Spon: A Guide to Spoon Carving and the New Wood Culture

by Barn The Spoon

‘The word for spoon is derived from the old Norse for chip of wood – spon. Wooden spoons then need no further qualifier, they are spoons in their purest form.’ Barn The Spoon

The simple, ordinary spoon is part of our everyday lives, intimately entwined with the acts of eating and socialising, from stirring our first cup of coffee to scraping the last bit of pudding from the bowl. And who doesn't like to spoon in bed?

Barn The Spoon, as he’s affectionately known, can be found on permanent exhibition in the shop window of his workshop on the Hackney Road, East London, where he makes his life’s work, designing and carving beautiful spoons that are both a joy to use and hold.

Delve into the history, culture and folklore of spoons, into native American tribes and Celtic mythology, to the lakes of Sweden, back to the workshop in Hackney and into your own kitchen. And understand the link between the raw material and their majestic origins in our trees and woodland.

A master craftsman, Barn will show you how to use the axe and knife, from how they should feel in your hand to honing the perfect edge when carving your own spoons. Featuring the four main categories of spoon – eating, serving, cooking and measuring spoons, Barn takes you through the nuances of their making, how each design is informed by its function at the table or in the kitchen, and the key skills you will learn – such as creating octagonal handles, manipulating grain patterns and mastering bent branches. Beautiful photography will inspire and act as a blue-print to help perfect your technique.

Genres: Woodwork, Nonfiction, Crafts

224 pages, Hardcover

First published May 25, 2017

About the author

Barnaby Alexander Carder, known as Barn the Spoon (born 1981), is a British artisan spoon carver, teacher, author and co-founder of Spoonfest, the annual international festival of spoon carving in Edale in Derbyshire, UK. He is also founder of the Green Wood Guild, a collective of green wood carvers who run carving workshops and owns a spoon shop and woodworking venue in Hackney in London's East End. Carder also teaches spoon carving, woodworking and bladesmithing (with master smith Nic Westermann).

Reviews

[Serge Pierro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Barn the Spoon presents an excellent overview of the life of a Spoon Carver. From his days of living in the woods perfecting his craft to his opening a shop to sell spoons commercially, he brings a backstory that is seldom seen in today's society… one who has foregone the trappings of the corporate establishment and lived a life that harkens back to the days of the past.

The crux of the book is Barn the Spoon's instruction on how to carve wooden spoons with an axe and knives, as well as some other hand tools. No machines are used in the process. The book shows several different knife grips and techniques and is well illustrated.

The back section of the book is devoted to sixteen spoons, each of which is photographed with a top view, side view and back view. Concise instructions are provided, however, there are no step by step photos included in this section.

Overall, this is an excellent book for those looking to get into spoon carving.

[Evan Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Am extremely helpful and practice guide to speed up your spoon carving learning curve.

After carving a couple of spoons and purchasing a couple tools to help with the process, I stopped and asked the spoon carving community which book I should read.

The unanimous recommendation was this book.

After reading it I was left with multiple “gosh I was dumb” moments and a few “that’s what I was trying to do” thoughts as well.

Manuals are tough to make short. And even more difficult to make fun. Barn does both with this book and gives you the confidence to simplify your process and make better spoons!

One to keep on the bookshelf.

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

More advanced than I was looking for. He’s starting carving with axe snd logs.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this and I can definitely tell that the author is passionate and knowledgeable. The reason I only give it three stars is because while it aims to inspire new carvers and reinspire experienced ones (which it does) I don't find the explanations very descriptive. Certain things are hard to fully convey without relevant photos, while other things have supplementary photos but still aren't truly detailed enough to provide a sufficient understanding of the subject without prior background knowledge. I know it's not meant to be a textbook in any way, but I sections where it does attempt to teach, a more thorough explanation would be appreciated. That being said he seems to rely on sending the reader to videos on his website for more detail (though it should be noted they are only available through a paid membership)

[DelAnne Frazee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: Spoon - A Guide to Spoon Carving and the New Wood Culture
Author: Barn the Spoon
Publisher: Scrbner
Published: 11-14-2017
Pages: 224
Genre: Crafts & Hobbies
Sub-Genre: Woodworking, Home Decor, Tablesetting, Entertining & Holiday,, Fun with Paper & Wood, Stones & Knives, Projects, Carving, How to,
ISBN: 9781501182761
ASIN: B0728N691C
Reviewed For NetGalley and Scribner
Reviewer: DelAnne
Rating: Stars


The crafting of spoons of all sizes and uses. There are ladles, measuring spoons, serving spoons, slotted spoons and even teaspoons. From our first eating utensil to our favorite kitchen utensils. The making of utensils from wood is an old beautiful craft. In this how to book we can see about choosing the wood, the tools needed and step by step of how to carve your own spools. If you would like to know more check out "Spoon".


My rating of "Spoon - A Guide to Spoon Carving and the New Wood Culture" is out of 5 stars.


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[Audrey Stars in Her Eye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I am not a wood carver of any other kind of artist. I read this book because I have a spell affinity for spoons. I have a chronic illness and one of the way we talk about how we do that is with spoons as an analogy for energy. I read this book because I wanted to know more about spoons and see how they are created.
I can't give you a review about how well it taught me to make spoons. But I can tell you how lovingly the author talked about these implements I saw them as art through his eyes. I loved reading about the different woods and how you could turn imperfections in the wood to beautiful patterns and personality. I loved learning about the different kinds of spoons really challenging me to think about the wide functionality of the implements.
The artist loving render his work in words and pictures. I cam away inspired and touched.
I received an ARC from NetGalley; all opinions are my own.

[Carey’s Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars! This book was great! Lots of info that was easy to understand & helpful photos to go along! This book tells about everything you'd need to know if trying to carve your own spoon! Types of wood, tools, techniques, types of spoons, etc!! I actually tried carving my own spoon once before & almost cut my finger off!! Now, with this book, I'm hoping it will be easier & that I will actually get it finished & it will look like a spoon & not a complete mess! It's not as easy as you'd think to carve your own spoons! If you'd like to try it, I definitely recommend this book first!! This book definitely made me appreciate the authors skill in making hand carved spoons!!
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!*

[Will Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spoon Carving. The spoon life. Mixed with wood and the culinary vibe. Barn tells a compelling story of the work, bother physical and mental, used in the making of a spoon. The simple spoon as a metaphor for the intimacy of life.

I'm a spoon carver and see Barn as leading the way into a renaissance of a love of wood. This book skips history and dives into what we ourselves can do and experience through carving spoons.

[Jared Criswell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A concise introduction to modern greenwood spoon carving through the eyes of someone with an eye for history, art, and education. I’d give this to anyone who is hoping to get into the craft.
I was disappointed at the end of the book to find that the book was written by a compiling ghostwriter. That doesn’t take away from the content of the book, but it does take away for me a layer of the reading material itself as it relates to the author.

[Rhonda Lomazow · Rating 5 out of 5]

A guide to the art of spoon carving step by step picking the right wood guide to carving the art the end product this master spoon carver shows us.Fun to read easy to learn a fun educational bok of lessons&doh those gorgeous spoons.Thanks to #Scribner #Net Galley for advance readers copy for honest review,

[Tava Baird · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've ever been into spoon carving, you will love this book. Not only does it provide wonderful guidance, but it is SO lovely to just sit by the fire with and float along in inspiration. I adored it!

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

The culture of spoon carving seems much more active in the British Isles. I want so badly to go to Spoonfest and/or take a class with this wonderful man.

[Tim Butram · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to carve spoons now.

[Erneilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An expression of a philosophy regarding the use of natural materials to create useful objects that I fully endorse.

[Ronnie Tucker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice looking book, but it doesn't tell you how to carve a spoon. You make a blank using an axe and it's vague about the bowl. Last third has some nice photos for inspiration.

[Eliot Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice read. Good dose of the green wood philosophy, and some high-level discussion about carving 16 different spoons. If you're already bitten by the carving bug, you'll like this a lot.

[KE Jeglum · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. Part practical, part philosophy, entirely intriguing. And the author's name is Barn The Spoon - whadd'ya want, fool? Good read indeed.

[Tom Dixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very informative and easy to read book. Plenty of pictures and clear explanations, easy to read writing style. My only complaint if you can call it that is that Barn the Spoon makes it all sound easy, the practice is much trickier to master, but I feel motivated to give it a go now.

[Frederik · Rating 4 out of 5]

De liefde voor het hout, de ambacht en het spelend leren weet 'Barn the Spoon' in dit boekje prachtig over te brengen. Het is geen tutorial boek, dan is het Houtwerk van hem beter. Maar dit boekje, met de verhalen over zijn persoonlijke verleden, maakt het een mooie verdiepende aanvulling. Het zal vast veel harten hebben gewonnen voor 'de nieuwe houtcultuur'.
Oh, en de foto's zijn ook fantastisch.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to dip into for anyone starting out in green wood spoon carving. Some top tips and inspiring pics of all the spoons featured. I’d enjoy a diagram or two, for information on techniques that were new to me.
It works because the writer also has a bunch of resources online to follow up with.

Happy spooning!

[Patricia Reyes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A guide to the art of spoon carving step by step picking the right wood guide to carving the art the end product this master spoon carver shows us.Fun to read easy to learn a fun educational book of lessons&doh those gorgeous spoons.