I keep waiting for that tape to fall off due to how much is on there.😂 See how much you can actually get on there to make that happen. It'll be a long time but I think you can get that many episodes out. Keep up the good work Adam.🎉🎉
Hey Adam, A great feel for wooden surface is to use fine sand paper (600/800 grit) with Oil, so the fine dust will mix with the oil and get into the pores of the wood and give you an incredible smooth feel. try it ! All the best, Love you, Nick
This took me back to when my Grandpa was alive. He would go out in the woods behind the house, find some fallen tree and cut a few chunks off of it and would carve spoons and spatulas out of it with carving tools that he made out of old files. He would heat the files in his home built forge and "Make tools that would cost a lot if I bought them". He was quite the guy and I was fortunate to be around him a lot and learn from him. He passed about forty five years ago but I think about him nearly every day. He was a maker out of necessity. He was my hero growing up.
Reminds me of my grandfather. The things he could do with wood… a master of his craft. I wish I could have learned more from him. Thanks for sharing, it was nice to think of my grandpa for a bit.
Adam, I loved that you carved the bowl in by hand on this. Spoon carving was the "COVID skill" I learned during the lock down (and got two large lacerations to teach me better knife safety). It's still what I go back to when I have a lot on my mind. A word of encouragement: Finish even the "weird" spoons that didn't turn out like you envisioned. It's like Platonic "world of ideas." You have the "ideal" spoon in your mind, casting the shadows in the cave. And not all spoons in the real world look like that "idyllic" spoon. Sometimes the wood informs how the spoon turns out. Sometimes the shaping. They still deserve to be spoons. I have a bucket full of "weird" spoons to remind me that things don't always turn out like you thought they would, but that doesn't make them less valuable/beautiful.
I really enjoyed this video and how there were just a few moments of Adam talking to himself. Because this is how it is for us as makers. We work alone, its typically quiet and sometimes we talk to ourselves. It was a relaxing video.
A little tip for carving spoons, once you carve the bowl out and you start carving the backside, use a flashlight to check thickness as you sand away. Shows you thicks and thins
If she's comfortable with it, I would really enjoy seeing some of your wife's adventures in making and building. I think that's a very unique and relatable journey that many of us could benefit from. I paint mini's with my partner for my D&D campaign and it's an amazing time.
@16:37 "The bowl was the aesthetic handle with which I start to shake loose the rest of the aesthetic decisions." I came to watch Adam carve a spoon during my lunch break. But I had to stop to write down this absolute gem of creative wisdom that Adam dropped here. The tree metaphor was beautiful.
There is something Zen about working with wood. The feel, the smell, the experience all contribute to a since of wellbeing. I turn wood, not carve, but I believe it’s the same relaxing experience.
I'm a hobby woodworker but not a carver. I definitely find it to be a bit of a zen activity, with an occasional jump and swear word when something catches.
@@thomashverring9484 for some wood, i can plane them all day, with no other goal in my head. walnut is one of them. the smell, the sound, the simple repetitive motion, there is a certain calmness.
The vibes of this video are strong. Takes me back to when i really started watching Tested during covid. its nice relaxing not to in my face just a guy making a thing.
this Simpsons quote will forever live rent free in my head along with "Mr. Simpson, don't you worry. I saw an episode of Matlock in a bar last night. The sound was down, but I think I got the gist of it."
While trying not to constrain the creative expression, typically the bottom of the bowl would sit at the bottom of the timber block. As opposed to the rim of the bowl being at the top of the block. This allows the handle to curve up above the rim of the bowl. There are so many options that there will always be another spoon to carve. But you should find yourself starting strangely distractedly into your next spoonful of soup or cereal.
George RR Martin says there are two kinds of writers: architects and gardeners. An architect works out every detail in advance before they lay the foundation for a house. A gardener plants seeds and sees what comes up. That's something that really resonated with me, as I now understand myself to be a gardener which has informed how I think about my process. I definitely see a lot of gardener tendencies in Adam, like in this spoon finding the seed in the shape of the bowl and having the rest grow from there. And yet so much of Adam's work is replicating things that already exist where you already know exactly how it's supposed to turn out. I can't quite figure Adam out. He seems to have this improvisational nature but he's drawn to projects that don't allow for improvisation.
Thanks for sharing that analogy! I'm definitely more of an architect but I wish I could be more spontaneous. (For context, I make furniture and wood sculptures.) I like to plan things out, make sketches or CAD models and plan everything step by step. But sometimes that slows me down an awful lot. It can be faster to just start working and fix any f-ups along the way. And improvising always gives me a better "I got stuff done" feeling. On the other hand, planning allows one to make very nice and elaborate or complicated things.
I just about fell over when I saw Adam using that vintage square! It's one of my grandfathers woodworking tools I use just about everyday and is very special to me. I've never seen another one like it out there. So it's awesome to see my favorite maker using the same square.
From a fellow lover of SPOOOOOONS, and spoon carving, congratulations on your first spoon Adam!!!! It is a positively intoxicating hobby and I wish you well on your journey! Though I doubt this one will be your last, it is truly a beautiful work of art. Happy making!!🪚🪵💚
I highly, highly, highly recommend this art form. CAREFUL THOUGH! It is extremely addictive. The best reasons are: 1. You use green, wet wood almost exclusively. It's easy to get. Green wood carving is waaay better than carving dry wood. 2. Decent tools are about $60 total, and you're ready to carve. Check out Morakniv sloyd and hook knives. 3. Look up spoon carving videos. 4. Start with a cooking spoon like Adam, then try an eating spoon. It is the most challenging to get right but soooooo satisfying. The engineering that goes into an eating spoon for it to feel right to the user is crazy! Research that. It's fascinating. Happy carving.
Love seeing you create this spoon Adam. I love carving tho I’m not especially good at it. As a 70 year old woman my family was a bit concerned when I took an interest in carving. They were happy to see me take up watercolor greeting cards. Glad I have not gotten rid of my carving knives. Thanks for the inspiration. Wish I had a bandsaw now. Keep creating..
I’ve been carving wooden spoons for 53 years now . For a first spoon I think it’s great . My first one was horrible I throwed it in the wood stove.. I use power tools and I’ve carved a lot with just hand tools . A nice piece of apple wood and a good sharp knife thenI just let the wood dictate the spoon shape carving like that has a Zen connection . That’s woodcarving at its best . I’ve carved a lot of green wood spoons chopping a piece with bark still on it with a hatchet is satisfying in a hard work kind of way I can still do them that way but I’d rather use the bandsaw . I still haven’t learned all there is to learn from wooden spoon making I still love carving them I just don’t get to carve as much.thanks Adam you looked pleased after carving your spoon.
Nice looking spoon. Soooooo much easier and satisfying using green wood. Also nicer to use a dumbhead. No power tools or sandpaper. Just a quiet, meditative sculpting journey.
Mahogany is light, strong, and incredibly musical. There's a reason people have been making musical instruments out of it for centuries, and you can hear it when Adam handles the spoon-it always makes sounds as you handle it, especially when it's thin. Didn't know it was used for spoon making. My mom had a set of salad spoons made of teak that she was always proud of.
I took a class a while back for primitive engineering of spoons. The TL;DR is that you first "burn in" the bowl, instead of carving it... and then you come back later and refine the shape a little with a pocket knife, before carving in the handle and other proportions. It was totally radical... you should give it a try... :D In order to burn in the bowl, we just used a little burning coal/ember from the fire, and held it against the wood & blew on it, and eventually it burned in the bowl... seems way easier than carving, though I have to admit, I've never tried it the other way... 😅
Wooden spoons, the true unsung hero of the kitchen. Making soup, gotta grab my wooden spoon. Scrambled eggs, why not use a wooden spoon. Itch in the middle of my back, you got it...wooden spoon.
I enjoy carving a spoon every now and again. Its always great to be able to use something that you have made yourself. With larger spoons, i like to start off with a bent gouge before swapping to the hook knife to clean up, however the timber you were using seemed to respond well to being carved.
My grandfather, who was a master carpenter, used to cut out 3d reindeer in the same idea out of a solid block of wood. It was a similar process, that always fascinated me, knowing I have no idea how to do that. They sold quite well at the craft fairs they went to, along with the tole painting my grandmother did. I wish I had a ounce of their crafting talent. They rarely came back home with much left and had to start a new batch for the next one.
Adam, it would be great to see you sit down with one of the many talented spoon carvers and do one the traditional way: green wood, carving axe, sloyd knife, and a hook knife. I think you'd find it to be an even more therapeutic experience than this first one.
At first I was a little confused at why you would hollow it out first, but the more I thought about it, the more I understood, and now I'm half tempted to make one myself.
Welcome to the club, Adam! Next steps, Peter Follansbee spoon episode on Roy Underhill's woodwrights shop. Green wood. Cherry, apple, pear. Stuff you find on the street. No stain. Build a spoon mule, get a twyca cam. Glorious rabbit hole. Great zen, great skill journey. Starting with the bowl, pretty common, but green wood and hatchet, you'll probably do the bowl later. Lots of us spoon carvers shun sanding for a couple reasons, some of them functional, some of them snobbery. All valid, though. Join us..... Keep going.... Drawknife too, if you build a spoon mule...
I have a cheap band saw and i always thought I was excessively slow when using it but now I an encouraged because Adam was also slow...Not anywhere as slow as me but I see there's hope for me as I am not AS slow as I thought.
I totally get the seeing someone start or doing a step on something then the whole thing instantly comes into clarity in your head like you have been doing it all your life! Also now you need to make a matching ye olden portage bowl to go with the spoon :) probably take no time on the lathe, then carve out the final layers for that unique feel.
When I saw the intro to this video I immediately thought of a craftsman from my home town named Dan Dustin. He has a small UA-cam channel where he talks about his craft as well as musings about his family and life in general. His main craft is Spoonmaker, I have a few of his spoons and love them dearly. I would HIGHLY recommend looking into his process, watching a few of his videos and checking out his website.
My buddy showed me how to make spoons with hand carving, I have been having a blast with it. I was really suprised to see you start with the bowl first, because I had a similar reaction you did, but just from the 2d shape on the block first. I have to say though, seeing you do this so efficient with power tools makes my sore hands wish I had some power tools to make spoons with now haha! Well done fellow spoon carver!
Interesting take on this, there are so many reason I would say starting with the bowl is "wrong" but there is no right or wrong way of doing this. The old traditional Scandinavian way is to form the spoon with an axe, then carve it out with a knife and make the bowl when you have the crank all figured out. But you get there... making spoons is first learn how to fail at making spoons. And start over, over and over again. All the best from Norway 🇳🇴
Back in the 70's my farther had a very boring job, mostly he just had to be there, waiting for when they did need him. He carved spoons to pass the time.
You call it “a handle” that you can metaphorically grab onto. I call it a “hook” - whether it when I’m cooking (the one ingredient that it the beginning point of a meal), or in the garden (the focal plant or perennial) or even when I do Christmas presents - it’s the one that gives that unexpected “wow” to the person.
The humble spoon. It’s the only utensil specifically made. You can use a sharp stick as a fork, you can use a thin rock to cut/chop. But a spoon shape is special.
I just bought my first wood carving knife a week ago and now my childhood hero has a video about the craft! I guess the universe is telling me something...
“Also, use the hook knife along the grain as much as possible, rather than across it, and try some green (fresh) wood, it’s easier to carve than dry wood” -The Universe
I'm imagining the spoon and the offcuts in an art gallery titled "this is a spoon" and "this is not a spoon" as a callback to The Treachery of Images by René Magritte
Hey Adam, if you want to carve more large deep bowls and spoons like this in the future I'd suggest looking into a tool called a "twca cam" and yes that is the spelling. Its esentially a large two handed hook knife. with a very long handle great for hollowing out.
This is probably only something that was satisfying to me, but the amount of time they cut back to cutting the top of the block on the saw when he forgot to cut it was the perfect amount in my video editing brain.
Good Woodworking memory.. some kids were complaining about making something that was too easy, teacher said ok everyone stop what they are doing gave people a block of wood about that size and said to make a spoon you have a week. Multiple had to come back and ask for more. With my offcuts made some chopsticks, asked what I was doing said I was done with the task and was making use of my time, and shown to eat single grains of rice at a time, pick up other food items and objects, and was asked how would I drink from the bowl, I picked it up. And got a big smile and a wink.
My favourite carver on YT is Doug Linker! Lots of fun projects you can do with just one or two sharp knives 😊 Was thinking you’d “avocado” the shape of the bowl out with stop cuts first then just pop out big chunks. Happy whittling!
Was just going to say, love the silent video! Then at 14 min or so was like oh. Aaanyway, love that too :) Only thing I have to say is I always get nervous when you¨re at the band saw and seem eager Adam. I'm only saying that because I'm getting older too and dexterity is not what it used to be, please take care
CHALLENGE: Make multiple from different materials based on this one, like a silicone one by using molds, 3d printed one, by photogrammetry or scanning and printing, a silver/metal one that you cast based on this one, o here is a real challenge: a glass one! Would be awesome to see how you go about it.
They're called holdfasts! It's a pretty clever clamping solution that's been around for a very long time (there's evidence of ancient Romans using them).
Adam, gracias por tantos buenos momentos que nos regalas, lo aprecio mucho, mas en estos momentos que no no serian los mas felices pero logras que sean mejores❤ gracias amigo!
I have to say, starting with the bowl of the spoon really made something click for me. I had an "...oh!" moment. I always thought carving spoons seemed tricky, because i can imagine myself doing the bowl last and worrying about not getting it right.
I texted my wife while watching this video and casually said, "I'm literally watching Adam Savage carve a spoon by hand." Her reply: "There is no spoon." I'm a lucky guy. I'm good with more of these kinds of videos should Adam feel the desire to film them. It's a simple form of meditation.
@@tomt5745 Yes. I didn't use any machines. Pretty brutal on the fingers 😄 Somehow, I've lost it. I carved it at work, and it might've been thrown or stolen while I was off sick for a year. I'm eager to try a spoon now.
absolutely..... Even the idea of staining mahogany is a bit painful for me, but doing so with a non food safe stain is something I am really surprised Adam didn't calculate here.
@@nickgonezapolis Old Masters Dark Walnut Stain is food safe?!! Let's peruse the Safety Data sheet for the product, shall we? Hazard statements May cause an allergic skin reaction May cause genetic defects May cause cancer May be fatal if swallowed and enters airways Flammable liquid and vapor I don't pretend to know what Adam was thinking. Maybe its just a show piece. But I wouldn't even do it for show. I've seen him so some rash things during builds. Maybe he had a brain fart or something? The only thing I would put on my wooden spoons is raw flax seed oil. I certainly would not put stain on anything I was going to eat off of.
@@yoyopg123 sorry I was distracted and missed the part where he showed him staining it. I didn't know what kind of stain he used and assumed it would be food safe
Starting with the bowl of the spoon makes sense from a mechanical standpoint. If you try to carve that after shaping you'll risk breaking the handle, and will have far less ability to use force with the tools.
Gotta try this. Although I will probably grind out the bowl because that carving would kill my arthritis ridden hands. I have a Dremel like tool for that. Also, I think an easy way to sand the rounded shapes would be one of those sanding roundels (English? 😸) that have a thick, soft foam backing. Or just make one. You don't get any flat surfaces with those.
THIS! Is the kind of stuff I need on my UA-cam page. THIS! Is the kind of content that I love to have on, disassociate from, come back to, hyper-focus on, and then relax to.
The beginning of this video gave me flashbacks of watching a show that I think was called “the woodright shop” that had an intro of a guy walking along a stream, railroad, and only used hand tools, and manual powered drills and saws.
Roy is incredible. He’s forgotten more about making things than most of us will ever know. I kind of wish he was at least as prolific as a less knowledgeable maker I know.
Yknow, the scrap pieces from that spoon really are super cool (the wood that was not in the shape of a spoon!). I'm envisioning a little display that shows the spoon in the middle, and all the scrap pieces in their orientation, but exploded visually so you can really see how the pieces fit. Could actually make a little decoration for the kitchen.....
Have you ever watched "Dick Proenneke alone in the wilderness"? It's the story of a lone man building his cabin, implements, etc in wild Alaska. I think you would truly enjoy it
Spoons can be made with an insane number of different tools. Gouges, hook knives, power carving burrs, sanders, knives, handsaws, bandsaws, hatchets, block knives, lathes, and more. Almost everyone who dabbles in wood will have what they need to make a spoon. I found that it was very difficult to make a spoon small enough to eat with. All my early efforts were the size of Adam's Malaysian Battle Spoon.
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I keep waiting for that tape to fall off due to how much is on there.😂 See how much you can actually get on there to make that happen. It'll be a long time but I think you can get that many episodes out. Keep up the good work Adam.🎉🎉
Nice spoon 😉👍.
But the handle is a little on the thin sice. It can easily break, so be careful if using it 🙂.
Hey Adam, A great feel for wooden surface is to use fine sand paper (600/800 grit) with Oil, so the fine dust will mix with the oil and get into the pores of the wood and give you an incredible smooth feel. try it ! All the best,
Love you, Nick
This took me back to when my Grandpa was alive. He would go out in the woods behind the house, find some fallen tree and cut a few chunks off of it and would carve spoons and spatulas out of it with carving tools that he made out of old files. He would heat the files in his home built forge and "Make tools that would cost a lot if I bought them". He was quite the guy and I was fortunate to be around him a lot and learn from him. He passed about forty five years ago but I think about him nearly every day. He was a maker out of necessity. He was my hero growing up.
Reminds me of my grandfather. The things he could do with wood… a master of his craft. I wish I could have learned more from him. Thanks for sharing, it was nice to think of my grandpa for a bit.
Thank you for sharing. That was really nice.
Glad Adam is taking some time to give himself something like this, excellent video, and absolutely would welcome seeing Adam do more like this
Adam, I loved that you carved the bowl in by hand on this. Spoon carving was the "COVID skill" I learned during the lock down (and got two large lacerations to teach me better knife safety). It's still what I go back to when I have a lot on my mind. A word of encouragement: Finish even the "weird" spoons that didn't turn out like you envisioned. It's like Platonic "world of ideas." You have the "ideal" spoon in your mind, casting the shadows in the cave. And not all spoons in the real world look like that "idyllic" spoon. Sometimes the wood informs how the spoon turns out. Sometimes the shaping. They still deserve to be spoons. I have a bucket full of "weird" spoons to remind me that things don't always turn out like you thought they would, but that doesn't make them less valuable/beautiful.
I really enjoyed this video and how there were just a few moments of Adam talking to himself. Because this is how it is for us as makers. We work alone, its typically quiet and sometimes we talk to ourselves. It was a relaxing video.
A little tip for carving spoons, once you carve the bowl out and you start carving the backside, use a flashlight to check thickness as you sand away. Shows you thicks and thins
If she's comfortable with it, I would really enjoy seeing some of your wife's adventures in making and building. I think that's a very unique and relatable journey that many of us could benefit from. I paint mini's with my partner for my D&D campaign and it's an amazing time.
Came here to say something similar. Would love to see Mrs Don't Try This doing some woodworking alongside Adam in the cave!
@16:37 "The bowl was the aesthetic handle with which I start to shake loose the rest of the aesthetic decisions." I came to watch Adam carve a spoon during my lunch break. But I had to stop to write down this absolute gem of creative wisdom that Adam dropped here. The tree metaphor was beautiful.
There is something Zen about working with wood. The feel, the smell, the experience all contribute to a since of wellbeing. I turn wood, not carve, but I believe it’s the same relaxing experience.
I'm a hobby woodworker but not a carver. I definitely find it to be a bit of a zen activity, with an occasional jump and swear word when something catches.
I'm a hand tool woodworker and definitely agrees. The smells and the sounds of wood when being cut, planed, bored-are just wonderful.
@@thomashverring9484 for some wood, i can plane them all day, with no other goal in my head. walnut is one of them. the smell, the sound, the simple repetitive motion, there is a certain calmness.
I believe you can turn a laddle/spoon as well if the swing radius is large enough.
The vibes of this video are strong. Takes me back to when i really started watching Tested during covid. its nice relaxing not to in my face just a guy making a thing.
I started carving spoons back when I was about 9 or 10 it's an amazing past time and you'll only get better with time.
“They say he carved it himself, from a bigger spoon”.
Came here to find this comment!
Perfect vessel for the Merciless Peppers of Quetzalacatenango.
this Simpsons quote will forever live rent free in my head along with "Mr. Simpson, don't you worry. I saw an episode of Matlock in a bar last night. The sound was down, but I think I got the gist of it."
🤣🤣🤣🤣
beat me to it! lol
serious ASMR listening to carving and sanding. Perfect balance of silence and speaking. Thanks, Adam!
While trying not to constrain the creative expression, typically the bottom of the bowl would sit at the bottom of the timber block. As opposed to the rim of the bowl being at the top of the block. This allows the handle to curve up above the rim of the bowl. There are so many options that there will always be another spoon to carve.
But you should find yourself starting strangely distractedly into your next spoonful of soup or cereal.
George RR Martin says there are two kinds of writers: architects and gardeners. An architect works out every detail in advance before they lay the foundation for a house. A gardener plants seeds and sees what comes up. That's something that really resonated with me, as I now understand myself to be a gardener which has informed how I think about my process. I definitely see a lot of gardener tendencies in Adam, like in this spoon finding the seed in the shape of the bowl and having the rest grow from there. And yet so much of Adam's work is replicating things that already exist where you already know exactly how it's supposed to turn out. I can't quite figure Adam out. He seems to have this improvisational nature but he's drawn to projects that don't allow for improvisation.
Thanks for sharing that analogy! I'm definitely more of an architect but I wish I could be more spontaneous. (For context, I make furniture and wood sculptures.) I like to plan things out, make sketches or CAD models and plan everything step by step. But sometimes that slows me down an awful lot. It can be faster to just start working and fix any f-ups along the way. And improvising always gives me a better "I got stuff done" feeling.
On the other hand, planning allows one to make very nice and elaborate or complicated things.
I just about fell over when I saw Adam using that vintage square! It's one of my grandfathers woodworking tools I use just about everyday and is very special to me. I've never seen another one like it out there. So it's awesome to see my favorite maker using the same square.
So happy I get to spend my morning watching this. Exactly what I needed. Thank you
absolutely love this Adam! Please do some more woodworking videos they're incredibly peaceful relaxing and educational! Thanks for your channel!
From a fellow lover of SPOOOOOONS, and spoon carving, congratulations on your first spoon Adam!!!! It is a positively intoxicating hobby and I wish you well on your journey! Though I doubt this one will be your last, it is truly a beautiful work of art. Happy making!!🪚🪵💚
I highly, highly, highly recommend this art form. CAREFUL THOUGH! It is extremely addictive. The best reasons are:
1. You use green, wet wood almost exclusively. It's easy to get. Green wood carving is waaay better than carving dry wood.
2. Decent tools are about $60 total, and you're ready to carve. Check out Morakniv sloyd and hook knives.
3. Look up spoon carving videos.
4. Start with a cooking spoon like Adam, then try an eating spoon. It is the most challenging to get right but soooooo satisfying. The engineering that goes into an eating spoon for it to feel right to the user is crazy! Research that. It's fascinating.
Happy carving.
Love seeing you create this spoon Adam. I love carving tho I’m not especially good at it. As a 70 year old woman my family was a bit concerned when I took an interest in carving. They were happy to see me take up watercolor greeting cards. Glad I have not gotten rid of my carving knives. Thanks for the inspiration. Wish I had a bandsaw now. Keep creating..
I’ve been carving wooden spoons for 53 years now . For a first spoon I think it’s great . My first one was horrible I throwed it in the wood stove.. I use power tools and I’ve carved a lot with just hand tools . A nice piece of apple wood and a good sharp knife thenI just let the wood dictate the spoon shape carving like that has a Zen connection . That’s woodcarving at its best . I’ve carved a lot of green wood spoons chopping a piece with bark still on it with a hatchet is satisfying in a hard work kind of way I can still do them that way but I’d rather use the bandsaw . I still haven’t learned all there is to learn from wooden spoon making I still love carving them I just don’t get to carve as much.thanks Adam you looked pleased after carving your spoon.
Nice looking spoon. Soooooo much easier and satisfying using green wood. Also nicer to use a dumbhead. No power tools or sandpaper. Just a quiet, meditative sculpting journey.
Mahogany is light, strong, and incredibly musical. There's a reason people have been making musical instruments out of it for centuries, and you can hear it when Adam handles the spoon-it always makes sounds as you handle it, especially when it's thin. Didn't know it was used for spoon making. My mom had a set of salad spoons made of teak that she was always proud of.
Not particularly recommended for kitchen implements, but it’s probably okay. You want hardwood with a tight grain.
I love - LOVE - the negative form left in the mahogany after making the spoon. That would be worth displaying on its own, to me.
I took a class a while back for primitive engineering of spoons. The TL;DR is that you first "burn in" the bowl, instead of carving it... and then you come back later and refine the shape a little with a pocket knife, before carving in the handle and other proportions. It was totally radical... you should give it a try... :D
In order to burn in the bowl, we just used a little burning coal/ember from the fire, and held it against the wood & blew on it, and eventually it burned in the bowl... seems way easier than carving, though I have to admit, I've never tried it the other way... 😅
Wooden spoons, the true unsung hero of the kitchen. Making soup, gotta grab my wooden spoon. Scrambled eggs, why not use a wooden spoon. Itch in the middle of my back, you got it...wooden spoon.
A fly is buzzing around your kitchen counter? nothing the humble wooden spoon can't handle.
Sounds like the Arin Hanson "mac & cheese" rant from that one Game Grumps where they talk about mac & cheese for a looooong time. ;)
Kids need some discipline? Grab the wooden spoon!
The wooden spoon is the axe of the house
I enjoy carving a spoon every now and again. Its always great to be able to use something that you have made yourself. With larger spoons, i like to start off with a bent gouge before swapping to the hook knife to clean up, however the timber you were using seemed to respond well to being carved.
The hook knife is great, but you may want to invest in a long, bent gouge as well. It helps to carve out the bowl, and it is easier on the wrist.
My grandfather, who was a master carpenter, used to cut out 3d reindeer in the same idea out of a solid block of wood. It was a similar process, that always fascinated me, knowing I have no idea how to do that. They sold quite well at the craft fairs they went to, along with the tole painting my grandmother did. I wish I had a ounce of their crafting talent. They rarely came back home with much left and had to start a new batch for the next one.
Adam, it would be great to see you sit down with one of the many talented spoon carvers and do one the traditional way: green wood, carving axe, sloyd knife, and a hook knife. I think you'd find it to be an even more therapeutic experience than this first one.
I started wood carving a few years ago. I highly recommend making a tree with only hand tools. It's a wonderful thing to do, nice and quiet.
i love love when u talk of course butttt i also rly enjoy this silent video!! really lets me appreciate the craftsmanship process :] soothing even
At first I was a little confused at why you would hollow it out first, but the more I thought about it, the more I understood, and now I'm half tempted to make one myself.
Welcome to the club, Adam! Next steps, Peter Follansbee spoon episode on Roy Underhill's woodwrights shop. Green wood. Cherry, apple, pear. Stuff you find on the street. No stain. Build a spoon mule, get a twyca cam. Glorious rabbit hole. Great zen, great skill journey. Starting with the bowl, pretty common, but green wood and hatchet, you'll probably do the bowl later. Lots of us spoon carvers shun sanding for a couple reasons, some of them functional, some of them snobbery. All valid, though. Join us..... Keep going.... Drawknife too, if you build a spoon mule...
It's great that you and your partner are making things together or around each other❤
I have a cheap band saw and i always thought I was excessively slow when using it but now I an encouraged because Adam was also slow...Not anywhere as slow as me but I see there's hope for me as I am not AS slow as I thought.
I totally get the seeing someone start or doing a step on something then the whole thing instantly comes into clarity in your head like you have been doing it all your life! Also now you need to make a matching ye olden portage bowl to go with the spoon :) probably take no time on the lathe, then carve out the final layers for that unique feel.
When I saw the intro to this video I immediately thought of a craftsman from my home town named Dan Dustin. He has a small UA-cam channel where he talks about his craft as well as musings about his family and life in general. His main craft is Spoonmaker, I have a few of his spoons and love them dearly. I would HIGHLY recommend looking into his process, watching a few of his videos and checking out his website.
Thank you for the recommendation!
I am so glad someone mentioned him! He’s an absolute master. I would love to own one of his works.
@tested is it okay if I post a link to his website in my comment?
My buddy showed me how to make spoons with hand carving, I have been having a blast with it. I was really suprised to see you start with the bowl first, because I had a similar reaction you did, but just from the 2d shape on the block first. I have to say though, seeing you do this so efficient with power tools makes my sore hands wish I had some power tools to make spoons with now haha! Well done fellow spoon carver!
I love this kind of videos, just one man creating and interacting with the world. Thank you sir!
Thanks for the lovely comment!
sips coffee........Nothing like a little wood working ASMR to start your day!
Removing the cuts after the band saw = so satisfying.
Thank you for this. This has totally inspired me to retry my project from a different perspective
Interesting take on this, there are so many reason I would say starting with the bowl is "wrong" but there is no right or wrong way of doing this. The old traditional Scandinavian way is to form the spoon with an axe, then carve it out with a knife and make the bowl when you have the crank all figured out. But you get there... making spoons is first learn how to fail at making spoons. And start over, over and over again. All the best from Norway 🇳🇴
Adam! i thought this would've been your 100th spoon, great job! Im impressed with how well you followed your line on the bandsaw.
Back in the 70's my farther had a very boring job, mostly he just had to be there, waiting for when they did need him. He carved spoons to pass the time.
What a beautiful spoon
I love watching you craft your magic
You call it “a handle” that you can metaphorically grab onto. I call it a “hook” - whether it when I’m cooking (the one ingredient that it the beginning point of a meal), or in the garden (the focal plant or perennial) or even when I do Christmas presents - it’s the one that gives that unexpected “wow” to the person.
I'll take this as a sign that I should start whittling. Working with wood speaks to me.
Is that a Tick reference? The battle cry of The Tick "SPOOOOON!"
😂
Of COURSE it is. Evil is never in fashion, my friend.
Arthur, I sense danger. To the roof! SPOOOON! 😂😂😂 LOVE IT
"Not in the face! Not in the face!"
When in danger or in doubt, I wonder if the Tick is out?
Spooooooooooon!!!!!
Yes, he is. 😊
The humble spoon. It’s the only utensil specifically made. You can use a sharp stick as a fork, you can use a thin rock to cut/chop. But a spoon shape is special.
Looking for the “handle to grab the thing aesthetically” is so universal!!
I just bought my first wood carving knife a week ago and now my childhood hero has a video about the craft! I guess the universe is telling me something...
“Also, use the hook knife along the grain as much as possible, rather than across it, and try some green (fresh) wood, it’s easier to carve than dry wood”
-The Universe
I'm imagining the spoon and the offcuts in an art gallery titled "this is a spoon" and "this is not a spoon" as a callback to The Treachery of Images by René Magritte
Hey Adam, if you want to carve more large deep bowls and spoons like this in the future I'd suggest looking into a tool called a "twca cam" and yes that is the spelling. Its esentially a large two handed hook knife. with a very long handle great for hollowing out.
This is probably only something that was satisfying to me, but the amount of time they cut back to cutting the top of the block on the saw when he forgot to cut it was the perfect amount in my video editing brain.
I never realized that Mr. Savage was such an ardent fan of The Tick.
Good Woodworking memory.. some kids were complaining about making something that was too easy, teacher said ok everyone stop what they are doing gave people a block of wood about that size and said to make a spoon you have a week.
Multiple had to come back and ask for more.
With my offcuts made some chopsticks, asked what I was doing said I was done with the task and was making use of my time, and shown to eat single grains of rice at a time, pick up other food items and objects, and was asked how would I drink from the bowl, I picked it up. And got a big smile and a wink.
Put all the cutoff blocks back together and make a storage/gift box that perfectly fits the spoon
My favourite carver on YT is Doug Linker! Lots of fun projects you can do with just one or two sharp knives 😊 Was thinking you’d “avocado” the shape of the bowl out with stop cuts first then just pop out big chunks. Happy whittling!
Doug's old Bushcraft videos are great too.
Was just going to say, love the silent video! Then at 14 min or so was like oh. Aaanyway, love that too :) Only thing I have to say is I always get nervous when you¨re at the band saw and seem eager Adam. I'm only saying that because I'm getting older too and dexterity is not what it used to be, please take care
CHALLENGE: Make multiple from different materials based on this one, like a silicone one by using molds, 3d printed one, by photogrammetry or scanning and printing, a silver/metal one that you cast based on this one, o here is a real challenge: a glass one! Would be awesome to see how you go about it.
That was meditative…and I love that table’s clamping mechanism, too.
They're called holdfasts! It's a pretty clever clamping solution that's been around for a very long time (there's evidence of ancient Romans using them).
Adam, gracias por tantos buenos momentos que nos regalas, lo aprecio mucho, mas en estos momentos que no no serian los mas felices pero logras que sean mejores❤ gracias amigo!
I have to say, starting with the bowl of the spoon really made something click for me. I had an "...oh!" moment. I always thought carving spoons seemed tricky, because i can imagine myself doing the bowl last and worrying about not getting it right.
That bandsaw work was amazing
I texted my wife while watching this video and casually said, "I'm literally watching Adam Savage carve a spoon by hand."
Her reply: "There is no spoon."
I'm a lucky guy.
I'm good with more of these kinds of videos should Adam feel the desire to film them. It's a simple form of meditation.
Very nice, and quick, work. I made a Scandinavian drinking cup, with handle, out of Oak, and it took me a Month!
A Kåsa is way deeper and needs a lot of care :)
@@tomt5745 Yes. I didn't use any machines. Pretty brutal on the fingers 😄 Somehow, I've lost it. I carved it at work, and it might've been thrown or stolen while I was off sick for a year. I'm eager to try a spoon now.
@@jeffreybarton1297 Hope you are fine now
@@tomt5745 Thank you! Ok now 👍
My first thought at the beginning of this was that cartoon, The Tick, and his battlecry. Amazing work!
I'm hoping that we see you use those beautiful gransfors bruks axes in future spoon carving!
Liked the detailed explaination of the steps at the end. 🙌
Food safe oil over what looks like to be a toxic wood stain. I'd keep that one on the wall to look at.
Thought the same. 😮
absolutely..... Even the idea of staining mahogany is a bit painful for me, but doing so with a non food safe stain is something I am really surprised Adam didn't calculate here.
@@nickgonezapolis Old Masters Dark Walnut Stain is food safe?!! Let's peruse the Safety Data sheet for the product, shall we?
Hazard statements
May cause an allergic skin reaction
May cause genetic defects
May cause cancer
May be fatal if swallowed and enters airways
Flammable liquid and vapor
I don't pretend to know what Adam was thinking. Maybe its just a show piece. But I wouldn't even do it for show. I've seen him so some rash things during builds. Maybe he had a brain fart or something? The only thing I would put on my wooden spoons is raw flax seed oil. I certainly would not put stain on anything I was going to eat off of.
@@yoyopg123 Mineral oil better or even beeswax, pure one...
@@yoyopg123 sorry I was distracted and missed the part where he showed him staining it. I didn't know what kind of stain he used and assumed it would be food safe
Starting with the bowl of the spoon makes sense from a mechanical standpoint. If you try to carve that after shaping you'll risk breaking the handle, and will have far less ability to use force with the tools.
Spoon!!! LOL I heard the Tick as soon as I saw that on the board thing.
When carving out the bowl, cut almost exclusively across the grain, makes life a LOT easier.😉
I'm loving the metaphor of a tree in the creative process
Gotta try this. Although I will probably grind out the bowl because that carving would kill my arthritis ridden hands. I have a Dremel like tool for that.
Also, I think an easy way to sand the rounded shapes would be one of those sanding roundels (English? 😸) that have a thick, soft foam backing. Or just make one. You don't get any flat surfaces with those.
You severely underestimated my desire to watch you sand that spoon in realtime without the timelapse. I was locked in an ASMR trance
THIS! Is the kind of stuff I need on my UA-cam page. THIS! Is the kind of content that I love to have on, disassociate from, come back to, hyper-focus on, and then relax to.
Adam is best❤
greetings from Finland
Love this! Just ordered bass wood to carve
I can smell this video as i love the smell of worked wood shavings and dust especially pine and mahogany
The beginning of this video gave me flashbacks of watching a show that I think was called “the woodright shop” that had an intro of a guy walking along a stream, railroad, and only used hand tools, and manual powered drills and saws.
Roy is a real gem, he’s what got me into hand tool woodworking back in the 80’s.
Yep, Roy Underhill, great show!♥️👍
For anyone searching "The Woodwright's Shop". Note the second "W".
Roy is incredible. He’s forgotten more about making things than most of us will ever know. I kind of wish he was at least as prolific as a less knowledgeable maker I know.
That looked so fun to make! I'm thinking you could make a matching spatula with one of those leftover bits :-)
Thanks for sharing a relaxing shop day!
Us loyal fans would happily watch Adam sit quietly reading a book for a two hour video....
What
Weird fans.
I love the geeky Tick reference!
Love the build Adam , so so relaxing .
Hey Adam. You might enjoy checking out Anne Of All Trades. Among many things she teaches spoon carving.
Adam's love for too thin handles continues
This was very relaxing to watch as well
Yknow, the scrap pieces from that spoon really are super cool (the wood that was not in the shape of a spoon!). I'm envisioning a little display that shows the spoon in the middle, and all the scrap pieces in their orientation, but exploded visually so you can really see how the pieces fit. Could actually make a little decoration for the kitchen.....
This speaks to me
My favorite wooden spoon has almost worn through in the middle. I have a few others, but I always grab that one first.
Have you ever watched "Dick Proenneke alone in the wilderness"? It's the story of a lone man building his cabin, implements, etc in wild Alaska. I think you would truly enjoy it
Looks like you made yourself a nice spoon mold. You could make some epoxy spoons as well.
Puppy hair on your back :) I had the exact same reaction when I saw you carving the bowl first!
Spoons can be made with an insane number of different tools. Gouges, hook knives, power carving burrs, sanders, knives, handsaws, bandsaws, hatchets, block knives, lathes, and more. Almost everyone who dabbles in wood will have what they need to make a spoon. I found that it was very difficult to make a spoon small enough to eat with. All my early efforts were the size of Adam's Malaysian Battle Spoon.
I made some wooden spatulas for a buddy of mine who was learning how to use cast iron skillets