Whittle Bench Spoonscarved green in Šiauliai

Green-wood spoon carving on a balcony bench in Šiauliai

counted like growth rings, newest on the outside

Carving notes

Everything written at the bench since 19 October 2024, newest first. Each note has a second date for when I went back to it after more spoons had been carved, dried or broken, and the changes are added in place rather than smoothed over.

  • Wood
  • Axe
  • Knives
  • Finishing

  1. Finishing · note 4 of 4

    Drying slowly, oiling once, and what the cracked spoons taught me

    Why green spoons crack and twist as they dry, runout in handles, finishing cuts on dry wood, oiling with linseed, and the danger of oily rags.

    Carved and written 11 July 2026. Revisited 30 August 2026. About 8 minutes to read.

  2. Knives · note 3 of 4

    Knife grips I use every evening, and keeping the edge alive

    The sloyd and hook knives on my balcony bench, the chest lever and thumb-pull grips, hollowing a bowl across the grain, and stropping little and often.

    Carved and written 6 September 2025. Revisited 15 November 2025. About 9 minutes to read.

  3. Axe · note 2 of 4

    Axe work at the chopping block: roughing out a spoon safely

    Block height, how I hold a small carving axe, stop cuts at the neck, the order in which wood comes off, and the ways axe work still goes wrong for me.

    Carved and written 15 March 2025. Revisited 26 April 2025. About 8 minutes to read.

  4. Wood · note 1 of 4

    Splitting a fresh birch log into spoon blanks in a shared yard

    How I pick green wood as a flat-dweller, what birch, alder and cherry are like under the knife, splitting through the pith, and keeping billets wet.

    Carved and written 19 October 2024. Revisited 7 December 2024. About 8 minutes to read.