Spoons

[Tony Pisano]

A few weeks ago I carved a spoon. Now I can't stop. I'd reccommend it to anyone. It doesn't take much material and you can make them with a few basic tools and a few hours time. At the museum, I using a coping saw, a few spoon gouges, a knife, rasp and some sandpaper, and a little elbow grease. I found a recipe for a finish using 4 parts food safe mineral oil and 1 part beeswax. So far, I'm liking the results and I'm sure my skills will improve as I make more.

[Frederick Skelly]

That's neat. I may have to try that myself!

[John K Jordan]

Very nice!

Hey, have you tried turning Olivewood? I found a shop in Athens, Greece where every single item was made from Olivewood. I couldn't help myself and had to buy some spoons. The wood is beautiful, dense, fine-grained, easy to carve, and smells great! I've carved it but mostly use it for woodturning.

If anyone else is interested in an oil/beeswax finish I ran across this article on Doc Green's web site yesterday, might be helpful:
http://www.docgreenwoodturner.com/mineraloil.html

JKJ

[Tony Pisano]

Haven't tried it, ut it sounds really nice. I'll also che k on that beeswax article.

[Mel Fulks]

The work looks fine. And you are doing great on design variety. I think they would sell.

[Mel Fulks]

Tony, Here's an idea for a spoon model. Perfectly round saucer with a serpent handle. A just used spoon always hold a
small amount of the liquid. Serpent tongue is always ready to lap it up. Idea came to me in a moment of pure
serpentdippity. It's yours!

[Tony Pisano]

Spoon Update: we did a craft show yesterday mostly for honey and candles, but I also put my spoons out and sold 6 of them, ranging in price from $12 for the little salt spoons to $30 for the larger light colored one that was in the center of the picture. That's pretty encouraging.

[Mel Fulks]

I think it's a good niche. Hope it continues to catch on. I still think something uniquely whimsical would be a good seller.

[John K Jordan]

Excellent! Be sure to post more photos as you make them. Some closer pictures would be nice too. [hint, hint :) ]

[Steve Mathews]

Nicely done Tony! I especially appreciate your craftsmanship after attempting my first couple of spoons a few days ago, all subpar to yours. One was using Basswood, which was supposed to be easier to carve and recommended for beginners. The other is of Olive wood and I agree with John that it is a delight to use. After recovering from a cut and poke from a sharp carving knife I'll give it a go again hopefully with better results.