Learn about wooden spoon carving with this beginners guide from The Goodlife Centre.
What is spoon carving?
To carve a spoon, we use a single slim length of wood with the grain running on the longest length. Any sharp knife can be used to carve the basic shape, but a special curved or ‘hook’ blade is needed to scoop out the bowl.
The history of spoon carving
Originally made by young men during the long winter nights or by young men on long sea voyages, they were carved to express that young man’s intentions towards a particular girl. A love spoon would be given to a girl as an indication that he wished to court her. A girl may have received lovespoons from several suitors and these would be displayed on the wall of her home.
The tradition of carving lovespoons is thought to have been derived from the making of culinary spoons and the giving of a spoon became symbolic with the expression of the wish to “feed” or support the object of the prospective suitor’s desire. It was a short step to decorating such a spoon and to investing it with symbols of the suitor’s hopes and wishes. Such a spoon would then have had no practical use and would have been regarded as an ornamental gift albeit vested with meaning.
The earliest surviving lovespoon dating from around 1667 is at the National Museum of Wales at St. Fagans near Cardiff but Welsh lovespoons are known to have been made by the menfolk of Wales before this date.
The practice of making and giving love spoons by prospective suitors was common in Wales throughout the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries but the custom became less popular towards the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. There has been a revival of the custom over the last 40 or so years and many people today make love spoons on a commercial basis for customers to utilise for the commemoration of special events in their lives or in the lives of their loved ones.
Is spoon carving hard?
The key to successful woodwork is to use sharp tools. We use two basic blades – a straight one and a curved one for the bowl. The blades may need a small amount of sharpening- known as ‘fettling’ while making the spoon. It is useful to keep the sharpening stone, or wheel, nearby but often it is enough to run the side of the blade along a leather ‘strop’ to keep the edge keen.
A young man came to one of our classes with the intention of making his fiancee a wedding gift. She knew nothing about this lovely quest. As he was roughing out the basic shape, his hand slipped and he cut his finger- not badly- but it needed a temporary plaster. ‘Hmm’, he pondered. ‘How am I going to explain this when I get home?’
What wood is best for spoon carving?
The joy of carving a spoon is that we can use almost any wood. Beginners like to use soft woods like pine or spruce, but it is easier to obtain a finer finish with fruit woods like cherry or pear.
Because spoon carving is popular with amateur makers, it’s now possible to buy a selection of wood ‘blanks’ – various lengths of different varieties of wood. Some bundles include American Oak, Utile – a West African hardwood, tulipwood, sapele and Red Grandi.
We use lime wood- or linden/basswood as they call it in the USA. Its botanical name is Tilia europaea.
What tools are needed for spoon carving?
Coping saw
A hand saw for roughing out shape
Mora 106 carving knife
A short straight knife for shaping the handle.
Ben and Lois Orford Short curved knife
A Curved blade for carving out the bowl.
Slip stone
Shaped stones for the inside bevel of a curved knife. Hand held.
Chisels
The set used in our workshops consists of:
No 5. 20mm straight gouge, No 5.13mm straight gouge, No 3. 6mm straight gouge, No 9.6mm straight gouge, V parting tool, Fishtail gouge.
Think of adding a few chisels at a time; building up a set as you learn.
Mallet
Beechwood wood carving mallet.
Bench stone
Rectangle stone for sharpening.
Carborundum stone
Composite sharpening stone. Use with oil. It loses flatness over time.
Diamond stone
Industrial diamond dust. Use only with water. Long lasting and stays flat.
Arkansas/Wichita stone
A hard natural stone for sharpening. Stones named after their origin.
Leather strop
Leather with tallow and jeweller’s rouge or other fine abrasive to give a fine edge.
Rouge
Jewelers rouge was developed by the Jewelry trade for buffing soft, precious metals to a high finish. This extremely fine compound will not scratch or cut away the finest or softest of metals.
Slip stone
Shaped stones for the inside bevel of a curved knife. Hand held.
How long does it take to carve a spoon?
We offer a one-day wooden spoon carving course and it is possible for a beginner to finish a spoon about 150mm long. Depending on the complexity of the design- where lots more sanding would be needed – everyone leaves with a useful tool to cherish forever.
What kind of oil do you use for carved spoons?
Jon Hall, is a talented professional City and Guild trained carver who teaches our wood carving courses prefers Raw Linseed oil. ‘It’s important to use an oil that is not toxic when making tools that are used with food’ he says.
What’s the best way to learn how to carve a wooden spoon?
There is lots of inspiration around to gather the enthusiasm to carve a spoon. Start with a simple shape with a shallow bowl. It is very important to learn how to use a knife safely first, as some of the cuts are made towards the body and so it’s best to make sure an experienced tutor can show you how to stay safe.
A skilled craftsperson can also show how to secure the wood while carving and how to refine the cuts as the spoon emerges from the wood. A good course will ensure that all the knives have been sharpened beforehand.
The best and the most fun way to learn wooden spoon carving? Come along to one of our one-day spoon carving workshops and leave with a beautifully carved wooden spoon of your own.
