Jon - I vote a hearty YES to videos making and using utensils, barrels, furniture and even wagon wheels! We've seen you making and using wooden canoes, now we need to see them in use more often. That lathe is sweet!
Randy, coopering or barrel making is often specific to the woods available in the area and iron hooped barrels/buckets were often purchased, reused or imported into areas because the area didn't have the correct wood available to make a barrel that would seal properly after setting the ends and the rings. Even to this day, a quality cooper can earn a nice living from this skilled trade. The other items sound like great projects for the Nutmeg clan!
@@deathsheadknight2137 it can make you puke. I've only done it a few times. Definitely you will puke if you eat that much on an empty stomach. The weird thing is. It takes about four hours for you to start feeling the effects. Then it can last for 24 hrs or more. And I'm not talking about that big of a wooden spoon like he made. Just a normal tablespoon.
@@deathsheadknight2137 here's the easy answer. I went to college in the 90's. And that semester I happened to be taking botany and found a book in the library called Green Medicine that had a chapter on nutmeg. I don't recommend it though. It's a rough ride.
In addition to hallucinations a few spoonfuls of nutmeg can melt holes in your stomach lining and cause your stomach acids to kill you from the inside out.
Use that honing compound on the "rough" side of the leather. The "skin" side is for final honing. I was working on another snuff spoon when I got the notification for this video. Small world.
I received that spoon carving set for Christmas last year, it's really nice. They come absolutely razor sharp out of the box, and what Jon didn't mention is they also come with a pack of bandaids, which you might need. I have not needed them yet though. The small chip carving knife also comes in handy as a marking knife for laying out joinery.
For wood utensils hear are some tricks I have picked up. 1 you can friction burn in bee's wax before taking it off the lathe. For a waterproof seal. 2. About once a month wet a paper towel with a teaspoon of cooking oil then rub it into the wooden utensils to prevent cracking. Edit fond a better mixture called wood butter. To make it liquefy 1 part beeswax. Then add two parts warmed but not boiling food-grade mineral oil. Then allow to cool before rubbing your utensils with it. 3 Never wash wood in a dishwasher, including wood-handled knives. This will dry out and crack the wood. As for cleaning hot water is fine but don't leave them soaking in it. For long periods of time. These steps will keep a wood idem around indefinitely.
I showed this to my six year old daughter, and she was very interested in seeing how the spoon and bowl were made. I'm so excited too see her have an interest in history, especially because we live now at what was once a Continental Army encampment. Colonial history is very much local history for us, and I'm so glad your video sparked an interest in my daughter.
My favourite part of this channel is the effect it has on grabbing the attention of children - it's one thing to know we use something everyday, it's whole other thing for a child to be curious enough where it comes from. And not just that... from materials they would NEVER associate with making a bowl and spoon! Makes me smile :)
I wish you and the Townsend's crew would give the actual man-hours required for these projects. Just to give these projects some prospective of the effort required. Have a good day.
A larger spoon depending on techniques, size and skill can take between 1-3 hours. A bowl of that sort can be done in less than a day. Search "Robin Wood" in youtube and gaze upon a modern professional pole lathe turners work.
Making and then using and care of utensils, please. I always wanted to make a spoon and bowl but I waited too long and don’t have the dexterity any more. I’ve been a docent for over thirty years and have gotten a chance to learn a lot of living history crafts so no complaining here. Looking back it’s a wonder I was able to do as many things as I did. Love your videos been watching them for ages and they’ve been so helpful…thanks!
Just like any skill, dexterity has to be practiced and used often; you can still do it! I have a 92 year old grandpa who still shreds on flamenco guitar
@@ianfinrir8724 Nope. Thats just a copout from people who don't want to put work into learning new things. It's either that or explaining away that others play because of their "natural talent"
I'm in the process of putting together a woodworking shop with to the most part for using hand tool. I am hoping to make my spring lathe next month. I was so glad to see the process of turning the bowl. I was wondering how the wood was centered for turning. I really love how your videos are progressing to include other aspects to the time period other than cooking, which I still love watching. Both the spoon and bowl look excellent. Thanks very much for sharing
nice im doing the same eventually lol. if you havent you should watch wood by wright hes a wood worker that uses mostly hand tools ruclips.net/channel/UCbMtJOly6TpO5MQQnNwkCHg
If you're considering making a lathe, I can also recommend checking out Mr Chickadee's channel, he made a great treadle lathe with a flywheel and everything, it works amazing!
Really awesome watching you make that spoon. It brought back memories of watching my late grandfather chopping and refining pine wood for his woven baskets when I was little.
Slow mo on the lathe *with* the sound! That was great. Both pieces really make me appreciate the patience and perseverance needed to supply the basic luxuries.
Hello John! I have been following your channel for about a year now and unfortunately due to my work schedule I miss the live nutmeg tavern streams!!! I love your videos and I am VERY into history... I just purchased the pocket spice kit and a bottle of nutmeg! Love them! Thank you for the great information and not letting these skills get lost in the past!
Not only did this inspire me to get back to carving spoons again, I bet it will allow me to do so with much less wear and tear on my hands and arms. Some of the techniques you showed were really helpful to see, as I taught myself and hadn't thought of them. Thank you for inspiring people to be makers again!
It's really unbelievable how what is actually a business can come across to have so much passion. You must absolutely love what you do. Extremely inspirational for entrepreneurs
Hi, I live in a simple English country cottage built before 1690 (of timbers and wattle and daub) and your videos are fascinating, they give me a wonderful insight into what life would have been like for the people who lived here in the17th and 18th centuries. Not so very different then from America. Thank you so much, please keep on producing these great videos, an amazing archive to dip into! Delfine
@@Pygar2 a safe and reliable drinking water supply caused more than one homestead to be abandoned, so I wouldn't be surprised that Foxfire would go in depth on the subject.
Love you videos and this one brought back memories. One is a trip into the BWCAW of Northern Minnesota, the first morning we find my brother left the spatula at home. Like a spoon you need one for just about every meal. With a belt knife I carved one before breakfast, pancakes, and over the next few days is was fine tuned and seasoned.
Wow. I would love to know more about how 18th century folk made and used simple tools. This is such a wonderful channel. Thank you all so much for your enduring work!
Everyone on this youtube channel are very talented. So much knowledge. Without channels like this we would lose our history. Thank you so much, I can't stop watching and learning from this channel. That lathe is amazing.
Spoon and bowl are beautiful. Your videos are entertaining, and informative. It’s a pleasure to dive into the various topics and be able to smile and learn at the same time. Thank you very much.
Absolutely love this episode! Seeing the tools and crafting is a real treat. Please continue putting out episodes where simple every day items of the common man are made!
Decided I wanted to start learning to carve/whittle and did a quick search on RUclips. I was delighted when the amazing Townsends channel popped up. It's a bit like an old friend casually saying, "Oh, I know how to do that. Let me show you!"
Not only are your videos getting better over time but you as a character is developing a lot. When you first started this you were a lot more serious but now you seem to be enjoying it and I can see it. Well done on the utensils sir hopefully they serve you well in your cabin.
I'm really digging the turn into historical craftsmanship this channel has taken. I could be wrong, but every now and then I seem to catch a glimpse of a daunted expression. But how many pioneers and/or colonials were master woodworkers? So then that too, fits the channel's stated mission. Keep it up guys, it's really cool to see! 🍻😁👍
Thanks guys. I really enjoyed this one. Please, more like this. How to make, and what to make, for various situations. Useful, Post-apocolyptic things.
I just love spoon carving, it’s one of my favourite pastimes! And it’s great the learn how to (safely) use an ax and a knife for very precise and detailed work but also to learn about the woods when you carve. Which are grainy and which are very hard or soft, the colours of different wood types, it’s just great! I would recommend everyone to just pick up an ax, a knife, pencil and a piece of green wood and give it a try!
Iwatch some woodworking channels, and I'm fascinated when they turn things with modern high-speed motor-driven lathes. But things proceed very differently when you turn wood at low speeds. And hand-carving a spoon is an artistic endeavour. A good wooden spoon feels comfortable in the hand, and it's easy to imagine that the food will taste better because of that personal feeling. But you're going to need a metal kettle to cook something to put in the bowl.
Building a log cabin on your RUclips channel is one thing, it's these little projects that really make history come alive. Early settlers couldn't just pop round the store to buy what they needed, since such stores would have been many days' travel away from their homestead, so they would have had to make most of the everyday items they needed themselves. Please keeping making these great videos and I hope we are going to see some foraging and gardening on this channel as well.
You guys are very talented and I do love watching your videos. While I couldn’t go on a camping trip and make these utensils for dinner, it is amazing watching you making these.
Such wonderful history being made explaining history. I have a feeling that the way things are being played out in our world, we are going to need these skills again because we are all going back to subsistence farming and hunting and making our own tools and utensils...
Absolutely gorgeous examples of utilitarian art! I love carving spoons I have done a few in my time there’s just something amazing about finding their shapes in the branches and logs.
Woodworking like this was done during the winter in rural Poland :) There was less work, not much entertainment, traveling was obstructed by snow - so people carved utensils and wooden parts of farming tools, made wicker baskets and so on. My Grandma had a big, heavy wooden ladle made by hand, and a kneading through carved from one big piece of lumber. All her baskets were made by Grandpa from wicker he'd cut at nearby river every year.
I'm pretty sure the darker wood in the middle of the log is the pith since I didn't see Jon remove it. The pith should be removed before carving to prevent the finished product (spoon) from cracking. But you both did a great job. The tools do look incredibly sharp. I love watching a sharp tool cut through wood like butter.
You guys have great content [all of which should be taught to those who pay too little attention to our history] and you are delightful folks to listen to! 🤠
this was a great video. the spoon and bowl are BEAUTIFUL. i immediately thought of myself sitting my child down and having an internship with the master craftsman.
Ahh, I was wondering if you'd need specialized tools to hollow out the curvature of the spoon. Very satisfying to watch 👌 -Do you lacquer the utensils at all? In Japan, we use a sort of mixture made from the sap/resin of a kind of pine tree.
Usually, for items that will be used on food, a non toxic oil is applied to seal and protect the wood. I would be interested to learn what exact oils they would have used in the 18th century
There used to be a show on PBS called 'The Woodwright's Shop' and one episode dealt with spoon making. One method used was to carve the general shape of the spoon much as was shown here. Afterward, a hot coal from a fire was placed on the bowl of the spoon and allowed to burn the wood. The coal would be removed before it set the spoon on fire and the scorched wood would be scraped out of the spoon. The process was repeated until the spoon was the desired depth. Alternately, instead of a coal, a piece of hot iron or steel was used.
Anonymous Accordionist My guesses are flaxseed or linseed oil, corn oil, hemp oil, cottonseed oil, and walnut oil, based on native plants of North America. If you have an expeller press, you can make these oils.
As a guy who uses a lathe regularly I cannot imagine how timing consuming turning that bowl must be. Great job on both pieces. It’s not as easy as you make it look.
Oh ! I enjoyed watching this ! Your bowl and spoon are perfect ! I have had a go at this and carved a spoon which I am so proud of . I just need a few more tools to carve a bowl . The tools are quite expensive .
You always have such great content in your videos. I’m really enjoying everything you have been doing at the homestead site. I work in an archives, it is so nice to see people who put the effort into their research, and it is very clear that you spend as much or more time researching what you are doing as you do filming the videos themselves. The Townsends channel (and everyone who works on it) are excellent ambassadors for anyone interested in early American history.
100% would love to see more wood working videos. Just started making spoons myself. Maybe one showing how to sharpen each tool. Just got my BeaverCraft set wait to use it.
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!that is really cool. And with what is going on in the country right now, it sure would not hurt for the people in this country to learn the basics of survival again. Thank you.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm curious if John has ever been down to Branson Missouri to see some of the craftsmen they have down there. Specifically in Silver Dollar City. I understand that the time period setting is late 1800s, so not exactly your cup of tea (they use steam for some of their crafting) but their craftsmen in glass, pottery, woodworking, leather, blacksmithing and more are outstanding and very interesting to watch and converse with.
My son is just starting to love going back through all your videos. He's 8 and wants to learn more about the old ways. We will be watching the live this Friday and he wants to ask you some questions. Looking forward to seeing his face if you could please reply on the live!
This is awesome. My favorite things about summer and fall, was going to the historic villages and festivals...sadly all those around my area are canceled. I would love to see more utensil building and how our ancestors built a inviting home from the ground up.
2:22 Surprisingly, *balsa* is a hardwood (which is defined as "angiosperm trees that reproduce by flowers, and have broad leaves", not by how hard the wood is).
Yes for more carpentry! I always wondered as a child how people made smooth, round objects before modern lathes were a thing. Child me would have loved your channel! I also love it now, but.. you get the idea!
This was so much fun to watch!!! Please make more of these type of episodes! Also, can you get some footage using the utensils? Because that would make me geek out sooooo hard!!! This video really helped me understand why the tradition of love spoons as romantic gifts became so popular. A man that can carve will keep his woman's kitchen well supplied with utensils!
Next time try out green birch. It's one of the easiest woods to carve and turn and it makes for a lot better finish since it almost doesn't fry and splinter at all. When you cave it, it feels more like cutting plastic than wood. Another traditional carving wood is alder. It is lighter than birch, but you can carve more intricate shapes in it. Best regards the patternmaker.
I have a unfinished spoon in my haversack that I bring to events. If I'm not cleaning my musket I'm whittling away on my spoon. Still haven't finished it yet
Sir Frederick , you might know: would they have finished the wood in anything back then? Like soak it in something, a wax or an oil or something, to make it last longer or maybe be more waterproof? Or was spoon making so common that once one is dirtied they just made another? Thanks!
@@tmihnahmygahn2789 Tools wouldve been likely sealed with Corn oil, and beeswax. Tools couldve also been burnished, but its not necessary for usable utensils
Jon - I vote a hearty YES to videos making and using utensils, barrels, furniture and even wagon wheels! We've seen you making and using wooden canoes, now we need to see them in use more often.
That lathe is sweet!
Randy, coopering or barrel making is often specific to the woods available in the area and iron hooped barrels/buckets were often purchased, reused or imported into areas because the area didn't have the correct wood available to make a barrel that would seal properly after setting the ends and the rings. Even to this day, a quality cooper can earn a nice living from this skilled trade.
The other items sound like great projects for the Nutmeg clan!
@@Bear-cm1vl Sounds like a great learning opportunity! Plus a fun one.
Honest nutmeg man makes a bowl and spoon
A few large spoonfuls of nutmeg will cause hallucinations.
@@deathsheadknight2137 it can make you puke. I've only done it a few times. Definitely you will puke if you eat that much on an empty stomach. The weird thing is. It takes about four hours for you to start feeling the effects. Then it can last for 24 hrs or more. And I'm not talking about that big of a wooden spoon like he made. Just a normal tablespoon.
@@deathsheadknight2137 here's the easy answer. I went to college in the 90's. And that semester I happened to be taking botany and found a book in the library called Green Medicine that had a chapter on nutmeg. I don't recommend it though. It's a rough ride.
@@deathsheadknight2137 I've also done LSD a few times as well.
In addition to hallucinations a few spoonfuls of nutmeg can melt holes in your stomach lining and cause your stomach acids to kill you from the inside out.
They say he carved it himself, from a bigger spoon..
Serioulsy, though, love the channel! Always informative and lets the experts speak.
Hopefully, next episode we see Jon wearing his chili boots, eating a chili pepper grown by Guatemalan psychiatric patients.
What are you referencing?
@@dandanthedandan7558 The Simpsons.
Gives "spooning" a whole new meaning!
Remember to rub some nutmeg all over that bowl and spoon to "season" them .
Adam Ragusea / Townsends crossover ep: Why I Season My Hand Carved Utensils Instead Of My Steak
Lol!
@@Triptophantastic Sounds like a good title for a book! Lol
G slam yep lol
Use that honing compound on the "rough" side of the leather. The "skin" side is for final honing. I was working on another snuff spoon when I got the notification for this video. Small world.
If you're using an oiled stone you can wipe the residual material onto the leather and that acts as a honing compound.
@@moosemaimer good tip.
Depends on the leather and how much silica.
Smooth side with chromium oxide is great for honing and polishing.
how do you know he wasn't doing "final honing"? also the skin side is called the grain side and that's the side i always use for my knives.
@@karlhungusjr1 normally honing compound isn't applied to the grain side. "Skin side" is easier for more people to understand.
I received that spoon carving set for Christmas last year, it's really nice. They come absolutely razor sharp out of the box, and what Jon didn't mention is they also come with a pack of bandaids, which you might need. I have not needed them yet though.
The small chip carving knife also comes in handy as a marking knife for laying out joinery.
Where do get those carving tool? They look great!
@@appalachianpreparedness133 Townsends.us sells them. They are made in Ukraine. Fantastic tools.
@@Cadwaladr thank you 😊
These kind of videos make me hopeful during this hard time . People years ago had it much worse and they persevered . Thanks
@OldPossum Seriously? 163k dead in the US, 732k dead worldwide?
@OldPossum Good for you for staying positive .
@OldPossum A hard time where far too many of these skills are lost to the average adult.
@@carmenclemons2556 Is there any lie stupid enough that you won't fall for it?
It's so nice to follow the development of the homestead. Looking forward to more!
Much more coming very soon!
For wood utensils hear are some tricks I have picked up.
1 you can friction burn in bee's wax before taking it off the lathe. For a waterproof seal.
2. About once a month wet a paper towel with a teaspoon of cooking oil then rub it into the wooden utensils to prevent cracking. Edit fond a better mixture called wood butter. To make it liquefy 1 part beeswax. Then add two parts warmed but not boiling food-grade mineral oil. Then allow to cool before rubbing your utensils with it.
3 Never wash wood in a dishwasher, including wood-handled knives. This will dry out and crack the wood.
As for cleaning hot water is fine but don't leave them soaking in it. For long periods of time.
These steps will keep a wood idem around indefinitely.
Yep. Sounds advice. I have a cutting board I made in shop 35-36 years ago that I use every day just about.
I showed this to my six year old daughter, and she was very interested in seeing how the spoon and bowl were made. I'm so excited too see her have an interest in history, especially because we live now at what was once a Continental Army encampment. Colonial history is very much local history for us, and I'm so glad your video sparked an interest in my daughter.
My favourite part of this channel is the effect it has on grabbing the attention of children - it's one thing to know we use something everyday, it's whole other thing for a child to be curious enough where it comes from. And not just that... from materials they would NEVER associate with making a bowl and spoon! Makes me smile :)
I assume all those wood shavings would be collected up and saved for starting fires?
I bet so. Waste not want not used to be a practice that most used.
&'m hoping this year they do a fireplace video- no music, no talking, just a nice popping fire to watch and hear...
It could also be composted or used as a mulch.
Too wet. They'd have to dry for a good while.
Could probably also be used to reinforce the mud insulation between the logs of the cabin
I wish you and the Townsend's crew would give the actual man-hours required for these projects. Just to give these projects some prospective of the effort required. Have a good day.
A larger spoon depending on techniques, size and skill can take between 1-3 hours. A bowl of that sort can be done in less than a day. Search "Robin Wood" in youtube and gaze upon a modern professional pole lathe turners work.
@@allenreel6345 thanks for the robin wood suggestion.
Trent//// SOMEBODY THAT WAS SKILLED IN THE TRADES COULD TURN THESE OUT PRETTY QUICK!!!!!
Spoon takes between 1 to 3 hours depending how fussy and skilled you are.
Using a thin enough branch and if you don't care what it looks like, a spoon can be carved in 30-45 minutes.
Expertise in fine axe work is a hallmark of this channel that shows what the settlers were able to do
Great to see the tools being demonstrated. Appreciate all of your time and videos.
Thanks!
Making and then using and care of utensils, please. I always wanted to make a spoon and bowl but I waited too long and don’t have the dexterity any more. I’ve been a docent for over thirty years and have gotten a chance to learn a lot of living history crafts so no complaining here. Looking back it’s a wonder I was able to do as many things as I did. Love your videos been watching them for ages and they’ve been so helpful…thanks!
Just like any skill, dexterity has to be practiced and used often; you can still do it! I have a 92 year old grandpa who still shreds on flamenco guitar
@@RhodokTribesman Yeah, but Grandpa has probably been playing guitar since he was a kid.
@@ianfinrir8724 Nope. Thats just a copout from people who don't want to put work into learning new things. It's either that or explaining away that others play because of their "natural talent"
I'm in the process of putting together a woodworking shop with to the most part for using hand tool. I am hoping to make my spring lathe next month. I was so glad to see the process of turning the bowl. I was wondering how the wood was centered for turning. I really love how your videos are progressing to include other aspects to the time period other than cooking, which I still love watching. Both the spoon and bowl look excellent.
Thanks very much for sharing
nice im doing the same eventually lol. if you havent you should watch wood by wright hes a wood worker that uses mostly hand tools ruclips.net/channel/UCbMtJOly6TpO5MQQnNwkCHg
If you're considering making a lathe, I can also recommend checking out Mr Chickadee's channel, he made a great treadle lathe with a flywheel and everything, it works amazing!
Really awesome watching you make that spoon. It brought back memories of watching my late grandfather chopping and refining pine wood for his woven baskets when I was little.
My grandfather used to turn bowls and I have always viewed the act as a type of magic. As always, a great video.
Yes! Make and ues the utensils in the kitchen!
Slow mo on the lathe *with* the sound! That was great. Both pieces really make me appreciate the patience and perseverance needed to supply the basic luxuries.
I couldn't stop looking at your handmade machine , extraordinary technics , so inspiring. 👍
Loved how you went back and forth between the projects! Great video!
Hello John! I have been following your channel for about a year now and unfortunately due to my work schedule I miss the live nutmeg tavern streams!!! I love your videos and I am VERY into history... I just purchased the pocket spice kit and a bottle of nutmeg! Love them! Thank you for the great information and not letting these skills get lost in the past!
Not only did this inspire me to get back to carving spoons again, I bet it will allow me to do so with much less wear and tear on my hands and arms. Some of the techniques you showed were really helpful to see, as I taught myself and hadn't thought of them. Thank you for inspiring people to be makers again!
It's really unbelievable how what is actually a business can come across to have so much passion. You must absolutely love what you do. Extremely inspirational for entrepreneurs
Brilliant work making that bowl.completed with hand made tools. I was scared the neck of the spoon was going to be too thin. Great vid. Thanks
Hi, I live in a simple English country cottage built before 1690 (of timbers and wattle and daub) and your videos are fascinating, they give me a wonderful insight into what life would have been like for the people who lived here in the17th and 18th centuries. Not so very different then from America. Thank you so much, please keep on producing these great videos, an amazing archive to dip into! Delfine
These videos should be loaded onto rugged solar powered laptops for when we need to restart society. Townsend's is such a treasure.
honestly what an idea i love it
Jon, I love your videos, i have an idea for a future video, you guys should carve out a well so you have a supply of water for the cabin!
That's on the table for sure...
@@townsends the water table?
The Foxfire books cover it; more to it than you'd think...
Yea, can use that spoon and bowl to carve the Well ;)
@@Pygar2 a safe and reliable drinking water supply caused more than one homestead to be abandoned, so I wouldn't be surprised that Foxfire would go in depth on the subject.
Love you videos and this one brought back memories. One is a trip into the BWCAW of Northern Minnesota, the first morning we find my brother left the spatula at home. Like a spoon you need one for just about every meal. With a belt knife I carved one before breakfast, pancakes, and over the next few days is was fine tuned and seasoned.
Are you carving a wooden knife? With a knife?
"You got a better way?" -Dwight Schrute
During these trying times I can always count on your videos to make me happy. Thank you.
Wow. I would love to know more about how 18th century folk made and used simple tools. This is such a wonderful channel. Thank you all so much for your enduring work!
Everyone on this youtube channel are very talented. So much knowledge. Without channels like this we would lose our history. Thank you so much, I can't stop watching and learning from this channel. That lathe is amazing.
I do so enjoy seeing the methods used to create things of necessity out of necessarily anything at hand or within the homestead.
Spoon and bowl are beautiful. Your videos are entertaining, and informative. It’s a pleasure to dive into the various topics and be able to smile and learn at the same time. Thank you very much.
Townsends videos always make me happy. Thank you for doing what you do.
You guys always make us all happy. You're part of my chill time tonight. Cheers old friends. ✌😎
Absolutely love this episode! Seeing the tools and crafting is a real treat. Please continue putting out episodes where simple every day items of the common man are made!
I still really love these videos centered around making tools/implements/furniture that supported everyday life (and is still practical today).
Another amazing video that shows just how complicated something as simple as a bowl and spoon was to make just a few hundred years ago. Super cool.
Decided I wanted to start learning to carve/whittle and did a quick search on RUclips. I was delighted when the amazing Townsends channel popped up. It's a bit like an old friend casually saying, "Oh, I know how to do that. Let me show you!"
I am thoroughly impressed one of the best episodes I’ve seen you do at the cabin, I like them all but this one was excellent.
Not only are your videos getting better over time but you as a character is developing a lot. When you first started this you were a lot more serious but now you seem to be enjoying it and I can see it. Well done on the utensils sir hopefully they serve you well in your cabin.
I'm really digging the turn into historical craftsmanship this channel has taken.
I could be wrong, but every now and then I seem to catch a glimpse of a daunted expression. But how many pioneers and/or colonials were master woodworkers? So then that too, fits the channel's stated mission.
Keep it up guys, it's really cool to see!
🍻😁👍
How did I miss this episode? I have hand-carved a few spoons myself. Such a satisfying hobby!
Thanks guys. I really enjoyed this one. Please, more like this. How to make, and what to make, for various situations.
Useful, Post-apocolyptic things.
I just love spoon carving, it’s one of my favourite pastimes! And it’s great the learn how to (safely) use an ax and a knife for very precise and detailed work but also to learn about the woods when you carve. Which are grainy and which are very hard or soft, the colours of different wood types, it’s just great!
I would recommend everyone to just pick up an ax, a knife, pencil and a piece of green wood and give it a try!
Iwatch some woodworking channels, and I'm fascinated when they turn things with modern high-speed motor-driven lathes. But things proceed very differently when you turn wood at low speeds. And hand-carving a spoon is an artistic endeavour. A good wooden spoon feels comfortable in the hand, and it's easy to imagine that the food will taste better because of that personal feeling. But you're going to need a metal kettle to cook something to put in the bowl.
Building a log cabin on your RUclips channel is one thing, it's these little projects that really make history come alive. Early settlers couldn't just pop round the store to buy what they needed, since such stores would have been many days' travel away from their homestead, so they would have had to make most of the everyday items they needed themselves. Please keeping making these great videos and I hope we are going to see some foraging and gardening on this channel as well.
so where/how did they get all the special metal bits? and specialty carving knives?
@@orbitalair2103 From the aforementioned shops, before setting out to the frontier.
You guys are very talented and I do love watching your videos. While I couldn’t go on a camping trip and make these utensils for dinner, it is amazing watching you making these.
Such wonderful history being made explaining history. I have a feeling that the way things are being played out in our world, we are going to need these skills again because we are all going back to subsistence farming and hunting and making our own tools and utensils...
Absolutely gorgeous examples of utilitarian art! I love carving spoons I have done a few in my time there’s just something amazing about finding their shapes in the branches and logs.
Very good work guys! I am always amazed at the ingenuity of our ancestors! That lathe is awesome!
Would surely like to see more utensils made!
Woodworking like this was done during the winter in rural Poland :) There was less work, not much entertainment, traveling was obstructed by snow - so people carved utensils and wooden parts of farming tools, made wicker baskets and so on. My Grandma had a big, heavy wooden ladle made by hand, and a kneading through carved from one big piece of lumber. All her baskets were made by Grandpa from wicker he'd cut at nearby river every year.
I'm pretty sure the darker wood in the middle of the log is the pith since I didn't see Jon remove it. The pith should be removed before carving to prevent the finished product (spoon) from cracking. But you both did a great job. The tools do look incredibly sharp. I love watching a sharp tool cut through wood like butter.
That lathe was just genius ! It's so incredible to see this kind of tool development. 🤯 One of my favorite episodes.
Another gem. Best channel on RUclips!
Townsends is pretty great 10/10, but give Saxsquatch a try :) you won’t be disappointed.
A very ASMR vibe to this video, especially where Brandon is doing the finish carving on the bowl.
You guys have great content [all of which should be taught to those who pay too little attention to our history] and you are delightful folks to listen to! 🤠
this was a great video. the spoon and bowl are BEAUTIFUL. i immediately thought of myself sitting my child down and having an internship with the master craftsman.
I'll be honest, that manual operated lathe blew my mind. Amazing work, everybody involved!
Ahh, I was wondering if you'd need specialized tools to hollow out the curvature of the spoon. Very satisfying to watch 👌
-Do you lacquer the utensils at all? In Japan, we use a sort of mixture made from the sap/resin of a kind of pine tree.
Usually, for items that will be used on food, a non toxic oil is applied to seal and protect the wood. I would be interested to learn what exact oils they would have used in the 18th century
There used to be a show on PBS called 'The Woodwright's Shop' and one episode dealt with spoon making. One method used was to carve the general shape of the spoon much as was shown here. Afterward, a hot coal from a fire was placed on the bowl of the spoon and allowed to burn the wood. The coal would be removed before it set the spoon on fire and the scorched wood would be scraped out of the spoon. The process was repeated until the spoon was the desired depth. Alternately, instead of a coal, a piece of hot iron or steel was used.
Anonymous Accordionist My guesses are flaxseed or linseed oil, corn oil, hemp oil, cottonseed oil, and walnut oil, based on native plants of North America. If you have an expeller press, you can make these oils.
Rubbing beeswax into the wood actually is a great treatment for the wood.
Rubbing beeswax into the wood actually is a great treatment for the wood.
As a guy who uses a lathe regularly I cannot imagine how timing consuming turning that bowl must be. Great job on both pieces. It’s not as easy as you make it look.
The lathe is amazing!
Humans can be so industrious! Bowl and spoon were awesome too!
Great work guys Love to see how the process was done back in the day 🙂Love the spoon .
Really enjoying the 'tool' series. My compliments to the person editing this into a very informative yet very succinct video.
Oh ! I enjoyed watching this ! Your bowl and spoon are perfect ! I have had a go at this and carved a spoon which I am so proud of . I just need a few more tools to carve a bowl . The tools are quite expensive .
You always have such great content in your videos. I’m really enjoying everything you have been doing at the homestead site. I work in an archives, it is so nice to see people who put the effort into their research, and it is very clear that you spend as much or more time researching what you are doing as you do filming the videos themselves. The Townsends channel (and everyone who works on it) are excellent ambassadors for anyone interested in early American history.
LOVED THIS EPISODE. Enthralling, didnt think working with wood was so beautiful.
Very impressive work guys. That lathe is so awesome. How anybody could dislike these videos is just mind boggling. Great video. 👍
The bowl and spoon look incredible! Great job, Brandon and Jon.
Enjoy seeing how things are made! Thanks so much.
I seriously love watching these videos. It's so cool to watch pieces of wood and such become what you guys create.
Now this is something different!!!! I enjoyed the cooking but Im having a great time with this as well!
MAKE MORE!!!!
you guys are freaking incredible crafters, engineers, teachers
These videos are so good, makes me realize how wasteful i am though. should work on that.
100% would love to see more wood working videos. Just started making spoons myself. Maybe one showing how to sharpen each tool. Just got my BeaverCraft set wait to use it.
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!that is really cool. And with what is going on in the country right now, it sure would not hurt for the people in this country to learn the basics of survival again. Thank you.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
More videos like this one please! These skills are beyond valuable.
So much appreciation with their craft, just makes you want to see them make more, Great video gentlemen
I'm curious if John has ever been down to Branson Missouri to see some of the craftsmen they have down there. Specifically in Silver Dollar City. I understand that the time period setting is late 1800s, so not exactly your cup of tea (they use steam for some of their crafting) but their craftsmen in glass, pottery, woodworking, leather, blacksmithing and more are outstanding and very interesting to watch and converse with.
My mom actually has a blown glass mug from there. It's totally awesome looking, and no one's allowed to touch it.
My son is just starting to love going back through all your videos. He's 8 and wants to learn more about the old ways. We will be watching the live this Friday and he wants to ask you some questions. Looking forward to seeing his face if you could please reply on the live!
Another great and informative video. It is pleasant to watch connoisseurs of colonial times keep the spirit alive through modern times.
This is awesome. My favorite things about summer and fall, was going to the historic villages and festivals...sadly all those around my area are canceled. I would love to see more utensil building and how our ancestors built a inviting home from the ground up.
Definitely would love to see more videos like this. Super great video
I'll never take my wooden utensils for granted again! Great demonstration!👍
Some of my ancestors in the mid 1800s made bowls for a living. It does me good to see how they did it.
2:22 Surprisingly, *balsa* is a hardwood (which is defined as "angiosperm trees that reproduce by flowers, and have broad leaves", not by how hard the wood is).
I would love a video on how that lathe was made. Great video as always!
They made a video of that - you should be able to find it on the channel.
that is brilliant! beautiful work Jon and everybody involved, thank you!
I'm trying to make a spoon myself but all I have is a dull ax, it didn't work. Glad I found this video so I know what tools I need
Fantastic video! I want to make a wooden spoon for my granddaughters in the future. This is a fantastic video!
Carve more this stuff is really interesting. I enjoy watching you guys make stuff. Food, cabin, id love to see the billow restoration process
Yes for more carpentry! I always wondered as a child how people made smooth, round objects before modern lathes were a thing. Child me would have loved your channel! I also love it now, but.. you get the idea!
one of the best videos yet, love the practical application!
That's a mighty fine tulip shovel there John!
This was so much fun to watch!!! Please make more of these type of episodes! Also, can you get some footage using the utensils? Because that would make me geek out sooooo hard!!! This video really helped me understand why the tradition of love spoons as romantic gifts became so popular. A man that can carve will keep his woman's kitchen well supplied with utensils!
Next time try out green birch. It's one of the easiest woods to carve and turn and it makes for a lot better finish since it almost doesn't fry and splinter at all. When you cave it, it feels more like cutting plastic than wood. Another traditional carving wood is alder. It is lighter than birch, but you can carve more intricate shapes in it.
Best regards the patternmaker.
I have a unfinished spoon in my haversack that I bring to events. If I'm not cleaning my musket I'm whittling away on my spoon. Still haven't finished it yet
Sir Frederick , you might know: would they have finished the wood in anything back then? Like soak it in something, a wax or an oil or something, to make it last longer or maybe be more waterproof? Or was spoon making so common that once one is dirtied they just made another? Thanks!
@@Oltoir I've always "refreshed" my wooden bowls with mineral oil (not spirits). I think just using it would season it.
@@SirFrederick No no; wrong.
They would use waxes and oil to finish it, and it is necessary to regularly re-apply it every once in a while.
What sort of oils would be used to seal the utensils?linseed?
@@tmihnahmygahn2789 Tools wouldve been likely sealed with Corn oil, and beeswax.
Tools couldve also been burnished, but its not necessary for usable utensils