Crafting the Spoon

I have been working on the spoon bowls and have roughed them out to almost their final look. The first pic shows the front view and the second shows the back.

I am a firm believer that a good lovespoon must have a really well carved bowl. My research through the museums of Wales has shown me that in the olden days, a great deal of effort was put into the bowls, no matter how adept or crude the carver. When you stop to consider the rather meager tools that many of these young men would have had access to, some of their work borders on miraculous.

Many of the spoons I see for sale on the 'gift shop' type lovespoon sites suffer from extremely poorly designed and carved bowls. In many it appears the bowl was just an afterthought which was only grudgingly included so that the piece of wood is recognizable as a spoon. I think this is a great shame as the bowl lends a quiet dignity to the proceedings. Lovespoons are busy and vibrant things with the handles often being a veritable riot of activity. An elegant bowl acts as a real visual anchor and can have a quieting effect on the overall design. It also is a real measure of a carver's skill to get it even and fair with the right 'look'. I spend a good deal of time fussing with the bowl and I honestly believe that the effort I put in on an easily overlooked detail pays big dividends at the end of the job.

But that is enough sermonizing (is that a word?...it is now) for one day. I just hope that you'll agree with me that so far this double bowl has a very romantic feel to it and that it is doing a good job symbolizing 'union'.

Thank you for dropping by to see how things are progressing! I hope that you will be inspired to join our efforts to initiate an Eisteddfod in Portland and I look forward to reading your comments.

Latest from David Western's Lovespoon Blog

David Western's Lovespoon Blog

Well, the fun stuff has finally started. I've been busy scroll sawing out the shape of the spoon and am very pleased with how the wood has responded. There is lots of lovely grain patterns which should make the bowl and the leaf look really vibrant and the wood has been cutting evenly with no splitting or shattering. Wood this old and dry can sometimes be a bit brittle, but this walnut seems very good. The dowel that I came across last week shows up pretty well in this photo, but won't be quite so visible when the spoon is complete. I'm very pleased with the proportions and am even more confident that this will be a very smart spoon when complete.

In the second picture I have begun carving out the spoon bowl using a hand-made bent knife. These are specially made for me by Mike Komick at Preferred Edge Tools who specializes in crafting razor sharp, beautifully made blades. In the old days, the Welsh carvers used a ferocious looking bent bladed knife called a 'twca cam' which was often fashioned from whatever metal was at hand. Thankfully for me, I can rely on Mike to use the very best steel so that I can reap the benefits of a good, keen edge. Many carvers use gouges, electric grinding tools and curved scrapers to achieve the same ends, but I personally prefer the bent knife.

Carving the spoon bowl is one of my favourite parts of the process and is one I am happy to spend a good deal of time on. I tend to think that a lot of spoon carvers consider their bowls an afterthought with the lack of attention they give them showing up as a clunky and unsightly end to their hard carving efforts on the handle. But I'm starting to get preachy, so I'll get back to the tools and see how things shape up.

Before I go though, I hope that you are enjoying the blog so far and that you will feel inclined to donate a dollar or two to the Left Coast Eisteddfod! Every dollar you gift will equal a chance to win this spoon when it is completed. I hope you'll join in and I wish you good luck!

" A Regal Looking Spoon"

I've cleaned up the board a bit and swept off the dust of ages. What is revealed is a nice sweeping grain figure which should yeild a nice spoon. As I thought, the piece right on the edge worked really well for our purposes. It's a great feeling to be able to recycle a lovely old piece of wood like this, especially knowing that it was destined for a trip to the landfill! I don't often work with walnut, but it always yields a regal looking spoon with a rich, dark colouration.

As you can see in the second picture, I've roughed out the spoon blank and have slightly domed the top surface to add some vitality and movement to the carving. Eventually, I will hollow the back a bit to give the spoon a graceful sweep. At this stage of the game, I can also get a good idea of how the final grain will look. Although it is a bit wider than I had expected, it has a nice flow and the slight angle gives it some drama. There is also a nice swirl in the area which will become the maple leaf which should add some nice shimmer to the finished leaf.

I'm looking forward to glueing the pattern on and starting the cutting. I know it isn't very exciting or dramatic at the moment, but once the cutting starts, the spoon will really take shape and things will get much more interesting.

Latest From David Western - "The walnut board from which the spoon will emerge"

Reproduced from "David Western's Portland Eisteddfod Lovespoon Blog"


Here it is, the walnut board from which the Eisteddfod spoon will emerge!

Although it doesn't look like much at the moment, especially covered in dried glue, flecks of old paint and the dust of a century and a half, I am very confident there is a spectacular spoon waiting inside.
As you can see, there are a number of holes scattered around the board which were where big screws or nails were driven through the old cabinet holding it to the wall. I have found two or three different areas of this piece where the spoon will fit without running into a hole, so now I just have to settle on the one I think will yield the sweetest grain figure. Right now, I'm leaning heavily to using the wood nearest the edge of the board as it has a section of swirling grain which should line up right where I want the bowls to be. That will make the carving a bit trickier in this area, but will make spectacular bowls which should shimmer as light passes over them.

This wood has something of a history the condensed version I will relate. Apparently, the wood forms the back panels of a wonderful bar which originally was built approximately 150 years ago for a steam ship which traversed the seas between Ireland, the UK and Europe. When the ship was scrapped, the bar was removed and spent many years in a small town pub in Ireland. A number of years ago the bar was purchased by a large hotel in Victoria BC who have now used it as the centerpiece of their off-license shop. The back panels were unnecessary during installation and were scrapped. Fortunately for me and whoever gets this spoon, the pieces were retrieved from the dumpster and found their way to me, where they found a very warm welcome and the opportunity for a new life.
I can't wait to see how this lovespoon turns out!