kuksa carving.

 It's great when Alan turns up with his truck.

The last time he visited he left a good load of Birch.

I have customers waiting for me to carve out some kuksa.

I spent last week carving to keep up with orders.

I carved some of my goose ale hens the week before, this week I was on Beaver tail kuksa.

It's a design I came up with some years ago, not the easiest thing to carve as it involves chopping through a fair bit of end grain.

I have a few axes in my tool basket, enough to get the job done and share out when I have visitors.

I'm not a collector.

The H. Roselli bearded Axe is the best for this job in my oppinion.

I don't usually draw out or mark when carving, but on a Beaver tail I find it useful to mark out the round of the bowl, that's all.

A couple of well placed 'V' cuts and we're off to a good start.

Some shaping at the front end and a 'V' stop cut at the rear.

Chopping the waste wood from the back of the handle is a job that requires patience and a small pinch of accuracy.

Some years ago I wrote a blow by blow account...

Carving a Kuksa

I've changed the design a little over the years, made it a little more compact.

I had a couple of false starts during the week, radial splits at the front of the bowl.

This happens sometimes. It splits to test ones determination....

Keep on keeping on eh ?

At the start of the job, when the billet is split, cut off the first couple of inches, this should put you in a good place to start.

The hook knife is the next tool employed.

Super sharp with a nice curved back is the way forward.

Or use your best gouges.

I dont have any.

A nice Kuksa.

And useful chips for firelighting.

Now to finish off with a good sharp MiniMac.

I started the Beaver tail below on the morning of May day or Beltane as we call it in these parts.

And finished it by evening.

I needed the bottle of beer by the days end... J;-)

The final job is to oil the Kuksa and polish up the camera....

After the beer it's easy to get those jobs muddled...

Take great care.... J;-)

I'm taking a few days off now, but I'll be back at it mid week.

Enjoy...

J;-)