Last week, I had roughed out some spoons from cherry and then set them aside to dry a little bit. Last night, I finished shaping them with a spokeshave and smoothed them out with a card scraper. This afternoon, I sanded and finished them.
The wood did twist a little as it dried, so I’m glad I left the handles thick enough to make adjustments to the handles. There was no checking or cracking to speak of, which was a relief. I’m also glad I was able to capture some of the natural curves of the wood in the handles.
I should point out that the three oddly-shaped spoons on the left represent my latest attempts to carve spoons Sloyd-style from some mystery wood. It looks a bit like soft maple, but I don’t think it is, as the wood came from across the street, and maples don’t grow widely here. It’s also significantly softer than soft maple.
Not counting the wait-time between coats of finish, those eight cherry spoons probably took about 5-6 hours from start to finish. I’m pleased with how they turned out.
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