More spoon carving with spalted Beech over the weekend.
I’ll let these season for a bit before the final finishing.
Month: March 2015
Axe handle testing.
Nothing like a dead standing Oak tree to test the fit and strength of a newly made Ash axe handle…
…both handles were hung and secured only with Oak wedges. Happily they both passed the test without fault.
The heads are an old 4lb Gilpin (or is it a Brades, I can’t remember now) and an unstamped Maine pattern double bit.
All the best.
Small Puukko
Here is a little Puukko (Finnish style knife) with a lanyard for wearing around the neck that I made a while ago. The handle is rosewood with a Lauri 63 blade and brass fittings, the end cap is hiding a recessed brass washer and peened tang.
This was really a practice piece for learning how to Butt Stitch the leather on the sheath. This is particularly tricky on a contoured form like this because as the name suggests the two edges of the leather to be sewn need to butt up against each other. Consequently the leather needs to be measured and cut very accurately to achieve the required fit
The Awl is used to make stitch holes that go diagonally from the surface of the leather to just above the bottom edge of the under side. This creates a seam that is no thicker than the leather and serves to shield the stitching from abrasion on both sides, in fact the tread is invisible on the inside.
This took four attempts and as you see is far from perfect, something I need to keep persevering with. I have since learnt on other projects that under cutting the edges by half a millimetre or so prevents the slight gap where the edges meet as seen here.
To give you and idea of scale here is a shot of it when it was first made and the dye was/finish was still drying.
All the best and thanks for looking.
Diary 2015 – Dates so far….
If you would like to attend any of the shows listed below, or if you know of other events the Group might be interested in attending, please contact our Show Co-ordinator, John Sinclair on 07743164422. This page is updated with further events as the year goes on, so please remember to keep checking your diary…
Spatulas and a spoon – first stage, axe carving.
I have a few large beech logs that have been awaiting my attention since last spring. I was slack and didn’t seal the ends so I was unsure how workable the wood would be after so long, fortunately the workshop isn’t exactly a dry environment.
Happily they haven’t cracked too much and best of all they have spalted beautifully without going too soft to be viable. I already want to make some bowls from this stuff.
After splitting down some suitable sized billets I spent some time roughing out a large spoon & two Gooseneck Spatulas™ (ha ha). As well as being an enjoyable way to get back up to speed with the axe it is a good way of assessing the workability of the wood, if the spalt had gone too far the impact of the axe would soon make it apparent.
Now the basic shape and lines have been established they will be further refined and finished with hook and straight bladed knives.
I’ll report back when they have been done.
All the best.
Whittle & Stitch 