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Wooden Spoon Carving

Wooden Spoon Carving

Information and Inspiration for Spoon Carvers

Tom Bartlett

September 2018

September 30, 2018

The school year began so I carved a little spoon for little hands. I felt a little sad as my child when off to school. I brought my own baggage from my early school days and feared that he would be as miserable as I was, but fortunately, schools have changed and his learning is much more positive than mine. However, it was comforting for me, in these days of digital learning and iPads, to know that he would have a hand carved wooden spoon in his lunch bag. Nothing wrong with sneaking a little sloyd into the curriculum, right?

I read The Why and How of Woodworking: A Simple Approach to Making Meaningful Work by Michael Pekovich, who also works as the creative director at Fine Woodworking Magazine. It’s a fast read filled with food for thought on woodworking craft and practice, such as:

  1. It’s not the number of hours, but how you use them.
  2. Make it a habit.
  3. Do your thinking away from the shop.
  4. Make sure it’s worth building.
  5. Why little things are the “big” things.
  6. Shavings or sawdust – aka hand vs. power tools.
  7. Our mindset makes a difference.
  8. A new technique and a new tool with every project.
  9. Rethink perfect.
  10. Don’t rush, but don’t stand still.

I found the book deeply inspiring and informative. Whether you are a new or experienced furniture maker, or even into spoon carving like me, this book helps you rethink how you approach your material and time in the shop and make the most of both. The book has beautiful photos throughout and includes projects for the reader to work on. Highly recommended!!

I also just picked up The Making of Tools by Alexander G. Weygers after seeing a recent Instagram post from @desertslojd – whose blacksmithing and spoon carving consistently inspire me. Give him a follow if you’re not already doing so.

I’m excited to read Weyger’s book and I dabbled behind a forge a few decades ago. My conundrum with craft though is keeping myself reigned in and focused. By nature, I am someone who loves to explore and dreams of doing it all. I want to make spoons, kuksas, ale bowls, spoon mules, boxes, furniture, a timber frame house, carving knives, axes, cider, beer, farm, hunt, and write a book or two. I could go on and on. But then there is the issue of time… I work full time as a librarian and have a side gig in web development. I am the father of a young child. I’m restoring a piece of land that I love far away from where I live. Oh, and I’m starting to feel that half century impacting my energy level. First world problems, no doubt, and I should be celebrating my good fortune.

Something that I’ve been contemplating a lot lately is how do you stay focused on the craft that you practice? How do let go of the other distractions even when they are related to your primary craft or just excite you as someone who enjoys making things? How do you balance life and the desire to practice your craft with dedication while expanding what you learn and make? Give me a shout if you have any thoughts on any of this.

Speaking of making tools, I started building my spoon mule. Thankfully, my friend David, a far more experienced woodworker than I’ll ever be, is helping me since the last time I used a joiner was around 1991. Nothing like machines with big blades to invoke mindfulness. I’m so excited to build it and am using Michigan Sloyd’s plans.

We snuck away to the farm late in the month to pick apples so we could make hard cider. Apart from a bull in the orchard, it was a relaxing time. I’ve enjoyed living in the city, but the older I get, the more I need nature and the quiet that rests in it.

I also loaded up my car with cherry wood after picking apples and drove from the farm to the 6th Annual Driftless Spoon Gathering in nearby La Farge. I wasn’t sure what expect since I had never been to a spoon gathering before. It was laid back but wonderful.


There is an illusionary aspect to social media like Instagram where you feel like you know someone through seeing and liking their posts. Maybe you even comment or share a message or two. I appreciate that technology affords these opportunities, but nothing can replace the reality of meeting and talking with spoon carvers whose work I’ve long admired, like Tom Bartlett, Greg Nelson, Chad Keil, Derek Brabender, and Fred Livesay as well as all the new folks that I met too. It was a real honor to hang out and do a little spoon carving with them.

Back home, we began to press the apples for hard cider a week later. I missed the farm, but it’s nice to bits of it back to the city. The wild orchard has been a real gift as a spoon carver. As we restore it and prune or remove trees, I have an unlimited supply of apple and cherry wood.

Closer to home, I had the good fortune to find some cedar. The color and scent of the wood was absolutely amazing!

August | October

Filed Under: Journal Tagged With: Derek Brabender, Driftless Spoon Gathering, Fred Livesay, Greg Nelson, Tom Bartlett

March 2018

March 27, 2018

It’s been a good month. I was elated to interview Ben Strano and get his thoughts on spoon carving. Please contact me if you would be interested in being interviewed about your spoon carving.

***

I purchased Jögge Sundqvist’s book Slöjd in Wood published by Lost Art Press. I can’t wait to get this book and read it in April.

***

Speaking of Jögge Sundqvist, I was bummed to miss his talk in early March in Decorah. A sick friend was the main reason that I didn’t go, but I also realized, while there is great value in taking classes, I’m at the point in my carving where I just need to put my ass in the chair and carve. I need to continue to build strength, and learn by doing, so when I take my next carving class, I can really learn from it.

***

After seeing a very cool chair on Instagram, I browsed through Mike Abbott’s book Going with the Grain: Making chairs in the 21st century. It’s a great read, but I realized how easy it is to explore a bunch of different directions with woodworking and how I need to focus just on carving spoons.

Speaking of books, here are some of my suggestions. Also, Tom Bartlett recently also put together a great list of spoon carving books too. Books are tools too, so it’s always a challenge note to splurge on them. After looking at Tom’s list, I bought the following wonderful books:

Japanese Spoons and Ladles by Masao Usui

The New Sylva by Gabriel Hemery and Sarah Simblet

Treen for the Table: Wooden Objects Relating to Eating and Drinking by Jonathan Levi

Treen, or Small Woodenware Throughout the Ages by Edward Pinto

***

I enjoyed Mortise and Tenon Magazine’s “Advice for Aspiring Writers” series. I hope that they keep adding more posts on the subject.

***

I’m looking for resources on tree and wood identification. Please contact me if you have any favor books or websites on the topic.

***

I was inspired by Cole Holliday’s recent post on Instagram that he plans to spend less time online and more time carving. I need to do the same!

***

Watched two silent carving videos with Barn Carder on the Green Wood Guild’s website. It was nice just to watch and focus more on action than words.

***

I took a sharpening class at WoodCraft but I am still freaked out by sharpening. The instructor reassured me that you usually can fix any damage done. I also bought a Peavey shingle froe.

February | April

Filed Under: Journal Tagged With: Barn Carder, Ben Strano, books, Cole Holliday, Edward Pinto, Gabriel Hemery, Green Wood Guild, Jögge Sundqvist, Jonathan Levi, Masao Usui, Mike Abbott, Mortise and Tenon Magazine, Sarah Simblet, Tom Bartlett, tools

An Interview with Tom Bartlett from Sylva Spoon

September 5, 2017

Last week, I interviewed Jeff Ward. It was great to learn more about Jeff’s spoon carving and woodworking! I’m equally excited to share the following new interview with the amazing spoon carver Tom Barlett this week. Tom is owner of Sylva Spoon in Wisconsin. I’m grateful that he took the time to answer my questions and share his thoughts on spoon carving. Enjoy the interview!

Tell us a little about yourself. How long have you been carving spoons and how did you first get interested in it?

I carved my first spoon in 2009, while living in South Korea. When I was young I enjoyed making pointy sticks, turning big pieces of wood in little pieces of wood and generally mucking about with sharp things. As an adult I was travelling and teaching and started to look for a creative outlet. I think the seed of spoon carving was probably planted after watching a show with Ray Mears where he carved a spoon. I bought myself some tools and just had at it. Mate, I bled so much during those early days. If you’re a new spoon carver and have the opportunity to take a course, or just hang out with more experienced carvers, save yourself some platelets and reach out to them.

What are a few of your favorite spoon carving tools?

I have five tools I use the most: Svante Djarv Little Viking axe, Hans Karlsson adze, Nic Westermann sloyd knife, Fawcett knife and 50mm twca cam.

However, my absolute favourite thing about spoon carving is that you don’t need a lot of tools, and they certainly don’t need to be fancy. Any axe with a narrow bit will work. The Mora 106 is, in my opinion, a near perfect sloyd knife. A nice spoon knife does help, but the readily available Mora 164 hook knife can be made to work (Mora will soon be releasing a redesigned hook knife that Beth Moen helped design, exciting news for spoon nerds like us). If you’re reading this and you’re new to spoon carving, the most important thing about tools is that they’re kept sharp. Like, really sharp. Think of your sharpest kitchen knife. WAY SHARPER THAN THAT. I’ll stop shouting now…

Are there any particular spoon carvers that inspire you in your work?

*Deep breath* Barn ‘the spoon’ Carder, Jane Mickelborough, Adam Hawker, Jojo Wood, Anna Casserley, Jan Harm ter Brugge, Yoav Elkayam, Amy Leake, Dawson Moore, Anja Sundberg, Willie and Jogge Sundqvist, Martin Hazell, Jarrod Dahl …

I’m a frequent lurker, part-time poster on a couple of Facebook groups, I scroll through Pinterest a lot and own spoons from Barn, Anna Cassarley, Jane Mickelborough, Maryanne Mcginn, Yoav Elkayam, Amy Leake, Yuri Moldenhauer, Derek Brabender, Robin Duckmanton, Chris Allen, Emmet van Driesche, Jojo Wood, Adrian Lloyd, Steve Tomlin, Adam Hawker, Sean Hellman, Tom Standen, Martin Hazell and Simon Hill. I’m also following about 900 people on Instagram, so might just be easier for people to scroll through that list! I also really like visiting museums and seeing ancient woodenware. I love looking at an item made by a long dead craftsperson and feeling a connection to them through the items they made. So I get a lot of inspiration from a wide variety of sources!

(Dan’s note: visit my resource page to see links to many of these spoon carvers)

Any tips for new spoon carvers based on what you have learned?

Tom’s Top Three Tips:

1. Sharpen your tools. Like right now. The rest of this interview can wait (honestly, it’s not my best work). If you’re new to spoon carving I can almost guarantee that your tools are not as sharp as they could be. Heck, mine could probably do with a bit of stropping. One moment, I’ll be back in a jiffy…

2. Take a course, hang out with carvers that are more experienced than you, failing that, buy a spoon from a carver you admire and make copies of it until you can make an identical spoon. Feel free to reach out to whomever you bought a spoon from for tips or advice on areas of the spoon you’re struggling with. They’ll probably be more than happy to give you some advice. Spoon carvers are all lovely people. Apart from one, but we don’t talk that person. They know who they are. (I’m just kidding (not really (it’s a joke (or is it?))).

3. Think about design. Before starting a spoon, have a clear goal for what kind of function it will serve. Is it an eating spoon? Do you want it specifically for soups and stews? Is it a cooking spoon? What kind of cooking? Stir fry? Porridge? Scramble eggs? Or perhaps a serving spoon? Do you want to serve mashed potatoes? Or peas? Thinking about the intended use can drastically change the design of a spoon. It’s incredibly easily to hollow out a scoop on the end of a handle, but to make a utensil that gracefully fulfills a specific task is a much harder, but more rewarding task. It also gives direction to your carving and will help you determine if you’ve made a ‘good’ spoon or not.

Are your spoons for sale? And how can someone buy them?

My spoons are available on my website www.sylvaspoon.com/shop.

If you live in Wisconsin, or it’s neighbouring states, you might find me at a craft fair selling my wares. A lot of my Instagram work is available too. So if you see me post something you like, just send me a message.

Thanks Tom! 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 readers to contact me if you would like to be interviewed to share your thoughts on the craft of spoon carving.

Filed Under: Interviews Tagged With: Interviews, Sylva Spoon, Tom Bartlett

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