How to Carve Swedish Spoons (Video)

A goal for the upcoming year is to improve my spoon carving. Carving spoons from wood is an age-old tradition that provides endless entertainment. It also helps you sharpen your knife skills (pun intended).

You can carve in the forest, or spread a drop-cloth in front of the television to carve during football timeouts. It’s a great rainy day activity. When weather prevents you from hitting the trail, you can commune with nature using just a tree branch and a crooked knife.

The PBS television show, The Woodwright’s Shop, did a terrific episode about spoon carving using traditional Swedish techniques. And they’ve made this 24-minute video available online free of charge!

Mr. Follansbee shows us how to select good wood and carve a spoon using sound knife technique. He demonstrates how to use a hooked knife and an axe (Scandinavian style). Mr. Follansbee was taught by Willie Sundqvuist (see my 2015 book list) and clearly presents his excellent information.

The video starts a little slow, but hang with it. Then go out and carve!