So this project started almost a whole year ago with some chunks of Aspen a friend of mine gave me. I immediately wanted to carve some utensils out of them. I split them down right away to try to get the straightest grain possible and to allow them to properly air dry. By splitting them instead of cutting them, the wood split along the grain giving me grain that is continuous through the length of the piece. This will provide much better strength and resistance to breaking.
I first traced out the shape of an existing wooden spoon onto the wood. This is mainly for proportions. Then I spent a few minutes modifying the shape to my liking. Then at the bandsaw, I started cutting off the waste material leaving me with a very rough shape of the utensils. I then grabbed a hand plane and began smoothing out what I could get to with the various planes. This was really fun. The Aspen is fairly soft and really planes nicely. Time to carve the spoon.
I loaded up my Dremel with a carving burr and began carving the bowl of the spoon. These carving burrs are awesome but do require a light hand or you risk digging in really deep. After getting the shape close, I used a card scraper to smooth it all out, then sanded it nice and smooth. Now its time to shape the handles.
I grabbed my favorite spokeshave, and began rounding the edges of the handles. This is where you can really have some fun. You get to make it any shape you want. After shaving it down where I want it, I sanded it all smooth and drilled a small hole at the end of the handle so I could later attach a loop of leather. Before attaching the leather, I applied a couple coats of pure Tung Oil.
These utensils came out awesome. I can’t wait to put them to use on some Spaghetti Sauce and Fried Eggs. (not together of course) These were really fun to make and I highly recommend you try making some of your own. You don’t have to use a dremel, they make spoon carving knives that are inexpensive and look link they work great. I just might get one of those myself to try hand carving a spoon.
Check out the build video below.
— Affiliate Links to Products Used —
Dremel Rotary Tool and Kit – https://amzn.to/2DMjPZ3
Kutzall Extreme Round Carving Burr – https://amzn.to/2XE70XW
Irwin Handsaw (newer than mine) – https://amzn.to/3a9DzC7
Pure Tung Oil – https://amzn.to/33Jlppw
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