Eagle Kuksa...

Well, it was back to the chopping block last week.

Folk from near and far have ordered treen.

I was asked to make a Kuksa that is slightly different to my normal fair.

And I think it worked out fine.

He is carved from a piece of Sycamore gifted to me a few weeks ago.

And finished with a little Liberon Tung oil.

The bowl is knife finished inside and out.

Whilst the head is sanded.

I have weaned myself away from abrasives on the whole, but sometimes a good smooth finish is desirable.

I keep a stash of Abranet in the draw for just these occasions.

I have also made a spoon for my good friend Magali, who is a superbly talented maker of the traditional French Laguiole knives.

Again, the bowl is knife finished and the handle has been sanded.

Hopefully I'll be receiving a parcel from Scotland soon.

I'll let you know what it is when it arrives.

Until then....

Enjoy.

J.

Pimp my poncho liner...

Here's a job I've been meaning to carry out for quite a while now.

I wanted to put a hole in the middle of my poncho liner so I could actually wear it under a poncho.

For me, cutting holes in things takes a little contemplation...

So after three years of thinking about it I decided to take the plunge.

So first thing I did was find the center of my proposed slot, folding the liner in half and then marking the center with a marker.

A 14 inch slot would suffice.

Marked up and ready for the scissors...

Here we go then...

I take the plunge and snip the slot with some sharp scissors.

Some big old ' Homeward bounders ' will keep the three layers of material together whilst I work .

Next I cut some tape that I could stitch over the cut edges.

Folded in half along it's length and tacked on.

The next decision was whether to sew by hand.... Ooooor....Get the machine out.

I wanted to get the job done fast so I went for the machine.

Here the tape is stitched on and I have added two short lengths of tape at each end to give some strength.

Plus four longer lengths of tape with which I can close the slot when using the liner as a blanket or sleeping bag.

Here's the liner tied into a U.S Army lightweight poncho.

And our wonderful model sporting the new spring look poncho...

I have always favoured kit that can be employed in more ways than one.

My new improved liner can now join some of my favourite equipment.

I guess the next job is to run a long zip around an end and two sides so I can make a nice snug sleeping bag.

Perhaps some other time...

Enjoy...

J

Spoon carving visitors...

I have recently had a spate of visitors here at my home.

Some visitors came to learn the odd bit about carving, others came because they just like it here.

My great friend Tas (Driving) has recently returned home from a spot of serious mountaineering

 down New-Zealand way.

Sarah and I are so happy she had a great time and she is home safe and sound.

Mr Blackbird.

He has set up home next to our kitchen window and has given me some spring time inspiration.

One of our visitors we have not seen for a while is Brock.

Grown a bit since the last visit.

And Sarah spent three quarters of an hour watching our local hunter go about its' business.

Our colony of house and hedge sparrows go very quiet when the Sparrow Hawk puts in an appearance.

Our good friend Matt stayed with us for a few days.

He is an expert Chiropterologist.

He stayed with us for two seasons a few years ago whilst he was undertaking his field study work with the University of Bristol.

I helped him out with his work, which we mainly carried out at night, up in the higher forests of Dartmoor.

We like to call him Matt the Bat.

We spent a couple of quiet days carving and he made his first Kuksa.

A couple of years ago I taught him the rudiments of spoon carving.

Here is a photo of his first spoon.

At the time he carved this spoon Matt was setting light traps up in the bottom field so he could ascertain the species of moth likely to be on the bat menu.

Matt could then collect bat droppings from his capture and release program, and use DNA sequencing techniques back at the Bat Lab to detect what the local bats ate.

Here's Matt using an adze for the first time hollowing out the bowl of the Kuksa.

He didn't manage to completely finish the Kuksa, but the main work is done.

The bowl side walls are nice and thin and even.

Matt took it home and can carve the head at his leisure.

He's a clever and talented chap who finds carving a peaceful and relaxing pastime.

In-between sunbathing and hunting worms, Dolly has been helping me with a spoon design.

I spent the winter re-learning some carving techniques and made many spoons.

I have a 'Two Day Test' whereby I will revisit a carving after two days and critique it.

My Kuksa I like.

I love to carve them.

And I think they look good.

My spoons however seem to me to be lacking that little spark.

I came up with this design which passes my test.

A little Celtic....

A little Nordic...

And good fun to make.

To celebrate I opened one of the bottles of scrumpy the students from Embercombe had traded for tuition.

Splendid.... !

Cheers !

Think I'm going to have to hide the other bottle from Sarah though...

 

Well... Hopefully the sun will return and we can get back to carving and worm hunting under the Magnolia...

Enjoy...

J;-)