I enjoy carving larger utensils, such as kookstiks, servers and ladles. Much smaller in size than those are my scoops and I find myself carving them from time to time. I few days ago axed out a couple of scoop blanks from a upper arm diameter round of beech wood.

Yes I am into the beech wood these days. I do also have cherry in my stash but the moisture content of this beech is perfect for carving right now and the weather conditions are not as hot as they can be around here this time of year. The cherry has to wait as I try to get through the beech. It is stewing in plastic …

My beech stash was supposed to take my students through an ongoing spoon carving course but as the current pandemic scenario keeps that from happening I have to carve it myself.

Watching the bowl take shape as the twca blade slices out one potato chip shape at a time is magic and mesmerizing at the same time. On occasion I slice right through the bottom of the bowl. Not so much anymore as it tends to be a pretty negative experience after all the other work already put into making that utensil.

It is important to be aware of the thickness of the wood before putting the spoon-to-be back into the chips to dry a bit more before tackling the underside/outside of the bowl, refining its shape. You have to leave enough meat to have something to work with. Too thin is not always a good thing. I have a few spoons with areas that are too thin but still functional, just not saleable.

I am surprised and delighted every time I discover matching flow, crank or shape in my spoons. I do not sketch the side profile lines and let the axe dictate that part during the axercise sessions. The knives just follow the suggested direction and intuition finishes up the rest.

The bowls shapes in the above and below images are the same size from the same sized shape; I inverted the template.

When the beech has rested in the wood chips a while longer and has less moisture content it is time to refine the thicknesses and define its form a bit further.

Perfection is something I do not strive for anymore. I once thought that to be a noble goal. Perhaps it is a just a fantastic state, a sublime fiction, a chase with no end or an ultimate moment where everything is as good as it can ever be. I will never achieve achieve such a state as I tend to fiddle past that moment where one should stop. Instead I am content with satisfaction. I can bask in that.

My last step after slicing chamfer cuts around the bowl and handles is applying wood butter to these sweet scoops. I like how they turned out and know that they will serve well and honestly for years to come for whomever adopts them.

This is where they came from.