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Category Archives: Woodenware
What’s in a Name?
Since middle school, most of us have hesitated to let other people give us names. Name-calling is a basic tool in the toolbox of bullies and leaders of cliques. And even though our parents mostly gave us nice, socially-acceptable names, … Continue reading
Posted in Musings, Wood and Woodwork, Woodenware
Tagged business names, name, names, naming, Schuler Woodenware, the spoon guy
2 Comments
A Note of Encouragement to Beginning Carvers
If you’re doing any wood carving these days, you probably belong to one or more Facebook groups for carving. Or you follow some expert carvers on Instagram. Seeing beautiful woodwork every day can be inspiring at first. But eventually it … Continue reading
Posted in Carving, Wood and Woodwork, Woodenware
Tagged carving, comparison, discouraged, discouragement, encouragement, influencers, perfection, progress, social media
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Can You Carve Spoons from Dry Wood?
Spoons and other “treen” are traditionally carved from green wood, cut fresh from the tree. The obvious advantages are that (1) fresh-cut wood is softer and generally easier to cut than dried wood, and (2) you don’t have to spend … Continue reading
Posted in Carving, Lumber, Woodenware
Tagged air dried, air-dried, carving, green wood, kiln dried, kiln-dried, sloyd, treen
3 Comments
Why I Don’t Sign My Spoons
A lot of spoon carvers put their name, initials, or a maker’s mark on each spoon they make. I don’t. Here’s why. First, signing each piece would add time to the production process without adding monetary value. I know that … Continue reading
Posted in Carving, Wood and Woodwork, Woodenware
Tagged business, customer, economize, future generations, initials, logo, logos, maker's mark, production time, signature, value
3 Comments
Want to Carve Spoons? Use a Template
On a spoon-carving forum I read, the question of templates comes up frequently. A lot of spoon carvers say they “just wing it,” or as others put it, “just see what the wood wants to be.” Now, there’s no question … Continue reading
Posted in Carving, handicraft, Musings, skills, Wood and Woodwork, Woodenware
Tagged freedom, pencil, spoon carving, spoon template, succeed, success, template, templates, winging it, wooden spoon, wooden spoon template, work
1 Comment
Trash –> Treasure, or New Spoons from Old Furniture
When I sell my spoons and spatulas at craft markets, people always ask me, “Where do you get the wood?” I often laugh because, truth be told, practically ever piece of wood has a story behind it. More often than … Continue reading
Posted in Furniture, Wood and Woodwork, Woodenware
Tagged demolition, poplar, reclaim, reclaimed, reclaimed wood, salvage, salvaged wood, spoons, tulip poplar, wooden spoons, work
7 Comments
My Love-Hate Relationship with Spoon Carving Templates
I don’t remember exactly when I began to use templates to lay out my wooden spoons and spatulas, but after I had made my first dozen or so wooden spoons, I hit upon a couple of spoon shapes that just … Continue reading
Hotel Spoon Carving
I travel for work once or twice a year. This summer it’s a week-long stay in a hotel, and I have evenings pretty much to myself. In such situations, I never want to be without my spoon carving tools and … Continue reading
Posted in handicraft, Wood and Woodwork, Woodenware
Tagged hotel, hotel room, sloyd, sloyd knife, spoon making, spoons, travel, wood spoon, wooden spoon, wooden spoons
2 Comments
From an Old Drawer to New Spatulas
People ask me where I get my wood for the spoons and spatulas I make. The truth is, I find it. Most of the time I salvage limbs and logs from downed trees, but sometimes I find wood in more … Continue reading
Posted in Wood and Woodwork, Woodenware
3 Comments
The Evolution of a Display Table
What do you do when you start making more spoons than you can sell or give away? You start selling them. But not just anybody will pay $10 or $15 for a hand-carved spoon. You have to get them in … Continue reading
