# Self Sufficiency/Living off the Land or Off the Grid > Making Stuff >  Carving a Wooden Spoon

## MCBushbaby

Friend brought over a crook knife after hearing I needed one.  Sharpened it and began testing on a 2x4.  Following days found me bored so I just kept at it.  This is the result:

pics can be found here.

Basic Steps:
Find a green piece of wood (dry 2x4 with mini knots was agony!) and cut to sizeUse a hatchet or saw to cut a block form of your spoon.  Meaning height, width and dept.Use a draw knife or straight-blade to form the block into a recognizable spoon shapeUse the crook (or crooked) knife to dig out the bowl, taper the point where the handle attaches, and round the bowl (rim, outside, and inside)Slim the spoon down to minimal thickness without compromising integrityBegin rough sanding to remove bumpsMove on to middle and light sanding to remove burrs and small imperfectionsFinish off with a quick soak in mineral oil if you want to preserve the wood and accentuate the grain (I didn't on this one)

And, like all my equipment, I needed to weigh it:  8.2g compared to my stainless steel camping spoon (20.6g).  I think I found a new spoon  :Smile:

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## Rick

You do know that 2X4s are soaked in hydrogonized saclicilic acid to protect them from termites, right? 

Nooooooo. Just kidding!! Nice job. I like the knife, too.

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## hillbilly1987

very nice job on that project bud i like it alot

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## MCBushbaby

Thanks, glad you guys like it.  There was a diagonal knot running just under the bowl so I had to work with that hard piece of hatred.  :P

Next I plan to do a bowl using Tom Brown's ember-burning technique where, from what I can gather, you literally burn out the bowl and then carve to perfection.  I'll see how that goes

I also want to do one of those Finish cups (the kind with the solid handle with two holes for fingers).  Forgot what they're called but I'd like to have one for the trail.

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## hillbilly1987

> Thanks, glad you guys like it.  There was a diagonal knot running just under the bowl so I had to work with that hard piece of hatred.  :P
> 
> Next I plan to do a bowl using Tom Brown's ember-burning technique where, from what I can gather, you literally burn out the bowl and then carve to perfection.  I'll see how that goes
> 
> I also want to do one of those Finish cups (the kind with the solid handle with two holes for fingers).  Forgot what they're called but I'd like to have one for the trail.


well mitch it sounds you are having alot of fun and that is kool and when you get done with the next project can we see pictures of it?

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## Rick

Mitch - You may be describing a kuksa. It's a traditional Scandinavian cup. There are a couple of variants on the kuksa. 

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## MCBushbaby

Exactly Rick!  Aren't those beautiful cups?  For a carving job with functional application, I gotta love em.

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## h8mtv

I did a bowl from a big chunk of cherry when I was a kid. I dropped a cinder on where I wanted to remove wood and blew lightly with a straw. It burns it deeply and makes it easy to scrape out with a knife. It actually came out real cool.

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## Rick

Welcome h8! How about burning you way over to the introduction section and tell us a little about your self. 

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...splay.php?f=14

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## Alpine_Sapper

> Mitch - You may be describing a kuksa. It's a traditional Scandinavian cup. There are a couple of variants on the kuksa. 
> 
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Any idea where I can come by one of those with the wolf carving? I see the link is from wikpedia, and a quick google search didn't turn up much.

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## Rick

You gave me quite a challenge. Unfortunately, I didn't either. I even tried to email the author but couldn't find a viable email on him. I did see some that had pictures of bears or other animals burned into the side of them. Some of those were on ebay. But this is the only carving I found. Sorry.

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## Alpine_Sapper

> You gave me quite a challenge. Unfortunately, I didn't either. I even tried to email the author but couldn't find a viable email on him. I did see some that had pictures of bears or other animals burned into the side of them. Some of those were on ebay. But this is the only carving I found. Sorry.


*shrugs* Hey, thanks for trying! 

Mitch, between you and Rick you've inspired me. Now I gotta go try and carve a cup with an animal in the handle.  :Big Grin:

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## MCBushbaby

> Any idea where I can come by one of those with the wolf carving? I see the link is from wikpedia, and a quick google search didn't turn up much.


I'm using this guy's site for reference.  Pretty good step-by-step for more advanced stuff like fancy bowls and kuksas

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## Alpine_Sapper

> I'm using this guy's site for reference.  Pretty good step-by-step for more advanced stuff like fancy bowls and kuksas


Great site. Muchas Gracias.

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## Rick

That is a great site. Thanks!

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## Aurelius95

> I did a bowl from a big chunk of cherry when I was a kid. I dropped a cinder on where I wanted to remove wood and blew lightly with a straw. It burns it deeply and makes it easy to scrape out with a knife. It actually came out real cool.


I took a survival class a few months ago, and we tried burning an ember into a chunk of wood.  For a straw, we used a small length of bamboo.  Turned out pretty good.  Found out that if it doesn't burn easily, you can apply mud to the "thinning" side to keep it from burning further.

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## crashdive123

Thanks Mictch, nice site.  Great tip Aurelius - thanks.

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## canid

thanx for the link mitch. i like to carve mine from the joint where a small limb meets the parent limb. gives a nice angled handle, like a ladle.

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## Rick

I ran across this video today for those of you that don't know how to burn a bowl or other objects. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vhZEIg0VbQ&NR=1

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## crashdive123

Nice.  Thanks.

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## flandersander

Sweet. I've always wanted to make a wooden bowl. Has anybody tried boiling water in the bowl. In theory it would work. the water keeps the bowl from burning through. it works with paper bags.

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## Rick

I've never tried it. I would think the bowl would have to be awfully thin. The heat would have to pass through the wood and into the water to keep it from burning. Otherwise, the wood would absorb the heat and become wet firewood.

I have to admit, between you guys and that video I've sort of got the bug to build one. I was looking over the wood pile this afternoon for a likely victim.

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## canid

yeah, that would burn most of the bowl away. it wouldn't look too nice afterward. it's certainly possible, but how quickly/often can you carve a bowl? i think my energies could be better spent, if i couldn't get a longer lasting material for boiling water.

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## Ole WV Coot

Mitch did we once mention making carving tools? If we didn't larger cut nails driven into whatever you want as a handle can be ground to any shape and will take a great edge if kept cool and not burnt on the grinder. Saves me a lot of $$$.

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## canid

all the better if you temper the yourself before you haft them. then you don't have to worry about annealing them when you form them or finding sources of nail/other steel that's already at the desired hardness.

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## flandersander

Well actually... I made one. it holds water but looks more like a hunk of wood with a burnt dip in it. it holds water but I can't get the inside down to bare wood. it stays brown. What do you guys do to get the inside down to the wood?

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## RBB

> yeah, that would burn most of the bowl away. it wouldn't look too nice afterward. it's certainly possible, but how quickly/often can you carve a bowl? i think my energies could be better spent, if i couldn't get a longer lasting material for boiling water.


With a good piece of green basswood, I can rough out a "cereal" size bowl in about two hours, but I wouldn't try to boil water in it.

By the way, that "crooked knife" looks an awful lot like a farriers hoof knife. 

http://www.stromsholm.co.uk/pages/ho...age.php?page=7

You may find it easier to use a real crooked knife or Scandinavian scorp.  The cups and bowl below are made using a crooked knife from birch, maple, and walnut burl.

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## crashdive123

Just popular I guess.

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## Rick

Here is a different take on making spoons that I thought you might like.

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## hidingpool

Hey, Just wanted to say that this is what brought me to these forums and I like it.   Informative, well thought out, people helping each other, no BS. Thanks.  POOL

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## Assassin Pilot

I bet my grandpa has 50 of these. He lives in Finland (duh) and makes about everything out of wood himself. All his furniture is stuff that he made himself. Next time I go back to Finland I will need to take pics.

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## MCBushbaby

I should note that I really slimmed it down once the wood dried a bit.  I mean, it's 2x4... it's pretty dry to start, but I was afraid of it cracking in the dry winter air.  So now it actually fits in my mouth without feeling like a sock.   :Smile: 




> Hey, Just wanted to say that this is what brought me to these forums and I like it.   Informative, well thought out, people helping each other, no BS. Thanks.  POOL


Glad to hear I helped

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## Rick

Did you oil the wood once you got it where you wanted it? I just ask because it seems like the addition of liquids on unprotected wood would raise the grain on the wood. I would think something like coin oil (or whatever you like) rubbed into the wood might help protect it.

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## MCBushbaby

Yea, I settled on extra virgin olive oil.  Didn't have any mineral oil so I did what I could

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## Rick

Do you have any pics, Mitch?

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## LeaveThisLifeGuy

so for these bowls or spoons, does one stain it once finished?  seems like without stain it's soak up food particles and get stinky...

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## Rick

See post 33 and 34 this thread.

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## LeaveThisLifeGuy

> See post 33 and 34 this thread.


oh, i see.  i thought that oiling was to soften the wood for carving.

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