The grain of this spalted Beech wood was mesmerizing as I axed, shaped, hollowed and refined its form.
Below a few images to take you through parts of the process.
I chose the stubby blank from the top of this blanks selection of ready to carve stock.Hollowed scoop blank. For this task I use twca cam hooks. The Welsch name twca means hooked knife. Defining general shape and form developmentFinishing hook knife for hollowing and finetuning the interior of the bowl. I use sloyd blades like this one for the rest. These blades are forged by Nic Westermann in Wales. Short carving sessions between drying intervals to reduce chances of cracks. I carved back the leading edge of the bowl to minimize splitting and get rid of the main cause.Grain detail in bowl
This one found a new home already and I am glad to know that it will be up to good use.
Stay tuned for a background piece on the tools that I use in my carving adventures.
Blade & Wood 