New Spoonmaker

[pigpendesigns]

I've only been carving for about 4 weeks now and got the wild idea to try and carve a spoon out of a piece of scrap wood. It actually turned out decent and it was much more enjoyable that I could have expected. I used my dremel to carve the spoon. But, I really want to do it primitive folk art style. With hand tools and a shave horse. I've been looking into drawknives, spokeshaves, and gouges. For a new carver starting out is it worth the extra money to start off with the top dollar knives? Or go middle of the road until my techniques get better? Also, are Lie-Nielsen tools worth the price? Thanks for everyone's help!!

[LBlake]

Welcome aboard! Spoons are addictive. You might try something lower end until you figure out which profiles you like best, although, that can still be expensive. I got lots of tools to start with, and ended up using mostly only 3 or 4. It's tricky. I started with flexcut, then once I figured out what I liked most, I got a few Pfeil (Swiss-made) palm tools. They hold an edge considerably longer. How about a picture of the one you made? We love pictures.

[Kadiddle]

Joshua,get the best you can afford at the time. You may find that you do not have to upgrade at a later date. As far as Lie -Nielsen tools, the answer is yes, most definately. Good luck.
Carve On,
Kadiddle

[pigpendesigns]

Alright, I was a little hesitant to post any pics since I only started just a few weeks ago. This started off as a piece of scrap 2x4 pine that I had left over from a project forever ago.

I'm having a hard time deciding between going with Lie-Nielsen or North Bay Forge. Both look like great knives. If you had to choose 2 or 3 knives to start off with what would out suggest? I know that I want a draw knife. That's the only one I'm certain on. Look forward to your suggestions!

The spoon was a gift to a couple that I cook chili with. Just a display piece for there booth at contests.

[MackTheKnife]

That's really good for a first effort, particularly in scrap pine!

I highly recommend Del Stubbs's spoon carving knives from Pinewood Forge. You get basically a custom knife with a blade protector/sheath for the price of a Flexcut knife with sheath. If you are more price conscious, go with the Swedish Mora knives, the #162, #163, #164, #220 (drawknife), and the #106 slojd for general shaping. You can get all 5 knives for less than $100! A bargain, and while these are not as pretty as the Stubbs knives, they are still very high quality and come carving sharp.

[jmischel]

I don't know anything about the Lie Nelson tools, but I've gotten lots of use from my North Bay Forge hook knives. Way better than gouges for hollowing out a spoon.

[Gulf Coast Handyman]

Lie Nelson tools are excellent quality, but I think they are more geared toward carpentry, furniture making, cabinet making. As for spoon making I use the Denny #8 spoon gouge, and his sidewinders, $20-30 per tool and they work great! As for a better quality tool for spoon making, I like Deepwood Ventures and Pinewood Forge. All less expensive then Lie Nelson and good quality. Hope this helps.

Dave

[WoodWhittlinWayne]

Heya Joshua and welcome! I also like to carve spoons and am new to the forums. I am not sure about the Lie-Nielsen tools as I have never used any. As for the drawknives and spokeshaves and such, we have a lot of flea markets/yard sales around where I live and I have seen a lot of these tools there pretty cheap. I bought a couple of old drawknives at a local flea market that I was able to clean up and sharpen that have served me well. If you are looking for a spoon knife, I recently purchased one from Deepwood Ventures and highly recommend them.