The New Spoons Are Here!!

 

I finally have them up and ready! I know it took longer than I said, but I couldn't settle on the easiest way to sell them here on the blog. I toyed around with adding a paypal button to the blog itself, but that was rather confusing, when at first it seemed easy ( don't believe everything you read on the internet!). I also spent the whole day Saturday trying to open a store on shopify, but got bogged down. That turned out to be much more of a hassle than it probably should have been. My computer abilities leave something to be desired. I'm able to do this blog because it pretty much runs itself. I mean, come on, I make spoons with an ax and two knives...what can you expect??  Anyway, I finally decided that the easiest way is to post them here with the price and if you're interested you can let me know in the comment section which number spoon you're interested in and I will let you know if it is available. If you want to purchase it, please send me an email at planman1002@gmail.com. That way I'll have your email; then I can email you a paypal invoice which will allow you to pay via paypal or with a credit card. With that being said.....onto the spoons!

spoon # 1

cherry serving spoon

overall length: 12"

bowl: 2.5"

This one is a hefty server with a nice deep bowl. It is mostly heart wood giving it that

classic light brown hue; except for a rogue streak of pale sapwood running up the side.

Price: $ 30

 

 

 

spoon # 2

cherry cooking spoon

overall length: 15.5"

bowl: 1.75"

This one is the big stirring spoon featured in the long spoon post a few weeks back.

It's all cherry heartwood, long and straight; the bowl is narrow and shallow; great for stirring and sneaking a taste.

Price: $30

 

spoon # 3

cherry server

overall length: 10"

bowl: 2"

This one is kind of a tweener. It has a nice egg shaped bowl that is semi shallow and pretty thin. It would make a nice light duty server, but also a good long eating spoon.



Price: $ 30

 

spoon # 4

apple eating spoon

overall length: 8"

bowl: 1.5"

This one is a great looking spoon...streaks of dark and light...a couple of small knots in the handle.

I love apple it is very unpredictable and every piece is a surprise. It has a nice tear drop shaped bowl

made shallow for eating. This one almost didn't make it into the batch (because I almost kept it!).

Price: $25

 

 

spoon # 5

apple eating spoon

overall length: 8"

bowl: a little under 1.5"

A whimsical shaped eater that feels great in the hand. This one would be a great yogurt spoon or for anything in a container as it has a long, thin, and pointy bowl.

Price: $25

 

salad serving set

overall length: 10.5"

bowl: 2"

This is something I plan to make a lot more of. Made from a chunk of a cherry log split down the middle resulting in two pieces that mirrored each other. The two pronged fork nicely pinches its shallow spoon partner.

Price: $55

 

That's the batch folks...like I said before I wish there were more in it, but I wanted to get some up here for you all. The good news is that when I was cleaning out the freezer this weekend I found three roughed out spoons and a spatula!. I've been working on those, and I broke out the snowshoes the other day and took to the woods where I found some downed limbs that look like they have some good spoons in them. So please, if you are interested in one of these comment below or email me at planman1002@gmail.com. If you don't get in, keep following as there will be more on the way. 



 



 

 

 



The Craftsmanship Of Risk... Or So It's Been Called

I first heard Peter Follansbee refer to spoon carving as the "craftsmanship of risk" (explaining the perils of spoon carving) on Roy Underhill's show. Not a truer statement has there ever been. For all the beautiful spoons that the multitude of wonderful carvers produce that you see at the craft shows, local markets, or here on the web - you don't usually see what's in the photo above. To the spoon carver or green woodworker it is all too familiar; that perfect looking log that you can clearly see the spoon in and can't wait to unlock it, only to split the log open and find some hidden knot from an off shot branch long ago in the tree's youth; possibly some rotten wood, maybe damage from some monstrous insect, or any other malformation that the tree has kept hidden under it's thick and rough exterior. As spoonmakers and green woodworkers we try and learn and study each tree, log, or crooked branch. Many times it can be apparent on the bark where a knot may be, but no matter how you may try to read it, or how you can try to convince yourself that it is going to work, the wood inside will twist and shape itself no matter how hard we try to manipulate it. As is the beauty of our craft, the natural medium we work with has its own idea what we will make from it and our goal is to find harmony with what it has to offer.

a butternut log with nice shape for a bent serving spoon but too much funkiness
and a crack that went all the way through..so to the firewood pile

Then sometimes you get all the way to this stage and carve the whole spoon and then notice a small
crack and try to salvage, work around it, and then go to far...this great apple crook just didn't want to be a serving
ladle.  

 

 

So anyway, the last of the new batch were oiled last night. Once those dry and I'm able to get some shots of the batch I'll get them up here on the blog. Unfortunately, the batch isn't as big as I'd hoped due to more than the usual assortment of the aforementioned challenges (and one spoon eating yellow lab who was able to break in and ravage the spoon shop!) But, I hope to have them posted by the end of the week so keep your eye out.