second thoughts about stirring sticks

As I was looking at pictures of interesting wooden utensils a while ago, I happened upon this picture of a stirring stick from Ghana.

Now, you may recall that I posted about stirring sticks a while ago, saying that they aren't all that useful, so you probably shouldn't make them unless you have scrap wood that is too skinny to make anything else.  But I saw this stick and I loved it.  I mean, look at that interesting shape.  Look at the knife marks still on it.  Look at the simplicity of it.  So I decided to make some of my own.

I made this first one from a branch of cypress that I pruned off of a tree in our front yard.  When I asked my 6-year-old girl what improvements I could make on it, she told me to get rid of the warts.  So I told her that those are little knots, not warts, and they won't come off.  Besides, I kind of like them.

This second stick is made from maple.  I tried hard to make it look like it did not come from a flat boring piece of wood.

The best sandpaper and the shape of a spoon handle

This post has two purposes: to show you evidence of the best sandpaper ever and to show you the shape of a pretty spoon handle.  First, look at the before photos and notice the knife marks.  Then look at the after photos to see how my Norton 3X sandpaper took off the knife marks in 3 minutes of sanding.  That is fast!  Finally, feel free to appreciate the shape of the handle.  I don't have much to say about the shape of it now, other than the fact that it looks really good and it feels great in my hand.  It feels nicer to hold than a regular cylinder shape.

Three "before" photos:

Three "after" photos:

It isn't just the fact that the sandpaper was 80 grit that made it fast.  All of the grits of Norton 3X that I use are fast.  They are faster than other kinds, and they last a lot longer.  I am not exaggerating when I say that the sandpaper has changed my approach to sanding.  I no longer hate it as much as I did, and I can use the 80 grit to do the last shaping of my pieces because it is so fast.  Where I would have to use a knife very carefully before to get that last hairbreadth of material off, I can now use my sandpaper and it is almost as fast and a lot less likely to take off too much material.

An odd thing. A very odd thing.

As I was going through wood stuff a little while ago, I found all kinds of weird things.  I found old projects that I should have finished by now and old projects that I should have never started.  And then I found something even weirder.  Now, look at this.  It is just a boring little bowl carved out of bass wood.

Laughter carved this at my house several years ago when he was bored.  Pretty round, especially considering that it was done by hand with a knife

Now we turn it over and see the weird part.  The boring bowl appears to have grown a head.

The face was carved by me, several years ago plus a few, when I was trying my hand at carving faces.  (I gave it up because it is too hard and not that great looking when it's done.)  Why is the head sticking out of the bottom of a bowl?  Well, I carved it on a piece of bass wood, and when Laughter was at my house looking for a piece of wood to carve, that is all I had.  So he carved on it, but didn't want to carve the semi-decent face off, so he left it on while he made the bowl.

The lesson to be learned from this?  Make sure you have plenty of wood for your guests to carve, or you may end up with a bizarre thing like this hanging out in your wood stacks for years.

Atlatls are awesome and alliteration are awesome also

Before you can make a wooden spoon, you need something to eat with that spoon.  How do you get something to eat?  You kill it with a spear.  And how do you throw that spear?  With your atlatl, of course.

I made this atlatl ages ago.  It is made of pine, so it is not terribly strong.  Perhaps I should make one of maple for when I need to hunt for survival.  And maybe Laughter will loan me a knife for skinning my prey.

a little rough carpentry

Some days are for researching and sketching and designing.  Other days are for sanding.  Then some days are for cutting things out or banging with a gouge and mallet.  Others are for carving pretty handles.  And then some days you just need to go to the scrap lumber stack and make a bike ramp for your boys because they have been bugging you about it for weeks.

Six spoons a-soaking

Yeah, that should be enough for this weekend.

Quilted maple is pretty!

Quilted maple is pretty, but it is horrible to carve with that wavy grain.  So these were done mostly with power tools.  I had to carve the bowls of the spoons sideways, across the grain.

Another variation on the"perfect" spoon

Same shape, much shallower.  This is about 3/8 inch deep, because you usually don't need a very deep bowl, and because I can then make 2 spoons out of the same wood that would otherwise be 1 spoon. 

My first attempt at making spoons for eating

Here are my first eating spoons, halfway done.  I cut the blanks on my scroll saw and then soaked them for a few days.  I took them out of the water the night before carving so they wouldn't be too wet.  Maple carves much easier when it has been soaked.  The blanks were are a lot heavier, so I could tell they had sucked up the water.  I carved them with a knife and my gouge.  I carved the bowl by cutting across the grain, using the gouge more like a knife than a chisel.  It was fun to do it all by hand after having made several utensils all by machine lately.  I am going to give these two days to dry, and then I will sand them and oil them.  I already tested the size by putting them in my mouth as I was carving.  That was yummy.

A note about stirring sticks

Here is a stirring stick that I made out of some scrap walnut.  (I made two of them, but I can't find the other one.)  I give you two pictures so you can see the grain with the slightly different lighting.

In the process of making them, I learned a few things:

They are fun to make.  You take your scrap wood, carve off the edges, maybe make it a funny shape.  Very easy and fun.

Walnut is hard to sand.  It really likes to splinter.  You will sand for a long time.  (Actually, I also learned this at Christmastime when I was sanding walnut spoons.)  This is another good reason to use maple instead.

Finally, the most important thing.  Stirring sticks are good for only one thing - stirring.  Spoons, on the other hand, are good for stirring, scooping, tasting, scraping, serving, etc.  Therefore, only make a stirring stick if you have wood that can only be made into a stirring stick.  Otherwise, it seems like a waste of wood and time to me.

About boiling wood

I boiled some maple today to make it easier to carve.  I just used a saucepan and only had the heads of the spoons in the water.  I boiled them for about an hour and a half - boiling for 50 minutes or so and then simmering for the rest of the time.  It worked well.  The stuff was much easier to carve.  Easier than when I soaked it, and much faster.

When you boil maple, you get water that looks like this:

This makes me wonder.  What exactly is that boiling doing to the wood?  Is that just a bunch of tannin in the water?  And am I hurting the wood by removing that tannin?  I sure hope not.

Jam Spoon

A while back, I thought to myself - "Why get my fingers sticky with a short knife that requires four or five dips into the jam jar to make a sandwich?  I should make a jam spoon instead."  (I was also antsy for a new project that was different from what I have already done.)  So I made one.  Well, kind of.  I cut one out and carved it and even sanded it mostly.  But I didn't like it, and it is hard to finish a piece that I don't like.  Here is a picture of it. It still isn't done.

It is made of bloodwood.  As you will discover, the difficulty in making a jam spoon of blood wood lies in carving a small spoon head out of very hard wood.  It would have been easier out of maple, but not nearly as interesting to look at.  With all the maple in my spoon holder, I needed some contrast.  But, alas, I just don't like it.  It seems rather boring to me.  Maybe I should make the end of the handle skinnier.

But there is better news, and better photos to see.  A few weeks after getting bored with the first jam spoon, I thought of a different design.  I like it much better.

side view

backside view

This one is also bloodwood, but with a totally different shape.  I based the head on the shape of an oar.  Because it is just used for scooping and spreading jam, it doesn't really need a normal bowl shape, so I just did a scoop shape, as you can see in the side view.  This spoon is beautiful and not boring.

Boiled blanks

I love carving spoons out of green wood, but what to do when there is none to be had? Also, I really like making utensils out of maple. Maple is tough, tight grained, and beautiful. I do not live anywhere near maple trees, though. So, I buy maple wood at the store and carve it dry, which is fine, but it is not as much fun, and it can be hard on my hands and my tools. Then, I ran across this gem by Wille Sundqvist in Swedish Carving Techniques.
"Wood is easier to carve when it is not completely dry. Seasoned wood can be dampened to make it easier to carve. Dried burls for bowls are sometimes even boiled for this reason."
Supplanter and I have soaked wood, but I decided this was my permission to give boiling a try. I used the old stock pot and boiled some maple and poplar spoon blanks for an hour or so. I am happy to report that they softened very nicely and carve almost like green wood. It remains to be seen how they dry, but everything looks great so far. I boiled them and stuck them in a ziplock bag to keep them wet until I am done with them.

A "Making Things" Manifesto

I posted a little while ago about a “Spoon Manifesto” that I ran across on the internet.  In it, a carver explained why he makes spoons.  While a don’t share all of that carver’s sentiments, it made me think about why I make things.  It is something that I have thought about before, and I have talked about it with my wife and with Laughter. 

Why do I make things?  What is that desire that keeps me searching for new things to make or new ways to make familiar things? 

These answers spring to mind first:

1) it is fun to make things. 

2) I feel a sense of accomplishment when I make things.

3) I like the attention that I get when I make something cool.

4) I am easily bored by inaction, so making things is just something I have to do to stay mentally healthy.

But, as I started to make my list of reasons for making things, like the Spoon Manifesto that I posted earlier, I found all the reasons lacking.  Then I remembered this talk by President Dieter F. Uchtorf, from October of 2008, entitled “Happiness, Your Heritage.”  In it, he talked about this very thing.  He says it very well, so I quote it and say Amen:

The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.

Everyone can create. You don’t need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty.

Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty. . .

You might say, “I’m not the creative type. . . .”

If that is how you feel, think again, and remember that you are spirit daughters of the most creative Being in the universe. Isn’t it remarkable to think that your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God? Think about it—your spirit body is a masterpiece, created with a beauty, function, and capacity beyond imagination.

But to what end were we created? We were created with the express purpose and potential of experiencing a fulness of joy. Our birthright—and the purpose of our great voyage on this earth—is to seek and experience eternal happiness. One of the ways we find this is by creating things.

. . . .

You may think you don’t have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us. The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter.

What you create doesn’t have to be perfect. So what if the eggs are greasy or the toast is burned? Don’t let fear of failure discourage you. Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside.

If you still feel incapable of creating, start small. Try to see how many smiles you can create, write a letter of appreciation, learn a new skill, identify a space and beautify it.

. . . .

The more you trust and rely upon the Spirit, the greater your capacity to create. That is your opportunity in this life and your destiny in the life to come. Sisters, trust and rely on the Spirit. As you take the normal opportunities of your daily life and create something of beauty and helpfulness, you improve not only the world around you but also the world within you.

Finish me, too!

It's a bit embarrassing to see these all together. I was cleaning up today, and gathered together all the spoons and stuff that I have started. Yikes!

Yet another use for a Mason jar

I had 11 pieces finished, so I figured it was time for some mineral oil.

Why make spoons?

I just found this very interesting "Spoon Manifesto" on  http://www.wholecommunities.org/alumni/spoons.shtml.  These are not the reasons that I make spoons and other things, but I really enjoy his thinking.  In fact, I am going to write my own spoon manifesto and share it with you within the next few days or so.  In the meantime, enjoy what Peter Forbes has to say about it:

The Spoon Manifesto
(Peter Forbes, July, 1999)

Many years ago, in downeast Maine, I met a man who quickly became a friend and teacher. I began regularly visiting Bill at his homestead at Dickinson’s Reach, a place that united my life as conservationist and photographer. Bill’s homestead and miles of coastline are almost the perfect blend of the wild and the civilized, the forest and the home. His life work of learning from this land changed forever my perception of what it means to live well, and for whom and what purpose we conserve land. Bill put a crooked knife into my hand and taught me how to carve a spoon, and I’ve never stopped. This gift of a spoon, along with an explanation for why I carve them, is my act of continuing to plant that seed.

• Renewal . I can create something useful and beautiful from nature. It is a dance we do together. Making a spoon harms nothing and may actually add to the beauty in the world.
• Joy. Carving is a joyful pleasure. It allows me to focus, frees my mind from abstraction, and strengthens my hands. The only person I can save is myself, and carving this spoon saves me.
• Reality. When I cut my finger, the blood is real.
• Equality. Anyone can carve spoons. A nine-year-old friend carved the best first-spoon I ever saw.
• Symbolism . This small wooden spoon and how it came from my hands is gentle encouragement to me of larger things I might be able to do.
• Completeness. In carving a spoon I saw the limb, split the wood, cut the block, watch the spoon emerge, mail it to you. The entire process is from within me and a tree.
• Friendship. I honor my friend Bill each time I make a spoon. I only need a few spoons, so I can also honor other people by giving them away.
• Democracy. There’s orneriness in carving a spoon. It’s my way of quietly but emphatically expressing my beliefs. A wooden spoon and plastic spoon say very different things.
• Human expression. Each spoon I carve ends up unique. I hope the same for my life and yours.
• Usefulness. Carving a spoon makes me be fully present. I listen better. I find that I need to say fewer things because my hands and mind are fruitfully at work. I can wait until my heart is pounding before I need to utter a word.
• Sabbath . I work and think much too much. Carving slows me down. Eating with a wooden spoon is a form of daily Sabbath, a gentle reminder for me to slow down.
• Humility. Yes, it does all these things for me but, in the end, it’s just a wooden spoon.

Another use for a Mason Jar

Here you see my current use for a Mason Jar.  This one was holding pickles a few days ago.  (It was our second attempt with pickles.  They were much better than the first, but still not that great.  Good thing the kids' undeveloped taste buds can't tell the difference.)  So I washed the jar and it is now being used to soak two spoon blanks. 
This is the idea - Now that Laughter is attempting to make real eating spoons, I figured I would try it too.  I mean, if he can make them, I can probably make them better.  So I cut some blanks from maple and I am going to soak them for several days.  Hopefully the wood is then "green" enough so that I can then carve the bowls with a spoon knife instead of banging them out with a gouge.  And I hope to be able to carve the handles more easily than I do now.
I will let you know how that goes.  While that soaks, I have plenty of other spoons and spatulas to finish.

Little cooking spoons

This little project was inspired by Laughter's "unlikely" spoons and my "perfect" spoons.  As you may recall, Laughter makes those funny scrapers pretty thin, so he gets two from a 3/4 inch piece.  As I have been making spoons, I have realized that the bowl of the spoon doesn't really need to be very deep.  So why not make some thinner spoons?  As long as they are thick enough to be strong.  And with maple, strength isn't really a problem.  So I cut out a littler spoon and then cut the piece in half to make two of them.
Some lousy pictures:

Then, of course, I finished them.  Better pictures:

Perfecter cooking spoon

This is based on the perfect cooking spoon that Supplanter showed, but I had to try one of my own. It is made of cherry and is very pretty.