LOVE SPOON question

[Sharon of the Dell]

I was wondering what thickness of wood you love spoon carvers usually use?
I have lots of beautiful hard wood boards from my dad, Then some I bought.
Thicknesses range from 5/8 to 2 inches thick. Most are 7/8 to 1 inch.
Will this be thick enough?
I tried looking it up, but I can't find much and I really don't want to buy a book right now. And my concentration skills are kind of nil right now, so any help is appreciated!
Thanks,
Sharon

[mdallensr]

I've carved most of my love spoons from wood 3/4" to 1" thick. I've done some others with curved handles that were up to 2" thick. I've carved spoons from basswood, aspen, Alaskan yellow cedar, butternut, walnut, cherry, mahogany, cypress, and some pallet wood I couldn't identify. I've taken a lot of photos showing the preparation of the blanks and carving the spoons. I'd be pleased to share any of what I've done so far with you. I posted a tutorial on carving the bowl in the gallery: Spoons - Woodcarving Illustrated Photo Gallery

I'll post some other photos this weekend. Mike

[Marci MN]

***opens mouth wide *** This big.... Sorry I couldnt resist. I cant wait to see what you come up with for a spoon.

Marcia

[cut up]

Most of the love spoons I carve are about 5/8" to 3/4". I tried it with thicker wood, but my spoons end up being heavier than I like.

[Bob K.]

3/4" to 1" should be perfect.

[mdallensr]

Hi Sharon: I posted a tutorial thread in 2008 on carving a love spoon. It goes start to finish for a spoon less than an inch thick.
Spoon carving tutorial

You're on the right track in wanting to use several different woods for spoons. Most have a natural finish and the color and grain of the wood can really make a plain spoon special. I've attached some photos of my Christmas spoons from several years ago, to show how the different woods affect the final product. Mike

[Sharon of the Dell]

Marci, you made me laugh! Thank you!
Thanks Cut up and Bob!
Mike those are beautiful! I'll check your links later, have to make a quick road trip today.
My next question was going to be about carving the backs, if any one does that or not, so you answered my unasked question! Thanks Mike and I may be asking you more questions later.
I want to start out with fairly simple designs first so I think the boards I have will work well.
I'll be checking this out later after I get home.

[LBlake]

Sharon,
I think everybody else already answered your question very well, but I'm a lovespoon nut, so I can't resist answering, too, just in case you're curious what I do.

I think it depends how deep you want your bowl to be, and/or how much of an arch you want in it. Also depends on whether you are doing anything like chain links or balls in cages, or double- or triple- layered knotwork.

I just spent the past 4 days at the North American Festival of Wales (lovespoon central for North America, I suppose!), and there were two of us lovespoon carvers there. The consensus was that the spoons my fellow carver had were very "traditional", and mine were very "modern." The ones he had were generally between 3/4" and 1" thick, only had carving on the fronts, and the carving was mostly just suggesting overlaps & such (rather shallow carving). Mine, on the other hand, were mostly 1/2" thick (there were a few that were 3/4" and one that was 1.5"), carved on all sides, had significant arches along the length, and had fully-overlapping parts (some overlaps even separated). On the other hand, another term heavily used in describing mine was "more delicate than any I've seen before."

The point I'm taking so long to make is, it totally depends on how YOU want to do it. Part of the beauty of lovespoon traditions is that it's about being creative, so as long as you're carving from a single piece of wood, just go for it!