How to Whittle A Spoon
We have another great guest post. This time the website owner from Carving Tools Guide brings us How to Whittle A Spoon!
The kitchen has many great pieces of equipment. Disregarding smaller tools such as the spoon is easy. However, when you are in the middle of making an excellent treat for yourself and your family or friends and your spoon breaks, then you know how important it is. Sometimes, you might end up using thousands of dollars buying spoons that you can make yourself. With a good looking piece of wood, everything is possible. Whittling can also be a great pass time for a person who loves working with his hands but does not have a lot of equipment. It can also be a creative way to meditate and pass-time while camping. The big question is how to whittle a spoon?
What you will need
- Pencil or charcoal
- Sharp knife
- Wood
- Spokeshave (optional)
The first step and the most important step is to ensure that you choose the right wood for the job. However, you should know that the finer the grain of wood the fewer pores it has. This makes it great because it will not absorb flavors from the different meals you make. The right type of wood will make the spoon easy to clean and use. Initially, begin with softer wood types as they are easier to carve. As you get the hang of the technique, you can use harder wood like hard maple.
Design
At first, I’ll mention the most important step which is to ensure that you draw the design of the spoon you want. Even when you have a great eye, you may end up damaging the wood if you are not following a particular pattern. The handle is usually 0.75 inches wide. In most cases, it is thinner. The serving bowl of the spoon is typically 2 inches wide and at most 4 inches long. You will be guided by what you like and how big you want the spoon to be. For instance, the shape of a mixing spoon cannot be the same as that of a serving spoon.
Start by drawing the template of the spoon you want on a piece of paper. Cut the shape out and hold it symmetrically to the wood you will be shaping. Trace the drawing on the wood.
Always start with the bowl
It is always good practice to start carving out the bowl first. Then you carve the handle and finally move to the outside of the bowl. Dealing with the bowl first will allow you have a part to clamp to the surface as you work on the rest of the spoon.
Use a sharp knife or a gouge across the grain in the wood. Start making the rough cuts across the grain and the finishing cuts with the grain. Put the gouge at the center of the bowl and push it across to make the rough cuttings. You may move the handle to make lateral cuts. Continue overlapping the cuts and make the bowl as thick as you desire. Once you have worked on all sides, work carefully back to the lines you made in your layout.
The handle
As a beginner, you might want to start with a handle that is almost flat at the top, and that gradually becomes rounder at the center. You may use a band saw or a drawing knife to cut the handle using the layout you drew on your wood. To make a concave shape, always use the bevel down and use the slope up when making a convex shape.
The back of the bowl
Begin by shaping three large chamfers. Use a spokeshave to ensure that the edges are established in a round shape. Start at the edge of the bowl and shape to the center of the bowl. After doing one side, turn to the opposite side. Quick light strokes are first, and better 0.19 inches of thickness on the bowl are adequate to make the spoon a long lasting one.
Always remove all the unnecessary wood on this part. Otherwise, you end up making a spoon that is too cumbersome and bulky. Such a spoon can easily break when dropped on a hard surface. It is also important to avoid removing too much wood because you do not want the spoon to be too light.
Conclusion
Making a spoon is not as difficult as one might think. As someone new, it may take you several hours. However, once you are used to it, it should only take you about an hour. Always ensure to take the necessary safety precautions to make it safe for you to work. A sharp knife does a better job than a blunt one.
Thank you carving tools guide for writing this article. Website owner is a passionate wood carver and he is an experienced person. You can find best wood carving tools reviews, informative article and many more in his website.
Until then,
Use your instincts to survive