"Not all those who wander are lost."

J R R Tolkien

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10 November 2010

New spoon carving tool

I decided to fire up my little gas "forge" yesterday. Well, forge is a rather grand name for a few fire bricks held together with fencing wire, but it work well enough for small stuff!

Not feeling up to big works at the moment, I have been thinking about small carving tools, such as spoon knives and crooked knives and came up with this little spoon knife. The blade is forged out of some 1/4" silver steel rod. I have given it a good curve and the cutting edge is 1 3/4" long. It's about 3/8" wide. I have given it a bit of sweep back and up, just like a crooked knife blade. The handle is an old chisel handle I had lying about the workshop. I don't think this handle is the most practical shape for a carving tool, but I wanted to finish it quickly so used what I had at hand.

Once forged, I hardened it and then tempered it. Now its sharpened and has a wickedly sharp edge. I am going to give it a work out today and carve a spoon. I'll post pictures when done.

Forging even a small tool like this one is a very satisfying way to spend a few moments or two!







2 comments:

  1. I currently use a trusty old Mora crooked knife, but you got my mind working on forging one myself. The look of the handle is quite good, but I am with you that it might not be ideal for carving... but I think, it should work great, silver steel and such. I personally love that steel! Gives a fine grain and a razor-sharp edge, does it?

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  2. I have used the Mora but never liked it much. I am going to use that handle for a while and see how well it works. The blade feels really nice and is very sharp.

    I am making my first video to demonstrate how it works. Part one is nearly done and will be up on the blog, hopefully tonight or tomorrow morning.

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