Spoon turning

I like turning the handles on spoons and spatulas and when I split this chunk of Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) it was definitely saying spoon.

I found the wood when we were walking by the River Derwent in the Forge Valley Woods on our holiday in Yorkshire last November.  Sloe wood is beautiful to turn.

Axed blank

I marked one centre on the end of the handle near the bark edge and at the bowl end near the centre of the log to give a kick to the handle and mounted it on the lathe.

I suppose you could spend time rounding the handle more but I find it OK to proceed gently with a spindle gouge.  You can also turn the sides of the bowl to get a nice symmetry (but you're turning air a lot of the time!) and a decorative knop on the end of the handle.

Give it a burnish with a handful of shavings and carve out the bowl...