Whittlings

There’s a cute little box in my worktable drawer which used to have French macarons in it.

They didn’t last long however and now I’ve written a warning on the lid, in case someone might be feeling peckish.

It’s actually the perfect size for a pair of very sharp knives and my current project. Ideal for when I have a short time and am looking for something to keep my hands busy!

Ever since I took a spoon carving class last year I’ve enjoyed using those knives, doing a little whittling and building up the strength in my hands.

My Hero gave me a box of spoon blanks, ready prepared for carving since I don’t really have the facilities - nor the axe - to start from scratch as we did in the Forest.

But they are pretty chunky and there’s a lot of wood to remove using a knife. (In the class, we used an axe to get through the early stages, which was scary but effective!)

Still, it’s a gentle, peaceful occupation for an hour or so and once the spoon is marked out, it’s fun to whittle away at it.

In an hour yesterday afternoon, I made good progress on the outside of the bowl and a little shaping on the neck.

A spoon is most certainly one of those everyday things which bears all kinds of small design details that go unnoticed until such times. Where to whittle more wood away and where to leave it? Which side of the handle should I carve away and which side needs to remain? Shall I create a round or a flat handle?

Decisions!

Though I learned a lot in my class, I needed a book to refer to and have appreciated the sound advice and beautiful examples in this one. I have one small complaint however.

It does not - will not - stay open without two hands holding it! The binding is so tight that, for such a practical book and one I find useful to refer to frequently, it’s impossible to use.

So forgive me the occasional muttering as I have to put everything down to find the right page again, to remind myself of the right knife grip to work on the inner bowl of my spoon or the intended shape to the handle. Otherwise, I’m happy to sit and create a small heap of wood shavings as slowly, the chunk of wood becomes something a little more recognisable.

Now all that I need is a good class in knife sharpening.