Not just firewood!

Here is a bunch of spoons made from 6 of the trees cut down last week.

I used a similar shape for all to give a feel for the qualities of each wood used. From left to right they are:- birch, aspen, ivy, goat willow, hawthorn and sycamore. The aspen and ivy were both new to me for carving and gave a very contrasting experience. The aspen was easy to carve but needed a very sharp knife to get a reasonable finish. It has hardened a lot in drying but I think it would be better suited to cooking/serving spoons. The ivy was dense but with straight grain and gave a good finish from the knife. It can be carved thinner than the aspen which is better for an eating spoon. The goat willow and hawthorn were both from heartwood giving lovely grain patterns. Both the birch and aspen have a translucent quality which shows how the spoons thin out at the edge to give a better mouth feel when in use.

This ladle was made from a naturally bent branch of willow rescued from the village bonfire pile! The grain follows the line of the handle and bowl giving greater strength.

Cheers!

Nearest I've got to making woodland wine.