Lunchtime Spoon Carving

When I am getting stressed out at school, I will bring along my bucket of knives and wood and I'll spend time between classes carving spoons.  This one is a little funky because the grain in the wood was not straight.  I tend to follow the grain when carving a spoon, letting it tell me, at least in part, what sort of spoon it is meant to be.  

This post is going to be picture-heavy because I'm indulging myself and describing the process I follow with these spoons.

 I like to start by shaping the sides of the handle.  I also rough in the angle on the back of the bowl.  Shown here is one of my two favorite carving knives.

 Side view of the same stage of carving to show how much I take off the end for establishing the angle of the bowl.

 Here's my smaller hook knife.  I use it here to establish the "crank" of the spoon.  That's the common term for the angle between the handle and the bowl.  If you think about trying to scoop soup out of a pot with a spoon that has the bowl directly in line with the handle, you know why the crank is there.

 Same stage of work, just showing the top where I carved in the crank.

 The bowl is roughly hollowed now.  I've also started to work down the handle.

 Side view.  The crank is pretty obvious, here.

 Finished spoon!

 From the side.

And from the back.  This one promises to be a pleasant tool for eating.  I like the sweeping curve of the handle.  Not quite as practical as my usual medieval spoons, but it will fit into a small container of yogurt much better than the big paddle spoons I like so well.

By the way, all those wood chips on the floor are not left behind.  I carry a small whisk and dustpan so I can sweep up after myself.