Today we will be taking a quick look at The Art of Spoon Carving. This is a quick look because I simply do not have the time or room on a blog to post what we can cover in a full, 156 page book. This is a condensed project from The Art of Spoon Carving, by Lora S. Irish – twelve step-by-step projects, 57 unique spoon patterns, and lots of photos.
Previous Posts in this Spoon Carving Series
The Art of Spoon Carving
Discover why I carve spoons!
Spoon, Fork, and Ladle Styles for Wood Carving, Traditional Spoon Styles and Shapes.
Four Methods to Cutting a Spoon Blank
Wood Carving a Basic Wooden Spoon
Supply List – Four Methods to Cutting a Spoon Blank
The Art of Spoon Carving by L S Irish
10″ length Coping Saw
Coping Saw Blades
Clutch Style Bar Clamp
Heavy Duty Anti-Slip Mat
Flexcut 3″ Straight Drawknife
Cut Resistant Gloves
Wood Carving Chisel Tool Set (8 Pcs)
Ryobi 16 in. Corded Scroll Saw
Pin End Scroll Saw Blade Assortment
PFEIL “Swiss Made” Made Roughing Knife
Flexcut Carving Tools, Carving Knife Set, Set of 4
Extra Supplies for Avid Spoon Carvers
Morakniv Wood Carving 164 Hook Knife
Morakniv Wood Carving 162 Hook Knife
Hooked Push Knife
Shown in the photo below, from top to bottom: Large chip carving knife, 1/2″ bent round gouge, 3/8″ v-gouge, 3/8″ straight round gouge, 5/8″ wide sweep round gouge, and a hooked push knife.
Step 1 – Tracing and Creating the Blank
Begin by tracing your pattern onto your wood blank. This basic wooden spoon is worked on a 12″ long x 1 1/4″ thick x 3″ wide basswood blank. There are four basic methods that you can use to create your rough blank – bench knife, coping saw, scroll saw, or draw knife.
Please click on the pattern below for a full-sized printable image. Since I find that I use a spoon pattern many time I begin my project by tracing the pattern onto a sheet of chipboard to create a reusable tracing template. An empty, large cereal box works very well. You can see my chipboard template in the photo above, under the original antique spoon at the top.
For my rough-cut wood blank I used a draw knife. Please visit Four Methods to Cutting a Spoon Blank for the step-by-step instructions to rough cutting your spoon blank.
