Kuksa Carving [Archive] - Natural Bushcraft

Fletching

26-12-2010, 10:40 PM

Last time I tried I ended up making loads of tinder (still, nothing went to waste!). :campfire:

I've found this (sorry if you've already seen it), and it makes it so simple:

http://www.bushcraft.ridgeonnet.com/Kuksa%20tutorial.htm :happy-clapping:

Any of you guys had a go?

Methinks a good attempt with a bit of kolros etching would make any man proud (and his girlfriend).

Steve

Fletching

26-12-2010, 10:43 PM

ooh, looks like links die if you put a smilie right after them (apologies).

I'll try again:

http://www.bushcraft.ridgeonnet.com/Kuksa%20tutorial.htm

Steve

Martin

26-12-2010, 11:14 PM

ooh, looks like links die if you put a smilie right after them (apologies).

I'll try again:

http://www.bushcraft.ridgeonnet.com/Kuksa%20tutorial.htm

Steve

Only if you put the smilie inside the URL tags ;)

Now corrected.

Martin

Ashley Cawley

27-12-2010, 11:21 AM

I've not tried carving a Kuksa yet, tis something I will definitely try sometime though :)

I have a Kuksa that the wife bought me for Christmas a few years ago, love it to bits.

Jon's Bushcraft site is a superb site :o

comanighttrain

10-01-2011, 01:48 PM

The Burl...

do you just lop it off of a tree? Will it cause the tree to die? Might have a crack at this.... If i do

How hard is the Burl? will a machete be adequate?

Jon Mac

10-01-2011, 02:08 PM

Hi hi Fletching...I've carved one or two...http://spooncarvingfirststeps.blogspot.com/2009/12/carving-kuksa.html
Have another try my friend...You'll get there in the end...J;-)

Fletching

10-01-2011, 02:17 PM

Beautiful stuff there Jon. I'm definitely going to have another go, now I've seen how it's really done! ;)

Steve

Jon Mac

10-01-2011, 03:24 PM

Ahhh! Good man Steve, keep it sharp and let us see what you come up with...J

Ashley Cawley

10-01-2011, 05:28 PM

Hi hi Fletching...I've carved one or two...http://spooncarvingfirststeps.blogspot.com/2009/12/carving-kuksa.html
Have another try my friend...You'll get there in the end...J;-)
Great website there Jon, gota dedicate a bit of time to go through all your posts, I'll give it a plug on twitter in a bit ;)

I'm gona give a Kuksa a go, got the wood (not a burl), was meant to start on the weekend but got distracted making a crook knife sheath.

Fletching

10-01-2011, 06:11 PM

...got distracted making a crook knife sheath.

I've just had a crook knife delivered about an hour ago!

I'd be interested in seeing your sheath, if you get chance.

Steve

Ashley Cawley

10-01-2011, 06:22 PM

... I'd be interested in seeing your sheath, if you get chance..
It's wooden! :) .. and certainly I'll share once it's done.

Jon Mac

11-01-2011, 08:03 AM

Good man Ashley. Silver Birch is a great wood to start with btw. I look forwards to seeing the result of your travail (French meaning) I hope you chaps are using a hook knife with the bevel exterior on the sweep, not interior. If it is interior you will have all sorts of problems so don't be disappointed. And to finish...I use a strip of thin leather or thick cloth about 1/4 inch broad and simply wrap the blade. All the best to both of you and I look forward to seeing lots of carving activity on this site...J

FrenchBen

20-02-2011, 08:40 PM

Hi!

@ Jon : what do you call Silver Birch (as my nickname states, I'm french, there may be subtile differences I don't get)? How do you recognize it in the woods? What are its specificities?
By the way, I have begun to read your blog. It's amazing! As you seem pretty skilled in woodcarving, could you explain why you advise us to use a hook knife with the bevel exterior to the sweep?
I guess you're well aware of the different tools on the market : what do you think of the Mora Frost 162 for carving a kuksa?

And one more question : I'm not very keen on killing living trees just to make myself a cup. Is it possible to carve dead (not rotten) tree? I guess it must be lots more difficult...

Thanks a lot ;)

Martin

20-02-2011, 09:10 PM

Silver Birch is Betula Pendula. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betula_pendula)

Hope this helps,

Martin

Jon Mac

21-02-2011, 09:17 AM

Hi!

@ Jon : what do you call Silver Birch... ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betula_pendula ) (as my nickname states, I'm french, there may be subtile differences I don't get)? How do you recognize it in the woods? What are its specificities?
By the way, I have begun to read your blog. It's amazing! As you seem pretty skilled in woodcarving, could you explain why you advise us to use a hook knife with the bevel exterior to the sweep?... I recommend a bevel exterior to the sweep to facilitate a sharper, deeper more defined cut. It is also easier to disengage with the fibers during a cut, it allows you to turn the tool out of the cut....
I guess you're well aware of the different tools on the market : what do you think of the Mora Frost 162 for carving a kuksa?... I don't see why not. I have one here. As long as it is super sharp ...Go for it...J

And one more question : I'm not very keen on killing living trees just to make myself a cup. Is it possible to carve dead (not rotten) tree? I guess it must be lots more difficult...You can cut a limb. Or new fallen wood. Or old wood. As long as the timber still has strength carve what your heart desires...
Thanks a lot ;)

I hope this helps a little Ben...If it doesn't, message me again and I will elaborate for you...All the very best and look forward to hearing from you in the near future...Happy carving...J

FrenchBen

21-02-2011, 06:42 PM

Jon Mac

22-02-2011, 08:24 AM

Yes it sure helps . One more question however : I can choose between two Mora hook knives and I don't know which one to pick : there's the 162 as I said earlier, and the 164, which has a smaller curve (12 mm) and may be useful to dig deeper in the wood... The very difference is the 162 seems to be sharpened on both edges. I heard it was recommended to left-handed folks. As i'm right-handed, what would you advise me to choose?

Ben;)

Hi Ben. For the moment stick with the single sided/sharpened hook knife. It will be safer for you. After you've cut your finger a few times you will be glad you did not buy a double sided knife. But I would recommend buying both left, and right handed versions in the future...All the best Ben and happy carving.....J

fish

22-02-2011, 02:37 PM

hey guys dont forget all yer kuksa pictures are welcome on the biggest and only kuksa group on flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1565793@N22/

FrenchBen

22-02-2011, 04:49 PM

hey guys dont forget all yer kuksa pictures are welcome on the biggest and only kuksa group on flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1565793@N22/

Gave it a quick look. It's great. Many good design ideas for beginners. Unfortunately I'm pretty sure my first one won't look like one of these AT ALL! ;)

Guess I'll have to keep working.

spiritofold

24-02-2011, 11:25 PM

Too many pix to post...

Notredame11211

27-02-2011, 05:20 AM

Looks like a challege, but an interesting one at that. Looks like I'll be trying it soon; Thanks for the great links!

Adam Savage

07-03-2011, 06:20 PM

Just started my first ever Kuksa/spoon project. here are a couple photos of it so far.

All the work I have done so far has been with my multiaxe, hence the rough finish at the moment. Next I'm trying to decide if I should use my opinel No.8 or my Mora clipper/companion to tidy it up on the outside. I want to keep to the kit I normally carry with me, so not too sure how I'm going to carve the bowl out ( I don't own a crook knife yet ), so thinking of manufacturing some kind of tool to do the job, that I can pop in my pack.

J_P

08-03-2011, 04:31 PM

Heres one i did in cherry a while back

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx328/JPLamoureux/photo-31.jpg
http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx328/JPLamoureux/photo-30.jpg
http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx328/JPLamoureux/photo-32.jpg
http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx328/JPLamoureux/photo-29.jpg

Adam Savage

08-03-2011, 04:37 PM

I'll be ashamed to post pics of mine when it's finished. I really need to get hold of a crook knife, trying to hollow out the bowl with my mora is taking a long time, mainly because I don't really know what I'm doing lol. Also trying not to cut too much out or either the Kuksa or myself.

Adam Savage

08-03-2011, 04:38 PM

Nice work there J_P

Tony1948

08-03-2011, 05:41 PM

Adam Savage

08-03-2011, 06:01 PM

crazysaint222 Hi if you dont have a crook knife try a BBQ briket light it up with a gas torch and place it on the wood there you wont the bowl and let it berne into the wood keep replaceing the briket and sgrapping the bernt wood out till you get to the right size.................atb...........DONT GET EATON BY THE BEARS.......TONY

Thanks Tony, I'll give that a go. Started making my own crook knife, but I can see that taking some time to grind the bevel without over heating it, putting and edge on it, and making a half decent set of scales for it.

started off with this
832833

got to this stage so far
830831

Not sure what it used to be, maybe some kind of fish knife, but its stainless made by a company called miracle maid, in the USA

Adam Savage

09-03-2011, 12:09 AM

Kuksa update, progress so far. Tried to tidy up the outside with my Mora. It's a little smoother but could use a good sanding when I manage to hollow the bowl.
834835

Adam Savage

16-03-2011, 04:27 PM

After trying and failing, to make a set of scales for my home-made crook knife, I decided to pop to the local DIY and pick up a file handle (95p) and here is how far it has gotten me. Making very, very slow progress. Think it's time to purchase a mora lol

897898899

Adam Savage

16-03-2011, 10:33 PM

slowly slowly getting deeper, but being the first time I've done this sort of carving, it's taking it's toll on my fingers lol, my skins too soft, needs toughening up

900

Jon Mac

23-06-2011, 02:16 PM

Here's a link to my blog... http://spooncarvingfirststeps.blogspot.com/ ...I have added an Ale hen pictorial Tutorial....Enjoy...J

Jon Mac

24-06-2011, 05:45 PM

Here are a few photos of a Ale Hen Pictorial Tutorial...For more info visit...http://spooncarvingfirststeps.blogspot.com/

17621764176517631766

paul standley

24-06-2011, 07:12 PM

Very Impressive guys, not something I've done yet... getting swamped with ideas mini projects right now - this yet another one...!

Jon Mac

27-06-2011, 04:44 PM

Look forward to seeing your work Paul...Some photos to get your juices flowing...

Iamnoone

27-06-2011, 10:56 PM

Jon Mac

28-06-2011, 08:03 AM

When I carved mine I cheated when hollowing out the cup. I figured it would take forever to to hollow out just with the crook knife, so I decided to save some time by drilling lots of blind holes to remove most of the material.

That proved to be a serious mistake because then you can't get a decent knife cut across all the uneven holes.

I must make another one one of these days!

I can't help but notice a lot of talk about crook knives on this forum. If you look at a 'Hook knife' and a 'Crook knife' side by side, you will notice that the bevels are ground on opposing sides. A hook knife or spoon knife will remove waste wood from your Kuksa/spoon relatively easily. Where as a Crook knife will stick and not turn in the work. This may be one of the reasons you had difficulty in making your treen. The Crook knife by the way is great for using as a draw knife for making straight things, bows and arrows for instance. I hope this snippet helps, and you make some wonderful treen in the near future...Best wishes...J

Ashley Cawley

28-06-2011, 09:37 PM

Thanks for sharing guys. Beautiful work Jon.

I've had some Silver Birch dropped off thanks to RoadKillPhil, might get a little Kuksa out of it yet.

Jon Mac

29-06-2011, 08:10 AM

Thanks for sharing guys. Beautiful work Jon.

I've had some Silver Birch dropped off thanks to RoadKillPhil, might get a little Kuksa out of it yet.

Go for it Ashley...Look forward to seeing you take a sip...J

Iamnoone

07-07-2011, 09:27 PM

I can't help but notice a lot of talk about crook knives on this forum. If you look at a 'Hook knife' and a 'Crook knife' side by side, you will notice that the bevels are ground on opposing sides. A hook knife or spoon knife will remove waste wood from your Kuksa/spoon relatively easily. Where as a Crook knife will stick and not turn in the work. This may be one of the reasons you had difficulty in making your treen. The Crook knife by the way is great for using as a draw knife for making straight things, bows and arrows for instance. I hope this snippet helps, and you make some wonderful treen in the near future...Best wishes...J

Now that's interesting Jon. Apparently I have a Crook knife. It's a standard issue Mora 164 which I bought specifically for the job. I remember thinking when it arrived that it looked kind of wrong, and that if I'd made the knife myself (being none the wiser) that I would have ground it the other way????

I didn't realise there were both kinds. Now I'm intrigued to try a Hook flavoured knife..... Maybe I will make one after all?

Jon Mac

08-07-2011, 02:56 PM

Now that's interesting Jon. Apparently I have a Crook knife. It's a standard issue Mora 164 which I bought specifically for the job. I remember thinking when it arrived that it looked kind of wrong, and that if I'd made the knife myself (being none the wiser) that I would have ground it the other way????

I didn't realise there were both kinds. Now I'm intrigued to try a Hook flavoured knife..... Maybe I will make one after all?

Well that's interesting. We have both learned something. I had no idea, until you mentioned it, that Frost made both hook and crook knives. I will have to make sure I recommend the correct reference number in the future. Thank you for bringing this to my attention...Have fun with your carving and let's see some photographs soon...Best wishes...J

great white ape

02-09-2011, 03:28 PM

Inspiring... top work everybody

andy202wr

06-09-2011, 09:25 PM

I need to have a go at one of these. I am going to order some knives in a couple of days.

bikebum1975

04-10-2011, 12:29 AM

Thanks Tony, I'll give that a go. Started making my own crook knife, but I can see that taking some time to grind the bevel without over heating it, putting and edge on it, and making a half decent set of scales for it.

started off with this
832833

got to this stage so far
830831

Not sure what it used to be, maybe some kind of fish knife, but its stainless made by a company called miracle maid, in the USA

It's a butter spreader we used to have those around when I was a kid