WIP New Swedish Suitor's Spoon

[MackTheKnife]

Well, I'm sure you have all been waiting with bated breath for the finish of this thing. So here it is. The carving was the easiest part of this process. I had originally planned on using the wax inlay only on the border around the heart. You know what they say about the best laid plans. As I was melting the wax for the border, through my inattention, part of the wax filled one of the triangles. So, I decided to fill them all in except for the ones on the finial. Boy, was that a mistake! I'll talk more about it on the Further Adventures in Wax Inlay thread in the Tips and Techniques section.

[LBlake]

I think it came out beautifully! All those triangles along the edge are terrific. So perfect!

[David Stanley]

Looks great! The wax in the chip carving is no big problem and doesn't spoil anything. The only problem is ( and here I would agree with you on the wax )... You've done so well with the chip carving, why cover it up?

I've never tried chip carving yet and am a bit daunted by it, as it looks like it would require a special kind of discipline and concentration to get it consistent and neat, as you have done. I like the wax inlay lines you've been doing and they really add something but while the wax doesn't actually detract, you can't really add to some well done chip carving.

[MackTheKnife]

Thanks, Laura.

David, I wondered whether I was gilding the lilly on this one. But you know what they say about the man with a new hammer: every problem looks like a nail!

Oddly enough, I don't consider what I did chip carving since I didn't use a chip carving knife and didn't really use traditional chip carving technique. I used the tip of my good old Mora #120. It was actually easier and quicker than I thought it would be. I didn't even lay out the triangles on the border. I just drew a line as far in as I wanted the apexes and free-handed the cuts, pressing the point of the knife in at the apex and rocking the blade down to connect with the leg of the previous triangle. Then I slid the blade in along the inside of one of the legs and swung the edge around to the other leg. I'd say it probably took me an hour to do the entire border.