New Axe Handle and Some Spoons

Last year an axe handle i had made snapped due to too much force being placed on the neck. Since then i have been holding onto the axe head with the hope of making a new handle at some point, but i felt very content with my left handed Gransfors Bruks carving axe so I left it. When my girlfriend came round to my place and wanted to do some spoon carving she had to use my left handed axe even though she was right handed. To that end I have been working on a new handle, taking my time to make sure the wood dry's properly. here is the new handle with the wedge hammered in.

Also had to check how the blade aligned with the handle. Nice and straight.

Can't wait to test it out!!!!!! and hope my girlfriend will get some good use out of it.

Apart from that I have been working on a couple spoons over my days off. these three have been made out of some sycamore and I decided to have a play with decorating the handles, or as a work colleague calls it "jazzing it up". Its interesting to decide what decoration you want so far in the design and that one has to be so careful with the axing so as not to ruin the design. But then again there are so many different methods of decoration that one can blag it a little. But out of the three I like the handle with the dot on the top, somehow it just compliments the teardrop bowl so well and gives the spoon its character. Though this is just my opinion, what do other people think? Perhaps I should be looking at making more teardrop shaped spoons with other designs just to get a feel.

Tiny little know in the bowl.

Now all thats left is to oil and use them..........and make some more. also need to get making a cooking spoon for a work colleague. Back to work!!!!!!

Long Time No Post

Have realised I have lapsed greatly on my blog. With my last post being from last year alot has changed since then. I have finished my medieval pole lathe and have been turning at events. Also I have moved to Sheffield which means I will have to find a workshop for my lathe an tools.

But until then I will be carrying with the spoon carving to keep my wood cravings happy. Here is some of the work I have done last night, working on a ladle out of some beech and some eating spoons out of sycamore.

Over the next couple of weeks/months I will be posting more :-)