Carve a spoon by the campfire // Woodworking
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- Tree to spoon using just a few tools! A huge thank you to Woodcraft, www.woodcraft.... for sponsoring my channel and making the making of videos like these possible!
One of my favorite green woodworking techniques is spoon carving, and in this video I show you how to carve a spoon from tree to table and what tools you need to carve a spoon, whether in your woodshop or sitting by a bonfire in the woods. Spoon carving will improve a lot of other woodworking skills, so it's important to learn how to carve a wooden spoon start to finish.
Great spoonspeople to find and follow:
/ emmet_van_driesche Emmet made my spoon patterns!
/ klipnockywoods Pat is a production spoon carver with beautiful designs and gorgeous spoons!
/ lee.stoffer Lee made my spoon scorp and the lovely ladle shown carved from a crook!
Links to my favorite carving tools from www.woodcraft.com
www.woodcraft....
www.woodcraft....
www.woodcraft....
www.woodcraft....
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I'm Anne of All Trades. In Seattle, I have a woodworking, blacksmithing and fabrication shop, a selection of furry friends, and an organic farm. This channel is aimed at sharing my passion for working with my hands, being a good steward of the earth, and preserving antiquated skills and traditions.
Help Support this project and others!
Patreon - / anneofalltrades
Merchandise - www.bonfire.co...
Other places you can find me.
My website - www.anneofallt...
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Twitter - / anneofalltrades
My goal is to learn and share those techniques and skills that are in danger of becoming antiquated traditions. Whether it's carving spoons, making my own hand tools, or growing heirloom tomatoes, the farm and workshop definitely keep me busy and support on Patreon helps me to keep producing quality content to share on UA-cam, Instagram, and my website.
You can support me through your purchases. Some of these links are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I might earn a little extra if you click and there's a sale.
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My shoes: amzn.to/2CUkFxA - Навчання та стиль
Ann, I have been watching your channel for a number of years now but have never commented before. I feel compelled to say that I admire you so very much! I am a 56 yo divorced gal who is trying to learn as much self-sufficiency as possible and have developed a yearning to work with wood. Watching you reminds me of the person I should have/could have been if my life had not leaded me in the direction it did when I was younger. HOWEVER, I know it is NEVER TOO late to to learn new skills and follow your dreams! You have truly inspired me over the years and I i would be so proud to call you my daughter!. Your parents must be SOOOOO proud of you!
Thanks so much for the kind words Sheelah, you’re absolutely right, it’s NEVER too late to learn new things and to try the things we’ve always wanted to try. So glad you’re getting into those things now!!
I only came across your channel a day or so ago and it's so informative. Thank you so much for making the effort and taking the time. 😊
I split firewood for many years and also made kindling from some pines that had to be cut down. One accurate way to use the axe to remove what you don't want is to place the axe blade on your line and then hit the axe head with a chunk of wood or a 3 lb hammer to start the spilt. Then you can lift the piece up and bang it down or just continue to hit the axe head with your hammer, much in the same way as you did with the froe. This is a safe way for beginners at splitting to use an axe safely.
I am a beginner at spoon carving and used your videos to help me learn how to go about it. I used a green limb that had been pruned from a white birch tree for my first spoon. I found it very satisfying and it will be more so once I acquire some better tools like a scorp. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!
That’s just the info I needed.
Cheers
Nice job Anne. I love your outtakes.
Thanks so much! I like a good chuckle too.
You really gave some useful information. I enjoyed this video very much, especially watching you handle that axe.
Thanks for sharing I’m not an spoon Carver by any means but love to see an learn more about it… thanks again
You are the most amazing person on UA-cam.
Thank you!
Hey we missed you doing a Chuck Norris on a tree. Awesome, job on that spoon
Hahaha it happened 🤣🤣
I really really loved your video from start to finish, enough talk and enough action showing the how to.
Awesome video!!
Awesome! Thank you!
I'm getting in to spoon carving but I'm not completely new to wood working and I'm excited to start.
Loving your "𝑨𝒅𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝑺𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕" ....You guys are wonderful teachers. Thanks for all you do !! 😎👍💯🌟🌟🌟🌟
I very recently developed an interest in wood carving for making spoons. I watched quite a few of videos about it, but found yours the best of the crop. Liked and subscribed!!
Awesome, thank you!
The string clamp/vice is genius! Great tip!
Happy to be of help!
The whole video is spoontastic. Thanks Anne!
Great video! I’ve recently upped my woodworking game and have stumbled upon spoon carving. I’ve watched tons of videos but your easy explanation is super helpful. Keep up the good work and I’m now a subscriber :)
Cool trick with the rope!
I learned that one from my good friend Tom Henscheid. One of the best spoon carvers I know!
Hey Anne,
I'm a woodworker and a woodcarver and have carved many spoons in the past. Nice work! I would like to make a suggestion though, that I learned when I moved to Lancaster, PA. I'm a city boy from the big apple, and we didn't burn a whole lot of wood at home. So when I moved here and bought a home with a wood stove, splitting my own wood was a challenge. I have a Mennonite neighbor who took pity on me trying to split wood in my driveway, to teach me this trick.
If you are splitting wood and the axe doesn't go all the way through on the first swing, but the axe head gets buried in the wood, I was doing what you did in the video, I would pick both up and slam the wood back down on the stump until it split. He showed me, that if you pick it up, spin the head around and slam the back of the axe (with the wood still embedded) onto the stump, you not only get the force of the swing to split the wood, but the weight of the wood itself driving against the cutting edge, will split it with less effort!
Give it a try and let me know what you think!
David
that is brilliant! I absolutely will.
Hi Anne, just picked up on your videos over here in Wales; excellent, and to see a girl doing this stuff so well is great. Just one point .... PPE when using a chainsaw. One of my shooting club members who is a linesman, put a massive gash just above his knee earlier this year. Please stay safe , I want to see more of your work. Regards from across the pond!
You're so inspiring 💯
Love the bloopers 👍
I think it’s important to share the good along with the not-so-good haha
@@AnneofAllTrades: Besides, you're just adding a little "Blue Air" to go along with the "Blue Sky" you're working under.
Just found your channel, and really enjoying watching your projects. Thank you for the tip for the rope and work bench for holding the spoon. I added a piece of non slip material with a hole for the rope to go through between the spoon and the bench and it was amazing how well it held the piece for carving inside the bowl.
I'm so glad you are enjoying the projects! You are so welcome!
I have watched your video's for a very long time, but I have never commented before. I just wanted to say I think your are a very cool lady. Thanks for sharing your talents.
Thanks so much for the support!
Very nice
Awesome video. Thanks!
Nice information. Thanks and take care.
Glad it was helpful!
Another great video Anne, enjoyable as usual
thank you!
Great video I did not know about the rope trick now I do thank you 😊
Glad it helped!
We all admire Jimmy's godlike bandsaw skills. You made a nice tribut to his skills 😊
Jimmy is the king!
that is amazing how the spoon takes shape. i might just give it a try. god bless and good luck on your new adventures.
You'll love it i'm sure! And thanks!
Fantastic video. Great tips! Im a newbie to spoon carving and this has highlighted alot of techniques i should follow on my next carving! Thankyou
Blooper reel was fun. Also a good reminder to make sure you know where that blade is going if it doesn't go where you expected. If you haven't done so, try a froe. It's nice to split wood with one.
Oh yeah definitely check out my other spoon videos in this series, froes are fun!
You are a fabulous edu-tainer.
That's the best compliment I could possibly receive!!
Hi Anne, I love your videos, your relatability, and ingenuity. I find myself wanting to try so many things after going down the rabbit hole, but that’s what makes UA-cam so fun! Anyway, I absolutely adore the hoodie you are wearing, but the link you have in the description is longer an active link. (I perused the comments for a while to see if anyone else had addressed this and received a corrected link from you, but to no avail. So if you have and I missed it, I apologize….but I still want to find that hoodie!!)
Thank you! Alas the company that made mine went out of business. They seem to have rebranded so if you look up Wanakome, you might find them at zumiez or the buckle or other stores like that? But I only ever bought that one batch of sweaters because they were on clearance (because the company was on its way out)
@@AnneofAllTrades You know, it’s refreshing to have a Big Star 💫 😉 like yourself not only reply to a comment, but take the time to look something up and provide alternatives. So thank you. All jokes aside, it truly is appreciated, and has endeared me to you and your channel.
Also, I feel I should mention that you and your husband remind me of my wife and myself, with the main difference being that you are mostly successful with your adventures. (I will add the caveat that I could be successful with mine, if I’d only finish them!😮 😂 )
Great video nice looking spoon
Thank you! Some are better than others. This one was a little wonky because I was in such a hurry, but hey, it will scoop potatoes from my bowl to my mouth just as good as the pretty ones!
Loved your hammer! Good improvising.
hehehe you've gotta use what you've got!
Green, green is nice, just ask Kermit. 😉
Turned out really well. 👍🏽
Those battery powered saws have a lot of grunt,
and you're spot on about the advancement of the technology in the batteries.
They really are quite surprisingly good, so long as you start with a fully charged one, aye! 😉🤣🤣🤣
Nice work Anne! Thanks for sharing the video with us.👌👍😎JP
Great video !!!
Glad you liked it!
Hi Anne,
WhileI have immense respect for both your carving and teaching skills, watching you sit by the fire and simultaneously talk and push a razor sharp 2” slicing blade into wood that’s held in place 1/2” above your femoral artery was unsettling, to put it mildly! (There’s a very simple reason why the area that includes the inner 2/3 of the thighs is called “the triangle of death”: one slip with a cutting edge like that and... well, let’s just say that there most likely wouldn’t be much in the way of new content on this channel.) I known you’re exceptional at an awful lot of what you do, Anne, but that’s almost certainly not the case for all of those who might try to imitate you. (Just a thought...)
(That would be right around 11:15 of this video, when you’re essentially resting the spoon ON your femoral artery...)
Have you carved many spoons?
Anne of All Trades No, Anne, I haven’t carved spoons yet, but I have done walking sticks and other carvings, and have carved literally hundreds of objects out of materials other than wood, so I know just how easily small slips can happen. My concerns, however are based on both my career in the medical field and the dire warnings taught on literally every other woodcarving video and in-person class I have ever heard, seen or attended. Just as you’d never drill or grind metal without eyewear, the idea of deeply cutting a piece of wood pressed against your inner thigh with an intentionally super-sharpened knife, while intentionally dividing your attention between the dangerous work at hand and the camera you’re speaking to, without even so much as a sheet of leather, masonite or even a section of 2x4 between you and the knife is practically begging for a catastrophic accident to happen. If you have any friends who are doctors or other allied medical professionals, please show this to them and ask if my comments seem unreasonable to them? I’m not commenting as “a hater”, just someone who’s aware.
You Rock Anne
Great tutorial Anne. I will be making a few spoons down the road. I plan to make a shave horse first.
Incidentally, I’ve got a video on the shavehorse too ;) happy carving!
@@AnneofAllTrades oh I will be watching it as I make my own to make sure I'm not forgetting anything...lol.
Thanks
Thanks for the info Anne, awesome job! 😃👍🏻🥄👊🏻
Thanks for watching Fred!
Great instructions I almost have my first spoon done. How long do you wait for it to dry and then oil it for final use.
Talk about great timing! I just felled a eucalyptus and a pine and was looking at what I could do with the wood. Thank you also for providing back up methods as you went along.
Regarding the froe, could you have used the hatchet as a froe? My aim isn't too good...
Totally can, yep!
Dude. What is it about the name of the channel that works so well! Anne doesn't rhyme with Jack, yet it flows in my brain as if I've heard it for years.
Haha thank you! Glad to hear it
Thanks for a great video!
Thanks for watching!
Split the pith away was the name of my band in high school.
I bet you all had Mullets Brian ;)
I never thought I'd want to make spoons for my kitchen cooking...but now I do..lol
It makes cooking so much fun!
Try holding your elbow into your side, lift straight up and straight down
Very Informative!
Glad to hear it!
Lovely video thank you.
One thing I have not found is short concise videos on hook knife technique for the bowl gouging and the differenes in the shapes of the hooks... if you are so inclinded :)
Great video!Thank you
Glad you liked it Graham!
It's a lovely spoon! Electric chainsaws are great. I'm glad to hear you don't mind using them too!
I used to handle heavy lumber, but unfortunately came down with esophagus cancer. Well, 100 pounds lighter, I now can’t handle the heavy stuff and now I mess around with carving spoons. Good news is 3 years after a 1-1/2% chance of surviving, I’m still here and No Evidence of Disease and I have some spoons. Keeping the faith and kicking cancers ass ❤️ You’re gonna love Tennessee!
8:36 So you don't have to back your saw out of the blade you say? Hmmm... Must be a new issue I've never heard of before. lol I love the information on the spoon wood selection, styles, and the processes you go through!
Thanks Anne. I'm off to Woodcraft Sat am. Need some wood for Christmas gifts. My daughter likes to come to look at the cool,things plus the free popcorn.
Where did you get your Sloyd knife?
I saw a Paul Sellers video in which he put the axe head on the wood and used a mallet to drive it in. Just pointing out another potential option for those who may own an axe but may lack the fine accurate skills to isolating the blank.
Also seemed that off of the bandsaw that one of those other pieces had potential as a spatula.
Hey Joe! It's from Amazon, linked in the description ;)
Oh hell yeah I’d take that Milwaukee saw over a gas one! I’ve dropped hundreds of trees and I have always regretted lugging around more saw than the job required.
I'm pleased to see your as Good as me with that axe... 🤣
🤣🤣🤣
Great info👍👍👍👍
Thanks for watching Gib!
As always, it is a great instructional video for both your knowledge and your willingness not to be perfect. You are entertaining and knowledgeable. And might I add inspiring! I am gonna go cut up a felled tree tomorrow. Does a tree need to be of a decent diameter, such as the one you used or can I use one that isn't all that old? I can imagine needing it to be slight older to avoid the core/center of the tree. But I am wondering if I can use a chunk of a six - eight inch diameter black walnut? Or if I should stick with the eighteen - twenty-four inch honeysuckle tree that i had to cut down recently?
Thanks again for your educational video and time.
Thanks so much for watching! You can do pretty well with anything that is about 3x as thick/wide as the spoon you’d like to make. That way you can split the pith out of the center and make one spoon out of each half. Black walnut of small diameters is likely white all the way through because it hasn’t gotten thick enough to develop heartwood, and the sapwood is a whitish yellowish color ;)
That's a pretty serious froe... did you make that yourself, or is that something one can buy?
Great video! Can you carve a dough bowl out of green wood and what’s the best type of wood to use?
Free wood. :)
You can! I've not done much bowl carving, I prefer to turn them, but local arborists are a great resource for free green wood.
Where did you purchase the beautiful tear drop/loop scorp?
May I suggest to anyone lookin to get into spoon carving or wood shaping of any kind to pick up a copy of the book "spoon" by barn the spoon.
rory lobban that book and his online classes is a fantastic resource!
He has another book out called “woodcrafts” he is a very fine gentleman who I am very happy to support by buying his wares.
Have you seen his bowl spoon combos he’s selling on Instagram?
I hope you wash your saw before carving the turkey at your guys thanksgiving 😛 I’m Canadian we’ve had ours already.
Nothing wrong with two thanksgivings.
I admire your work here!
Sorry to ask, I’m totally new in the carving world.
I’ve just bought a kit, with a hook knife for scoops.
But it’s normal that carving the internal round part of the scoop it takes an effort not indifferent? I’m using birch, green and dry (i found this in my garden).
I’m not new in manual work but I have bruises on my hands. And I think I sharpened it well. Maybe cause it’s a cheap knife? Thanks
It’s likely a combination of a sharpening and knife issue. It should not be that hard, a freshly sharpened knife on green (freshly cut) wood should be easier than scooping ice cream. Check out my spoon carving playlist, there’s a tutorial on sharpening hook knives on there. Cheap hook knives aren’t great for carving but if you can get a good edge on it it should at least get you by for a while.
At the beginning of your video you are splitting the log and I'm looking for a good fro where do you recommend to get one?
I've yet to find a modern maker aside from boutique blacksmiths that make a good one unfortunately.
Hello from Russia. Like.
good job. i was curious to see how the spoon holds up as the wood dries.
It, and the bin full of others I’ve made have been in daily use for several months/years now and none have failed yet.
@@AnneofAllTrades thanks this is helpful. have yet to make my first spoon. I am looking at a branch on my one of mesquite trees
spoontasticness gets a like
Odd question, but does anyone know what kind of Hoodie she is wearing? It's super cool
Wanakome :)
Thank You!! Great videos
Just found your channel. You are amazing. And beautiful!
Great video, thanks. Odd question, where did you get those work pants? Most I find are worthless. Help?
Dovetail work wear! I love them!
Would love to see something about sharpening the spoon knife (the circular one, not sure what it's called). I have been trying to use sandpaper on dowel but feel I'm coming up short on sharpness. If there's another way I'd love to see it. Thanks.
Howdy! Check out my spoon carving playlist. It’s got all the methods I use for carving as well as how to make your own knives and sharpen the ones you’ve got.
@@AnneofAllTrades Merci beaucoup!
I know some woods are better for something's but can I make a descent spoon that will last out of any wood? Or do I need to identify a special one.
fruit and nut woods are best, but just about any green, fresh cut wood will work.
Liked the video, great tips. You did not give a source for the teardrop scorp, I would very much like to get one. Thanks
It’s linked in the description ;)
Sorry I did not see a link to your teardrop scorp. Woodcraft does not carry that tool.
T Runyan right below the video description ;) “instagram.com/lee.stoffer/ Lee made my spoon scorp and the lovely ladle shown carved from a crook!”
Thank you, Your carving tips have been very helpful in improving my skills.
When do expect to officially be in Tennessee?
T Runyan glad to know I’ve been of some help! We are a few months out from the move, I’d like to be down there by mid January if possible but there are a lot of logistics to work out so I can’t make any promises.
What kinds of readily available tree fall would be good for greenwood carving?
readily available really depends on where you are. Just about any recently fallen wood is good for spoons, the greener (wetter) the better. I personally love fruit woods and walnut most.
Very nice. When are you moving to the great state of Tennessee?
It will probably be a couple of months yet, we've got a lot of logistics to work out, moving the animals and the shops and such.
@@AnneofAllTrades We are glad you all are making the move. Wish you all the best
That's a heck of a froe! Where can I buy one?
I can't recall the brand of the froe I'm using but to be honest there are much better ones available. I believe woodcraft even has a fairly affordable version.
Should I let my spoon dry before I finish or oil it?
Yeah! I usually let mine dry in open air for 2-3 days before oiling. I also usually carve to 90% when green and leave the last 10% detail/cleanup cuts for after the wood is dry and I've resharpened my knife. The Sometimes I get impatient though, and complete and oil spoons immediately, and that doesn't cause any issues either, certain woods (like cherry) are just really stringy when wet, especially at the transition points between the bowl and the handle, and chasing those strings back and forth can get frustrating.
I insist you should sell spoon kits for us that live in city.🙂
You can always buy from the makers Anne mentioned. They make a living out of this.
I'd far prefer that you purchased from makers doing this full time! I don't have the capacity to make things to sell regularly.
I really want to start woodworking more often but I don’t know where to get good handtools, do you have any tips
If you live near a woodcraft store that’s a great place to go try tools out and get advice!
What kind of tree is that? The wood almost looks like Maple, but the leaves look like some kind of Elm maybe?
Alder, the poor man’s cherry :)
❤
If you want to ditch the battery operated saw I suggest checking out a Japanese Saw!
I’m not a fan of Japanese saws because you can’t sharpen them. I have many, many a western handsaw though, and keep them very nicely maintained. I’m all about handtools, but handsawing firewood and spoon blanks in the volume I do, I’ll keep the chainsaw ;)
Maybe a smaller one hand axe... I used to help my father as a child to gather firewood and I liked one of those small axes, just hit the wood once and then lift both axe and wood with both hands and hit both together against the base. Sorry my English...
Do you leave it just like that or do you put some sort of finish on it?
I usually oil it with something that doesn't go rancid. My personal favorite because I also use it for cooking is coconut oil.
@@AnneofAllTrades last question... Is there possibility of spoons splitting as it loses moisture? As you can tell, I am clueless in the ways of green woodworking.
@@rajivdighe1138 yes, it's possible. But it's less likely to split if you let it dry more slowly (e.g. in a paper bag). Also, the thinner you carve the spoon before letting it dry, the less likely it is to crack while drying.
12:30 your using the hook knife upside down?
It’s a loop. There are different knife grips to present the blade at the proper angle to the spoon to best accommodate the way the grain changes inside the bowl of the spoon.
Hey Anne, great video, thanks for sharing. Couple of curiosity questions, what kind of wood was the tree you used and where did you get that really great looking froe?
Thanks, always look forward to your videos
Cheers
I don’t remember the name of the froe offhand but honestly it’s not my favorite. They are pretty easy to come by at antique stores/ garage sales for a fair price.
Thanks Anne. I have one from Lee Valley Tools but it's much the same, just sort of...okay. I'm always on the lookout.
The very best to you and your hubby of no trades on your move to Tennesee. You guys will do great!!
Cheers
Hopefully you are planting trees at your new place. The best time to plant was 30 years ago but now will suffice
Absolutely! Have been planting trees here in Seattle every year as well. Conserving the forest is very important.
Perfect like 202/0
Thanks!
Where did you get your froe? This particular one is not in your store.
That froe sucks, I’d definitely recommend an antique one, I’ve not found a modern maker who is doing quality froes en masse
@@AnneofAllTrades Thank you, Anne. I appreciate your quick response. I've been waiting to find one at an estate sale and such, but no luck. I'll be patient and maybe I'll get lucky. You've just won a subscriber for being so helpful. Thanks
Cheers!
10:50 wouldnt you usually use a draw knife?
When working wood, you always want to use the best, most efficient tool for the job if you have it handy. The drawknife is a roughing tool, the spokeshave is a finishing tool. The spoon is already shaped and I’m doing finishing cuts. Think if it this way- would I use a sledge hammer to install a picture frame nail?
Thank goodness (I've been whittling nothing but vampire worthy stakes); Life goals! 🥄
LOL! Somebody's got to keep 'em in check. Otherwise they'll overrun the place.
I’m having a hard time finding that hook knife. All the ones I see are open on one end.
It's called a Scorp, they're made by Lee Stoffer. I think they do sell out fast usually as they're quite popular
Was that a Granny or a Square - Knot!
I wish I knew the names!
one can use an axe with a wider and thiner blade just like the froe you have. wont work with that thick axe made for splitting logs though.
That’s the crank of the spoon not the crook 👍🏻have you never tried carving with axes?
all the time, feel free to check out the whole series, it's got it's own playlist and everything ;)
You make it look so easy, but I realize it's meticulous work, probably why I don't think I could do it, no patience
Practice makes better than before (certainly not perfect ;))
What model Grizzly band saw is that? I need one that will cut oak, mahogany, walnut etc... These little "disposable" ones for under $200 are just not cutting it, pun intended. =)
I'm hoping the Grizzly model G0555LA35 - 14" 1 HP Deluxe - 35th Anniversary Edition will do the job
It is indeed a G0555
@@AnneofAllTrades Sweet!!! I am getting one! Thank you! PS, I love all of your videos and you have inspired me to get back into carving spoons. I haven't carved in 25+ years, but now find myself not wanting to leave my house and lots of free time. Everybody's getting wooden spoons for the holidays. :)