Tell us a little about yourself:
I am a retired mechanical engineer. My wife, daughter, and I live in Beechwood Trails, Harrison Township, Ohio. Better reference, is that we live about 18 miles East of the Columbus, Ohio city center. We garden and put up vegetables, blue berries, and applesauce for winter use.
I carve spoons, trays, and bowls from seasoned wood. I use seasoned wood because I could get scrap pieces of Poplar from my last employer. I like Poplar because it carves well and has varying grain and color.
How long have you been carving and how did you first get interested in it?
I have been whittling since I was very young. Whittling sticks and crate boards into spears and swords. I saw my Dad carving, and that is what spurred me on. He carved animals, neckerchief slides, name plates for desks, buttons, and many other things. He taught me how to sharpen my tools and how to use a knife safely. Beyond that, I am mostly self taught.
Throughout my life I have carved off and on. I have carved jewelry pins and necklaces. I have also carved Christmas ornaments. I wanted to carve something that would be useful that would bring other folks pleasure and satisfaction, something they would want to use. In 2010, I started carving spoons from Black Walnut and Cherry boards that I got from my Dad’s stash of wood. I have been carving spoons ever since then.
What are a few of your favorite spoon carving tools?
I have a Pfeil #12 knife and a Flexcut Sloyd knife that I like to use for carving the shape and exterior surfaces of spoons and bowls. I use Flexcut Pelican and Mini Pelican knives for detail carving and carving “fretted” designs in the handles and bowls of the spoons. I like to used Pfeil and Flexcut palm gouges to carve the bowls of the spoons. Using gouges gives me flexibility in the shape of the spoon bowls.
Any suggestions of books or websites to learn about spoon carving or woodwork?
For folks just starting out who aren’t much in axe work, there are a couple of books from Fox Chapel Publishing that might help.
The Art of Spoon Carving by Lora S. Irish is a good basic book talking about tools and techniques. She also provides several useful patterns.
Carving Spoons 2nd ed. by Shirley Adler. Again a good basic book on tools and techniques. There are also chapters on the history of carved spoons and “love spoons”. She also talks about the different types of wood and provides a handy table classifying the wood and its use. There are several patterns as well.
Are there any particular spoon carvers who inspire you in your work?
Patrick Diette’s journey through wood working and into spoon carving for a living is very inspiring. He has his children as appreciates. He is a good teacher because it is almost impossible to tell which spoons were done by the master and which came from an apprentice’s hands. He has a minimal kit, and can make his workshop anywhere he happens to be.
Giles Newman is another carver whose work I admire. I find his carvings to be intriguing. The execution and detail are stunning. Made even more so by the sparseness of his kit.
David Western is one of the most prolific love spoon carvers in North America. While a love spoon is quite delicate and not really a usable spoon, I think it is fun to incorporate some of the love spoon devices in an everyday kitchen spoon.
How have your spoon carving techniques changed over time?
When I first started carving spoons, I would cut a rectangular blank from a board and carve the spoon free hand. Now I will scribe landmarks on the blank to encompass the bowl, or layout the bowl and handle on the rectangular blank. But I still carve out the spoon by hand with a straight knife.
Since I use seasoned wood, I found that the grain would rise and become prominent when the wood was wetted in use. Now, I will sand the spoons five times with progressively finer grit paper finishing up with 400 grit. I wet the spoons between each time they are sanded. This stabilizes the grain so it doesn’t rise when the spoons are used and washed.
My finish changes over time. I started out using extra virgin olive oil. It will turn gummy and rancid over time. Next I tried walnut oil and grape seed oil, both work well. Currently I am trying a food safe beeswax paste with mineral oil. I think this finish gives the best results. For trays to be used as pencil caddies, I like to use straight beeswax applied the hard way. It gives a tough and durable finish.
What are your thoughts on popular decorative techniques like milk paint, kolrosing, or chip carving?
Each has its place in the art of spoon carving. Milk paint doesn’t seem to be appropriate for working kitchen spoons. The wood that I like to use doesn’t take detail like kolrosing or chip carving very well. I like to carve fretted designs in the handles of the spoons near the ends to give a place from which to hang the spoon. I also like to carve decorative slots into the bowls of the spoons.
What do craft, sloyd, or wood culture mean to you?
When I think of a craft, I think of the production of things that will be used by someone everyday from natural materials by hand using hand tools. A lot of what we currently bill as crafts tend toward decorations or works of art. Spoon, bowl, and cup making from wood using edged hand tools meet my definition of a craft.
When I see the words “wood culture” they are usually preceded by the word green. I suppose the idea is that a great many of the things in a home can be produced from the surrounding forest. But that concept should not be limited to things made from green wood that you harvest yourself. Many folks don’t have a ready access to green wood, but still enjoy making wooden objects by hand from seasoned wood. Wood is a very versatile material for kitchen, serving, and eating utensils regardless of whether the wood used to make them was green or seasoned.
If you had to pick a few songs to listen to while carving, what would they be?
I like Celtic music. I like to listen to the Chieftains from Ireland and Le Vent du Nord from Quebec, Canada.
Lastly, why do you carve spoons?
I want to carve things that will be useful and that folks will enjoy using. Spoons fill this requirement nicely. Also I wanted my craft to be one that required no power tools or a fixed location in our house. I wanted to be able to ply my craft wherever I might be sitting.
Carving a spoon from a block of wood by hand is a mindful exercise. Spoon carving provided a time where I could let go of the stress and cares of the day. A carved spoon can be a sensual (meaning a pleasure to the senses) work of art, both to the eye and to the touch. A well executed spoon feels balanced in the hand, has a shape that is attractive and useful, and is a pleasure to use. I have several people who have bought my spoons at craft shows that tell me that they use them everyday, and want to buy another one. This is more reward to me than the money. It is a good feeling to know that something from my hand has brought pleasure to another.
Thanks Richard! You can inquire about purchasing his spoons by email at spoonguy {at symbol} icloud.com .
As I have said previously, my goals with this website are to learn more about spoon carving and connect with the great community of spoon carvers out there. I welcome carvers to contact me if you would like to be interviewed to share your thoughts on the craft of spoon carving.