Spoon carving revisited

after a long hiatus

Two things missing from this blog, one entirely I think. Birds and spoon carving. It’s not much but I got a couple shots the other day of the cedar waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) stripping the holly tree. They arrive in a small flock this time of year, alongside American robins (Turdus migratorius) in large flocks. Together they harvest all the berries to be found...

cedar waxwings

Spoon carving. I haven’t done any to speak of in at least two years, maybe longer. No particular reason other than furniture kept me occupied and I didn’t have any place I could access good crooks - my preferred spoon wood. But lately I’ve been writing my craft genealogy book and got to the part about Wille Sundqvist and his son Jögge. And there’s no way to resist spoon carving when you spend two days reading and writing about these two. 

photo, courtesy Jogge Sundqvist

I first heard about this sort of work in Drew Langsner’s 1978 book Country Woodcraft (now revised as Country Woodcraft: Then & Now through Lost Art Press). A few years later, Rick Mastelli wrote an article in Fine Woodworking “Knife Work: make the knife and carve a spoon” (Jan/Feb 1983) - that article detailed work done in a 1982 class Rick attended at Country Workshops. I know I carved a spoon then - not sure if I had done any before that. I still have it, it’s hideous, but you have to start somewhere. 

PF early spoon, mid-1980s

My first visit to Country Workshops was 1980, but starting in 1985 I was there once or twice a year for several years. That’s when I really got to know Wille’s work - it was at the dining table for every meal. And Drew’s work that he developed from studying with Wille. In 1988 I stayed there all summer and that year Wille couldn’t make the trip, his son Jögge came instead.

PF & JSQ 1988, photo Drew Langsner