Spoon Carving Basics
In anything at all, perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away, when a body has been stripped down to its nakedness.
Release the hand from the marble that holds it prisoner.
Carving a Spoon: Step-by-Step Instructions
Photograph by Mollie Babize
Step One:
- Using a stencil, draw the top profile of your spoon on your spoon block.
- Using a draw knife and a shaving horse, remove as much wood as possible from the block to reveal your spoon.
- Using a straight knife, continue to take wood way to reveal your spoon. Carve right to your line all the way around the block.
- Leave your spoon block in water when done for the day.
Step Two:
- Sketch the side profile of your spoon on the block, showing your eye the intended swoop of the handle and the bowl.
- Using a straight knife, remove more and more wood to reveal your beautiful, graceful spoon.
- Be careful not to make the neck of the spoon too thin.
- You’re done with this step when your entire spoon, except the bowl, has revealed itself to you.
- Leave your spoon in water when done for the day, or begin to dry it slowly in a plastic bag.
Step Three:
- Using a crooked knife, begin taking wood from the bowl itself.
- Use your thumb and finger to judge thickness of the bowl.
- Go slowly; beauty is when there is no longer anything to take away, but disaster is a hole in your bowl.
- Hold the spoon up to the sky and examine its lines and grace.
- Let it dry completely, out of direct sun.
Step Four:
- When (and only when) the spoon is completely bone dry, begin sanding with coarse paper and move up to very fine sand paper.
- Admire your spoon, dance with it!
- Hand rub your spoon with generous amounts of walnut oil several times a year.
The Spoon Manifesto
(Peter Forbes, July, 1999)
Many years ago, in downeast Maine, I met a man who quickly became a friend and teacher. I began regularly visiting Bill at his homestead at Dickinson’s Reach, a place that united my life as conservationist and photographer. Bill’s homestead and miles of coastline are almost the perfect blend of the wild and the civilized, the forest and the home. His life work of learning from this land changed forever my perception of what it means to live well, and for whom and what purpose we conserve land. Bill put a crooked knife into my hand and taught me how to carve a spoon, and I’ve never stopped. This gift of a spoon, along with an explanation for why I carve them, is my act of continuing to plant that seed.
- Renewal . I can create something useful and beautiful from nature. It is a dance we do together. Making a spoon harms nothing and may actually add to the beauty in the world.
- Joy. Carving is a joyful pleasure. It allows me to focus, frees my mind from abstraction, and strengthens my hands. The only person I can save is myself, and carving this spoon saves me.
- Reality. When I cut my finger, the blood is real.
- Equality. Anyone can carve spoons. A nine-year-old friend carved the best first-spoon I ever saw.
- Symbolism . This small wooden spoon and how it came from my hands is gentle encouragement to me of larger things I might be able to do.
- Completeness. In carving a spoon I saw the limb, split the wood, cut the block, watch the spoon emerge, mail it to you. The entire process is from within me and a tree.
- Friendship. I honor my friend Bill each time I make a spoon. I only need a few spoons, so I can also honor other people by giving them away.
- Democracy. There’s orneriness in carving a spoon. It’s my way of quietly but emphatically expressing my beliefs. A wooden spoon and plastic spoon say very different things.
- Human expression. Each spoon I carve ends up unique. I hope the same for my life and yours.
- Usefulness. Carving a spoon makes me be fully present. I listen better. I find that I need to say fewer things because my hands and mind are fruitfully at work. I can wait until my heart is pounding before I need to utter a word.
- Sabbath . I work and think much too much. Carving slows me down. Eating with a wooden spoon is a form of daily Sabbath, a gentle reminder for me to slow down.
- Humility. Yes, it does all these things for me but, in the end, it’s just a wooden spoon.
Spoon Maker’s Addiction
by Peterson & Glazer
Wellborn retreat: August 6, 2004
Peter gave me that block of wood And some simple directions He said, “Don’t worry,” that he knew I could Help that block seek perfection Now I’ve got (Chorus) Spoon maker’s addiction Uncommon affliction Spoon makers’s addiction It’s goin’ round, It’s goin’ round. So I grabbed a hatchet, drawknife too And I drew a pattern Shaved all morning, ‘til my hands turned blue It didn’t matter…. ‘Cause I’ve got that Spoon maker’s addiction…. Block in the bucket, so it won’t get dry I’ll come back later Sharp, curved knife makes those chips fly Harder than peelin’ ‘taters It’s that Spoon maker’s addiction… Carve down the handle, dig out the bowl Where’s the box of band-aids? It pulls your heartstrings, warms up your soul The simple life of hand-made Feeling that Spoon maker’s addiction… Put the crooked knife down, let the hardwood dry Grab some sandpaper With and insect rhythm, see the sawdust fly You’ve become a spoon maker You know it’s Spoon maker’s addiction…. Oil from the bottle when the sanding’s done Smooth, soft and silky Such a special feeling, it’s your first one Part of retreat mem’ries It’s just Spoon maker’s addiction…. It’s a gift of living, it’s a gift of love Knoll Farm tradition First one for you, for your heart and soul All the rest are for givin’ We’ve all got Spoon maker’s addiction Uncommon affliction Spoon maker’s addiction It’s goin’ round It’s goin’ round. (REPEAT CHORUS)
Where to buy carving tools
Yes, you can do this at home! Two sources of carving tools are: