You don't have to seal the wood in any sort of way?
The comically medium-sized spoon
Not if you are using a deep pot and cooking a large amount of food.
18th century asmr
Is that tool set available in your shop?
lol I wonder how common it was back in the day to determine the type of man by his dinnerware ;-P
"Don't judge a man by his spoon"? ;-D
What of staining and sealing?
Honest nutmeg man makes a bowl and spoon
A few large spoonfuls of nutmeg will cause hallucinations.
@@deathsheadknight2137 it can make you puke. I've only done it a few times. Definitely you will puke if you eat that much on an empty stomach. The weird thing is. It takes about four hours for you to start feeling the effects. Then it can last for 24 hrs or more. And I'm not talking about that big of a wooden spoon like he made. Just a normal tablespoon.
@@deathsheadknight2137 here's the easy answer. I went to college in the 90's. And that semester I happened to be taking botany and found a book in the library called Green Medicine that had a chapter on nutmeg. I don't recommend it though. It's a rough ride.
@@deathsheadknight2137 I've also done LSD a few times as well.
In addition to hallucinations a few spoonfuls of nutmeg can melt holes in your stomach lining and cause your stomach acids to kill you from the inside out.
I assume all those wood shavings would be collected up and saved for starting fires?
I bet so. Waste not want not used to be a practice that most used.
&'m hoping this year they do a fireplace video- no music, no talking, just a nice popping fire to watch and hear...
It could also be composted or used as a mulch.
Too wet. They'd have to dry for a good while.
Could probably also be used to reinforce the mud insulation between the logs of the cabin
They say he carved it himself, from a bigger spoon..
Serioulsy, though, love the channel! Always informative and lets the experts speak.
Hopefully, next episode we see Jon wearing his chili boots, eating a chili pepper grown by Guatemalan psychiatric patients.
What are you referencing?
@@dandanthedandan7558 The Simpsons.
Gives "spooning" a whole new meaning!
Use that honing compound on the "rough" side of the leather. The "skin" side is for final honing. I was working on another snuff spoon when I got the notification for this video. Small world.
If you're using an oiled stone you can wipe the residual material onto the leather and that acts as a honing compound.
@@moosemaimer good tip.
Depends on the leather and how much silica.
Smooth side with chromium oxide is great for honing and polishing.
how do you know he wasn't doing "final honing"? also the skin side is called the grain side and that's the side i always use for my knives.
@@karlhungusjr1 normally honing compound isn't applied to the grain side. "Skin side" is easier for more people to understand.
I wish you and the Townsend's crew would give the actual man-hours required for these projects. Just to give these projects some prospective of the effort required. Have a good day.
A larger spoon depending on techniques, size and skill can take between 1-3 hours. A bowl of that sort can be done in less than a day. Search "Robin Wood" in youtube and gaze upon a modern professional pole lathe turners work.
@@allenreel6345 thanks for the robin wood suggestion.
Trent//// SOMEBODY THAT WAS SKILLED IN THE TRADES COULD TURN THESE OUT PRETTY QUICK!!!!!
Spoon takes between 1 to 3 hours depending how fussy and skilled you are.
Using a thin enough branch and if you don't care what it looks like, a spoon can be carved in 30-45 minutes.
It's so nice to follow the development of the homestead. Looking forward to more!
Much more coming very soon!
Yes! Make and ues the utensils in the kitchen!
Jon, I love your videos, i have an idea for a future video, you guys should carve out a well so you have a supply of water for the cabin!
That's on the table for sure...
@@townsends the water table?
The Foxfire books cover it; more to it than you'd think...
Yea, can use that spoon and bowl to carve the Well ;)
@@Pygar2 a safe and reliable drinking water supply caused more than one homestead to be abandoned, so I wouldn't be surprised that Foxfire would go in depth on the subject.
For wood utensils hear are some tricks I have picked up.
1 you can friction burn in bee's wax before taking it off the lathe. For a waterproof seal.
2. About once a month wet a paper towel with a teaspoon of cooking oil then rub it into the wooden utensils to prevent cracking. Edit fond a better mixture called wood butter. To make it liquefy 1 part beeswax. Then add two parts warmed but not boiling food-grade mineral oil. Then allow to cool before rubbing your utensils with it.
3 Never wash wood in a dishwasher, including wood-handled knives. This will dry out and crack the wood.
As for cleaning hot water is fine but don't leave them soaking in it. For long periods of time.
These steps will keep a wood idem around indefinitely.
Yep. Sounds advice. I have a cutting board I made in shop 35-36 years ago that I use every day just about.
Great to see the tools being demonstrated. Appreciate all of your time and videos.
Thanks!
I'd like to see a knife sharpening video. You could do your cooking knives.
Seconding this, it would be quite cool
Love that idea!
@Icar-us get a big cheap 2 sided stone from the hardware store. Use water instead of oil.
Prepare for your fingertips to bleed and a fair amount of frustration. There are knife and sharpening resources if you look around.
Best of luck!
I'm in the process of putting together a woodworking shop with to the most part for using hand tool. I am hoping to make my spring lathe next month. I was so glad to see the process of turning the bowl. I was wondering how the wood was centered for turning. I really love how your videos are progressing to include other aspects to the time period other than cooking, which I still love watching. Both the spoon and bowl look excellent.
Thanks very much for sharing
nice im doing the same eventually lol. if you havent you should watch wood by wright hes a wood worker that uses mostly hand tools th-cam.com/channels/bMtJOly6TpO5MQQnNwkCHg.html
If you're considering making a lathe, I can also recommend checking out Mr Chickadee's channel, he made a great treadle lathe with a flywheel and everything, it works amazing!
Ahh, I was wondering if you'd need specialized tools to hollow out the curvature of the spoon. Very satisfying to watch 👌
-Do you lacquer the utensils at all? In Japan, we use a sort of mixture made from the sap/resin of a kind of pine tree.
Usually, for items that will be used on food, a non toxic oil is applied to seal and protect the wood. I would be interested to learn what exact oils they would have used in the 18th century
There used to be a show on PBS called 'The Woodwright's Shop' and one episode dealt with spoon making. One method used was to carve the general shape of the spoon much as was shown here. Afterward, a hot coal from a fire was placed on the bowl of the spoon and allowed to burn the wood. The coal would be removed before it set the spoon on fire and the scorched wood would be scraped out of the spoon. The process was repeated until the spoon was the desired depth. Alternately, instead of a coal, a piece of hot iron or steel was used.
Anonymous Accordionist My guesses are flaxseed or linseed oil, corn oil, hemp oil, cottonseed oil, and walnut oil, based on native plants of North America. If you have an expeller press, you can make these oils.
Rubbing beeswax into the wood actually is a great treatment for the wood.
Rubbing beeswax into the wood actually is a great treatment for the wood.
These videos are so good, makes me realize how wasteful i am though. should work on that.
Hey man can I have some ice cream?
ONLY A SPOONFUL
*pulls out a comically large spoon*
These videos should be loaded onto rugged solar powered laptops for when we need to restart society. Townsend's is such a treasure.
honestly what an idea i love it
I showed this to my six year old daughter, and she was very interested in seeing how the spoon and bowl were made. I'm so excited too see her have an interest in history, especially because we live now at what was once a Continental Army encampment. Colonial history is very much local history for us, and I'm so glad your video sparked an interest in my daughter.
My favourite part of this channel is the effect it has on grabbing the attention of children - it's one thing to know we use something everyday, it's whole other thing for a child to be curious enough where it comes from. And not just that... from materials they would NEVER associate with making a bowl and spoon! Makes me smile :)
I have a unfinished spoon in my haversack that I bring to events. If I'm not cleaning my musket I'm whittling away on my spoon. Still haven't finished it yet
Sir Frederick , you might know: would they have finished the wood in anything back then? Like soak it in something, a wax or an oil or something, to make it last longer or maybe be more waterproof? Or was spoon making so common that once one is dirtied they just made another? Thanks!
@@Oltoir I've always "refreshed" my wooden bowls with mineral oil (not spirits). I think just using it would season it.
@@SirFrederick No no; wrong.
They would use waxes and oil to finish it, and it is necessary to regularly re-apply it every once in a while.
What sort of oils would be used to seal the utensils?linseed?
@@tmihnahmygahn2789 Tools wouldve been likely sealed with Corn oil, and beeswax.
Tools couldve also been burnished, but its not necessary for usable utensils
Another gem. Best channel on TH-cam!
Townsends is pretty great 10/10, but give Saxsquatch a try :) you won’t be disappointed.
So how long would this wood last for use and what would be the methods used to clean it?
For wood utensils hear are some tricks I have picked up.
1 you can friction burn in bee's wax before taking it off the lathe. For a waterproof seal.
2. Wet a paper towel with a teaspoon of cooking oil then rub it into the wooden utensils to prevent cracking. About once a month.
3 Never wash wood in a dishwasher, including wood-handled knives. This will dry out and crack the wood.
As for cleaning hot water is fine but don't leave them soaking in it. For long periods of time.
This will keep a wood idem around indefinitely.
@@warrmalaski8570 That's interesting. Would it be possible to buff in the beeswax (maybe in a liquid state?) without the lathe?
I don't know but I have a set of wooden salad bowls that must be 50 years old. I clean them with a damp wash cloth, or just wipe them with a paper towel, never soak in water. They came with a varnish like finish which I believe is linseed oil, occasionally I wipe them with salad oil.
Wooden spoons from the dollar store are cheap, when they get dark and stained from use I throw them away, never wore one out. They may last several years.
Thanks for the comments. I do know not to let them soak. I'm real careful with my wooden handled knifes.
Salad bowl finish works great for spoons. It forms a hardened outer shell but is still food safe. The spoons clean up easy as well.
Why didnt you use sandpaper or shagreen to finish the bowl and spoon? Most people dont know, but they did have sandpaper back then, and a lot of people actually made it themselves. It would actually be interesting to see you guys make some 18th century sandpaper. I was looking online and they actually have receipts for sandpaper from the period.