Whats the best wood for carving spoons? - Spoon carving tips with Lotsofwoods
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ส.ค. 2024
- A few times I've been asked about types of wood to carve your spoons from. I don't think its as complicated as we make it. I do my best to cover some recent questions. If I left something out, please ask away in the comments below and Ill add it in my next video!
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I started carving spoons last year it has been fun and a learning experience . I have carved some spoons out of Juniper and a piece of Oak that I found they cam out really nice . thanks for the great video Joseph
I've just picked up spoon carving and found this video informative! Thanks.
First of all, great video. I'm a beginner and I found this very helpful, thank you.
Great to find a Canadian talking about spoon carving. Most of the videos come fro other countries and the wood choice is not transferable to where I live. Happy to subscribe and give a thumbs up.
A pleasure to watch, as always!
Cheers, Max
Thanks OSSU.Entertainment ! Appreciate the compliment!
Great advise Jeff, I mainly stick to Birch because its easier to work with for beginners like me and is also readily available ~Peace~
Zed Outdoors try sycamore and sweet chestnut I use olive wood and walnut and beech and cherry but olive wood is hard as hell but beautiful grain worth the hard work
Thank you so much for making this video. It was extremely helpful!
Thanks, Jeff, for this and your other videos. I really appreciate the quality of your work and your designs. Beautiful craftsmanship.
I've begun spoon carving using apple wood since I'm pruning in an apple orchard now (in Kentucky). And your right...it will wear you out.
My carving knives are Flexcut. I also use a No. 8 Opinel, a Mora Companion, and a small hatchet I repurposed from an old Plumb roofers hammer. I have several types of saws as well. What I am really wanting now are several Pfeil gouges and a spokeshave.
About the Opinel knife (see Amazon)....I like the high carbon steel which sharpens to a razor edge. I like the profile of the tip (for push cuts) and the edge retention so much I plan to shorten the blade and fix it into a new handle. One could easily use the straight edge of a No.10 to make a draw knife.
The Opinels are so inexpensive I thought I'd offer this as an option for those wanting or needing to make their own tools. If one bought a smaller Opinel I imagine it could be refitted with no cutting unless you need a different shape.
Hey Jan McKenzie thanks for the comment!
Im using an Opinel knife to sharpen my pencils. Its my pencil sharpener because every time I used it it would chip the blade. Maybe there are thicker knives? With the Apple wood, if you carve it right away that really helps. If the tree is drying and probably drying out, those pieces are going to take toll on your hands. Glad to hear your getting into spoon carving! So your taking the route of using a gouge to carve out the spoon bowls? I know theres a way to do it efficiently. As you see in some of my videos, I prefer the Large bent knife from Nic Westermann.
Big Thanks from Dubai! So informative! 😊
Great video! Working with some black birch and American elm right now. Elm is tough stuff even with my power tools!
Birch birch birch. I carve birch 5 days a week. Very informative video I really thought it was good. Very jealous of your wood selection. New and old carvers can learn alot here.
Thanks G Cox ! Where abouts are you from?
great info for us beginners , and thanks for sharing the info !
I agree with, birch is a nice wood to work with, I have turned it and it comes out nice. I have not tried to carve it, but I find it's pretty hard, just like maple it's pretty hard too. I did carve it and like you said your hands get sore, but if it's something you like to do then you don't worry about sore hands to much.
Nice vid. Jeff. Just beginning this trip myself and ....searching! Good points here...
Hey Jeff, Thank you so much for the video. I literally sat down to try my hand at carving my very first spoon this week. I have a chunk of local Birch, got it cut down nice to the design I had in mind. But my biggest issue (which could be something very beginner) is that while carving, the wood keeps splintering like crazy, Big chunks. Almost like string cheese. Reasoning behind this? Thank you again for sharing your work, it is very inspiring for someone like myself.
Good info, thanks. I was wondering about Willow and how it holds up over time as spoon/kuksa plus other projects.
I've carved many spoons from basswood, easy to carve,consistent grain,relatively strong. I do like birch,cherry,and although very hard beech and apple
Great advice, thank you!
I have not tried carving a spoon yet, but yesterday a neighbor gave me 13 carving tools, some being bowl gouges. They are in pretty rough shape (rusty) so I am going to try to refinish and have them professionally sharpened because a friend who is a carver said that there are some quality tools in the batch. A note about buckthorn. I have found it difficult to keep from checking, but it is a very beautiful wood when finished. I try to cut it during the winter here in Wisconsin and seal the ends in paraffin which sometimes helps checking. The berries are a very dark blue - almost black.
Great video man. Thanks
Good job👍👍
The first spoon I carved was from a piece of 1 X 2 maple trim. The next few where Welsh love spoons from dry black cherry board. I've started using cherry green wood from limbs that have been pruned. I haven't had any problems with the integrity of any of the wood...so far. From my experience so far is working with the grain of the wood is think is more important to than the type of wood being used. But I am an amateur and still learning so this opinion may change with experience.
great info what about drying and cracks have you had any problems
Very nice Jeff, thank you
No problem Victor Lindgren ! Stay tuned!
Jeff Ballantyne interesting videos I subscribed greetings from UK England I'm a whittler. I hand carve spoons and anything I choose I recommended highly Chris lubkemann book of whittling to any one starting out carving 💪🐻🐗🐺👌
Very well said, amigo. what is local to you is the best to start with. imagine someone gets into woodcarving and they start to appreciate the value of free wood....local wood. Then a big storm comes through. Each stormy season, rain season, winter it's a gold mine. Every arborist and landscape company in the area will converge upon that place in mass. You'll see free local wood for weeks and weeks. Local wood is the best wood. The best skill you'll learn is to identify different types of wood and then how that wood carves.
Man this answered so many questions thanks man!!! Can you do cottonwood or is it to soft and what about willow or oak?
Thanks Good info
Thanks Dean A Morton
Thanks
I think I am right in that you reside in Canada somewhere, I live in East coast Britain. When you mention Birch, over here that usually denotes Silver Birch as the species, is that the same in Canada ? I have not made spoons etc from any type of Birch, it is basically a poor wood around these parts but, I am game to try anything new. A lot of self setting Sycamore grow like weeds about here so, mainly that is what I use for spoon production, a little Willow and a few Poplar. I did carve a fairly chunky ladle some months back from Beech and boy did that kill my fingers with aches.... !!!
keyote3 I havent carved with beech yet.. and the more I hear about it being tough as nails to work with, the less enthusiastic I am about carving it lol. The more I carve, the less I am concerned with what people think about the wood.. if birch is a poor wood, make it look pretty , and make it a rich carving! I think we call this birch white birch.. its got the white bark on it, but I have carved "black birch" or "cherry birch" where the bark is dark silver.
Great video. You don't worry about the wood drying out as you are waiting to carve it?
I got a question! A few actually. Mor than a few to be honest. I could ask you a million questions about carving. First off I'm from North Dakota and the we don't have many hardwoods around. The one I've found to be very hard is Chokecherry. The biggest question I have is how do you carve your wood while its green and dry it without cracking and splitting. Also, have you heard of carving with Chokecherry tree wood? It's really pretty. The dry aged pieces are full of purples, reds and greys. Any who's... How do you carve hardwood? Dry or wet? And if wet, how do you dry it without ruining it?
Adam Slater Beginners spoons are normally clunky and too big. I never have them crack now.. Youll find the right size where they dont crack. Carve them thinner! No idea about chokecherry, but if its common around you, use it!
Jeff, I would like to try carving a spoon out of oak. Is this a good wood to use, and after carving, does the spoon have to be treated, or coated with anything as in oils, etc? Or is it ready to use after carving?
Do you think camphor would be good?
hey i have like cedar pine and juniper and odd stuff are anybof those decent? right now i lik pine but what do you think?
I just started and my first spoon was poplar. Worked out well enough. My question is that on the lip of the spoon, as I whittled down, a couple tiny holes appeared. Just large enough to hold a single small shot-not bb in size but smaller. Took the food grade mineral oil very well and made the spoon easy on the eyes. Afraid to use it as I don't want food build up in this tiny holes. One was deep enough to hold maybe two stacked. Looked like they were simple voids I opened. As I used a knife to carve one out, another appeared. Any suggestions for future reference? Was I correct in not using spoon
is that a chunk of wild cherry I see just to your left in the video just wondering as it is wood I carve a lot since its so abundant where I live.
That intro got me! Ha ha ha!
Reading down on these comments I notice people speaking of splitting spoons etc. I personally have never had one crack/split on me ( just lucky I guess ), a few bowls have though. I read somewhere about boiling them in water for a long time and letting the water cool naturally before applying any finish or sanding etc..... maybe something in it although I have never tried to do it !!
Alaska Wooden Spoon Guy You crack me up lol. I should put you in charge of responding to all the comments! Got another video for tomorrow already!
Just a quick question Jeff, how long have you been carving? Love the things you make & your videos. Atb Joe.
Stokie Joe Bushcraft Ive been at it almost 2 years now I guess. I worked with a log home building company before using traditional tools to get the job done
Hi Jeff................ I have the opportunity to acquire some green fig wood. I know the sap can be an irritant. However, once dried wood a spoon or bowl carved from it be food safe?
FINALLY. THANX BIG COUNTRY.
Hi Jeff, this has been an informative video. Do you know if there is a list somewhere of woods to avoid if they are food-related? Now sumac surprised me. I didn't know they got large enough to form an actual trunk. The berries and leaves are toxic to some people. Have you used it for eating utensils, or for pot stirrers? Having access to 200 plus acres must yield some interesting trees. I wish I owned that much land. I would build a cabin with a screened-in wrap-around porch. A
Away from noisy neighbors, and from the cars that zip around the streets. Just me and mother earth.
Is pine wood good for carving spoon or cup?
Hi Jeff ,
Really nice video.
I want to ask you when I done to carve my spoon what I should do to look her pretty and rich.
I am from the Middle East and I carved two spoons and one bowl From pine wood .
Thanx you, have a good day.
Hey miller , You'll be seeing a new video in about an hour on how to jazz up a spoon and make 'er pretty and rich! Thanks for the comment!
Do you have to let the wood set or dry before you carve it?
red cedar is extremely Abundant where I'm at would it be a decent spoon wood
Hey Jeff, nice video on different wood types. What's your opinion on basswood? I'm a beginner and stumble onto a bunch of what I think is basswood. Haven't seen or heard of anyone using it for spoons. So far, it's been a pleasure to carve, supper green, and I'm really learning quite a lot about grain direction, and how to feel it with the knife. Just curious. Greg.
Greg Nelson Basswood is too light thats for sure. Try getting ahold of some birch!
Basswood is good for carving figures and such, not for anything that needs strength
Yes! About Cherry. Everyone is carving cherry and I can never find it! (also in Canada)
I always say to start out with easy to carve softer wood to hone your skills pike you say, then move on to harder woods or woods have a prominent grain that will stand out.
Do you use much Alder? Or willow?
you mentioned sumac wood. some kinds of sumac trees are toxic so be very careful.
Thanks for the video! Very informative. Are there any woods you wouldn't carve? Is oak an acceptable carving wood?
I notice a lot of guys stay away from oak as the grain is very porous. That and its probably very tough to carve, it may not be worth it to carve oak. I dont think I would carve pine or spruce.. although red cedar carves really nice! That is just my personal opinion. Thanks for the comment though Nathan Bour
+Jeff Ballantyne (Lotsofwoods) That is perfect because all the abundant tree species that are within 100 miles of me that i know of are oak trees and pines
Jeff Ballantyne well I don't use any pine as the sap is a pig to clean up
Nathan Bour I tried a few hacks on fallen oak with an axe this Winter and it was hard as hell.
What kind of wood is the dark pink spoon right above the sumac spoons? (in the thumbnail)
2:33 Butternut = Janka scale 490 lbf
3:12 Staghorn Sumac = Janka scale 680 lbf
7:15 Cedar = janka scale 900 lbf
5:53 Paper Birch = janka scale 910 lbf
2:50 Cherry = janka scale 950 lbf
2:12 Black Walnut = Janka Scale 1010 lbf
3:52 Buckthorn = janka scale 1,040 lbf
5:00 Apple wood = janka scale 1,730 lbf
Thx homie
I want to try a gouge, but I'll buy a larger hook knife too. My Flexcut hook is too small for larger bowls. As you've said, the smaller hook takes out smaller chips, leaving a different texture than a larger hook. I also want to try my hand at grinding my own knives. As for the Opinel chipping, I haven't had that problem in the green applewood, but I'll keep an eye on it. I only use it for rougher shaping or when I need the curve of blade.
I also wanted to ask, do you use a shave horse? I thought I saw one in the corner of your shop. Or do you work more with a bench vice, say using a gouge on your kuksas?
Да щ
What part of Canada you from?
Your friend make an axe like the one you have I'd be interested please
I have some Cherry that could be carved but I heard it can be poisonous. Is this true?
Light cedar and dark cedar
My preerence is always free. Beyond that, close grained woods and never porous stuff like oak. I like a variety on my table when l am at events so l use about 6 species. I don't care much for cherry as it changes shape too much as it dries and not ina good way usually. I am pretty much to far South for birch but l use it if is is still green. Certainly locally grown so the danger of infestations by disease and insects from other areas can be minimized. Above all, green stuff.
I got a bit of apple wood branches to practice with, and yes my hands always hurt.
I think it would help if you talked about how the wrong woods will foul the flavor of whatever you are cooking, I bought some from the dollar store and it made the food bitter tasting, it wasn't good at all. looking to making my own for fun and use now.
I would stay away from spruce or pine, they do have sap in them and oak, oak is a hard wood. Oak looks nice, but for carving eating stuff out of it I wouldn't. The choices for me are maple, which is a hard wood to carve and it may not be that good for a new comer to carving, cherry is a nice wood and so is poplar, I found poplar is easy to work with.
+Edwin Dueck Poplar is easy to work with but its stinky.. Birch is my favorite wood at the moment!
2x4 are pine and there not sticky what left after project what normally practice with. i think if wated right time year when sap run as much like winter. or let site dry out for long time it be ok.
Jeff ballantyne very interesting video I whittle even done some videos and hand feeding one of my 6 wild foxes hit the pan bear profile picture in. my comments section and some funny videos enjoy 👍🐻🐺🐾
Jeff ballantyne I use a long butcher knife to split logs for spoon blanks works for me like your old tools on the wall my video has some old things on wall cheak them out feed back is appreciated thanks 🐻🐺🐾👍
For spoons u should use cedar because it is nice and light
Are there woods you should not use because they are toxic and should not be used in the kitchen? I’m a newbie.
I just bay my new tools I want you to give me the nam of the best wood I've heard you say it , but I couldn't write it Please give me the nam as soon as you can .
Thank you ..
What’s your opinion on red cedar? I’ve got plenty of it.
I haven't had too much trouble with it, but I haven't carved too many spoons either, just starting to learn
I made it by myself. I used woodprix scripts for that.
I use American Black Cherry, because cherry does not impart any taste from the wood into your Food!
hahahahahaha butternut..... ok im done
lol
Jeff Ballantyne I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one with a very well matured and well developed sense of humor
I chuckled in my head the first time I heard it too lol.
+Jeff Ballantyne (Lotsofwoods) very interesting greetings from UK England Essex I always has my razor sharp pocket knife and a branch to carve spoons but yes never knock it till you try it olive wood is great too nice scent when working it too 👌🐺
Hello Everybody
Always be aware that you don't make a spoon from poisonous wood.
Can you name a few poisonous woods not to use? Thanks
Cut down every black walnut tree. 🪓
hey i have like cedar pine and juniper and odd stuff are anybof those decent? right now i lik pine but what do you think?
Very nice Jeff, thank you
Thanks Victor Lindgren ! Always appreciate any compliments
Jeff Ballantyne Oops, seems like i sent the comment twice.. Oh well, you cant get enough thanks. I really like your videos and you explain things very well
Thanks Victor Lindgren , the more comments the better haha. Thank you very much. I might make it look easy but it has been quiet the challenge for me.
Hehe! practice makes perfect, how long have you been carving? i started out carving butter knives and trying to carve spoons but i just cant get the hang of it. Nowadays i mostly carve animal figurines and such, still fun! but i cant eat soup with a carved wooden giraffe LOL
Haha, Yea wooden giraffe's might not scoop up soup well.. Unless you make the handles into animal heads! If you look through my videos youll see a large hook knife. Thats the main tool for carving spoon bowls. Once you have a bowl carved, the rest is easy!