Saw this when it first came out and it inspired me to try some kolrosing. Worked great and everyone who sees my spoons is wowed by the simple yet elegant designs and cant believe its walnut oil and coffee grounds! Hardest part for me is drawing the design accurately, particularly the basket weave. One thing I did find useful was to use a Staedtler eraser to lightly remove the pencil marks - leaves a slightly cleaner surface. Great video, well explained and demonstrated - thanks.
Oils absorbed into fibrous materials can be prone to spontaneous combustion & the worst culprit is Linseed oil. It is unlikely, but it is always best to leave rags & tissues outside of the house overnight or soak them in water right away. You could also place them in a metal bin with a metal lid. You might like to look at Mike Mahoney's walnut oil. I'll try Kolrosing now, that was a great video, well done & thanks for posting.
Yes very good points. I have a wood burning stove & I just burn them on principle for safety. Linseed is one of the worst as you say & I've heard of friend's workshop bins catching on fire from this heating during polymerisation. If I didn't mention that in the vid - shame on me 😅.
Would a swivel knife for leather craft be ok to use for this marking technique? It's got the same tip and it can spin so you can twist the knife tip between your fingertips
Interesting question. I think you might struggle to maintain the pressure needed to do kolrosing with a swivel knife & make accurate incisions. I emboss leather the traditional way so I don't have a lot of experience with swivel knives but I think they are usually no where near as sharp as kolrosing blades. You could try it & find out. Kolrosing blades are pretty easy to make. An old carbon steel drill bit ground to a point set in a handle will do it.
Beautiful! Never heard of this but excited to try it. Recently found out that I'm Swedish (along with Scottish) so have been looking for traditional arts. Your explanation was fantastic! Thank you!
Martin, I've watched other Kolrosing videos and yours seemed to be the best. In a lot of the other videos the design is either blurry or diffuse or the design is difficult to see or the wood around the design is messy. Your finish is the one I like best.
Great video, Martin. Thanks. I've only started carving spoons recently and come across the kolrosing technique. I also live in Scotland but finding it hard to get my hands on wood for carving. Looking forward to watching more of your videos. 👍
Thanks DG. It is a great way of decorating bland wood or adding more embellishment. A good source of wood is your local tree surgeon. Ask them for logs when they are taking down or pruning a hardwood.
Thank you for watching - I am glad you got some information from the video & thank you for the compliment - anyone can do it with a little practice. Greetings from Scotland
Do you ever use different styluses for different effects? Different pressure to open the fibers wider to get thicker/darker lines? Scrimshaw art is very detailed and they are scratching very hard surfaces therefore can create mush more detail but I am just wondering how much more can be done on ver hard woods in terms of detail and effects. Shadowing, colors, light on dark woods…
Yes I do use different tools from time to time, kolrosing being one of the finest incision tools. Scrimshaw in many ways is similar to kolrosing. The other tools I use are bigger for example palm gouges & chip carving knives. To create thicker lines with kolrosing you simply have to push harder in the cut which with the right blade will open up the cut wider allowing more pigment in. Shadowing can be achieved by making fine dots with the tip of the blade or similar tool & you can also use the straight blade to make hash lines or crossing lines to create shading. If I want a higher level of shading, contrast, colouring I tend to use paints. Kolrosing is great as it takes minimal tools & doesn't hide the grain which paints tend to do.
I just watched Lydia Latham’s kolrosing from the Zoom group Rise Up and Carve. She talks a bit about tools before she does her demo. One stab tool she uses is the point of a compass or as she says any pointy thing like a nail or a screw. I think when pressing harder to bury the head a bit more and make a wider gap you get into crating more resistance which encourages punching harder which can lead to slips/going off track. Maybe it’s done by making progressively deeper passes by going over the line several times? As I get further with it I’ll experiment with more techniques. For now I’ll continue to get the basics down. It’s always nice to learn the basics then find more of the tricks of the trade. Thanks.
Martin I’m working on a “kolrosed” birch knife-handle, but I’ll be dyeing the wood white to create an even greater contrast between the birch and the pattern. Should I apply the dye (btw. a water-based dye) to the wood before the kolrosing process or afterwards?
Hey Martin, I really enjoy watching the whole video. I try doing just a small leaf with my bushcraft knife, I was wondering if you do sell a similar Kolrosing knife, as I can't find any online in the UK. where are you based in Scotland. your spoons look very nice, I still learning how to carve a spoon properly. I am not to your level yet, looks like you are at the university level compare to me. Marvelous Educational video, I learn a lot by just watching you. thanks.
Check out "Hewn and Hone" by Nick Westermann in Wales. They are regularly sold out, but are usually restocked within one or two weeks. Amazing quality.
Thanks Hans, I am glad you have got something from my videos. Carving is something anyone can learn & even though some pick it up quicker than others you can get as good as anyone with practice. I make the occasional knife & I can certainly make one for the right person but I think there will be other knife makers out there with Kolrosing knives in stock. If not send me a private message & we can discuss it. Thanks for watching & happy carving.
Martin, what would happen if you premixed the oil with the coffee grounds (it _is_ real coffee, is it, and dead grounds, not new unused coffee)? I was wondering if the colour of the coffee would mix with the walnut oil and thus give a darker, deeper finish. Also, could you _sieve_ the coffee to get a finer mix?
If you have burnished it properly & left the oil or finish to polymerise then you can wash them. You will have to re-oil them occasionally & I wouldn't recommended scrubbing the kolrosed parts aggressively woth a brush or scourer. Just a gentle wash is all that's needed.
When you were saying about the two most common oils for it, I couldn't be sure what you said the second one was... Sounded like you said _Walnut Oil_ , but my hearing isn't perfect for hearing words spoken. Has something to do with my unusual range of hearing (can hear range of sounds most don't hear).
Talk about cutting... Seems to be ALOT of cuts in the video. Basically every sentence it looks like you had a cut in the video. Your hands' or body in a different position for each sentence.
I really should take more time to get the first take right rather than do lots of editing. It is an issue I am aware of believe me - thanks for commenting
Saw this when it first came out and it inspired me to try some kolrosing. Worked great and everyone who sees my spoons is wowed by the simple yet elegant designs and cant believe its walnut oil and coffee grounds! Hardest part for me is drawing the design accurately, particularly the basket weave. One thing I did find useful was to use a Staedtler eraser to lightly remove the pencil marks - leaves a slightly cleaner surface. Great video, well explained and demonstrated - thanks.
nicely demonstrated. All the best mate.
I'm only half way through the video and you've answered all my questions and more. 👍🏻
Oils absorbed into fibrous materials can be prone to spontaneous combustion & the worst culprit is Linseed oil. It is unlikely, but it is always best to leave rags & tissues outside of the house overnight or soak them in water right away. You could also place them in a metal bin with a metal lid. You might like to look at Mike Mahoney's walnut oil.
I'll try Kolrosing now, that was a great video, well done & thanks for posting.
Yes very good points. I have a wood burning stove & I just burn them on principle for safety. Linseed is one of the worst as you say & I've heard of friend's workshop bins catching on fire from this heating during polymerisation. If I didn't mention that in the vid - shame on me 😅.
You could make tiny little labels for spice bottles...
Well done. Very clear explanation without being laborious or plodding. Good video too. A+
It's easy when you know how to do it. Many thanks great video and demo.
Massively inspiring. Thank you for making something I thought would be hard so easy to learn!
You are a good teacher, thank you from Spain
Would a swivel knife for leather craft be ok to use for this marking technique? It's got the same tip and it can spin so you can twist the knife tip between your fingertips
Interesting question. I think you might struggle to maintain the pressure needed to do kolrosing with a swivel knife & make accurate incisions. I emboss leather the traditional way so I don't have a lot of experience with swivel knives but I think they are usually no where near as sharp as kolrosing blades. You could try it & find out. Kolrosing blades are pretty easy to make. An old carbon steel drill bit ground to a point set in a handle will do it.
Thanks for this great information. Take care.
You're very welcome - thanks for watching
Wow, very informative video and beautiful work. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you very much for watching.
You got an automatic thumbs up as yer a fellow Scott. But I subscribed for the awesome skill set and the brilliant explanation. Cheers!
Fantastic very clear instruction. Really well done.
Really informative video Martin, thanks for sharing your knowledge with us all. You're a star!
Beautiful! Never heard of this but excited to try it. Recently found out that I'm Swedish (along with Scottish) so have been looking for traditional arts. Your explanation was fantastic! Thank you!
Very nice and informative.
Martin, I've watched other Kolrosing videos and yours seemed to be the best. In a lot of the other videos the design is either blurry or diffuse or the design is difficult to see or the wood around the design is messy. Your finish is the one I like best.
Thank you Sue. I'm so glad you liked it.
Great video, Martin. Thanks. I've only started carving spoons recently and come across the kolrosing technique. I also live in Scotland but finding it hard to get my hands on wood for carving. Looking forward to watching more of your videos. 👍
Thanks DG. It is a great way of decorating bland wood or adding more embellishment. A good source of wood is your local tree surgeon. Ask them for logs when they are taking down or pruning a hardwood.
Bu işe ilgi duyan insanlara öğrettiniz ve cesaretlendirdiniz. Teşekkürler.
Great video. The topic was thoroughly covered. Looking forward to giving a go at it soon. Thanks for the tips.
😊good job you do good work Thanks 😊
This was super interesting and helpful, thanks!
Fantastic video, thank you 👍
Thank you!
I nice, complex guide to kolrosing. Well done.
Thanks for the informative video bud! Its very helpful. Beautiful designs and carvings as well! Greetings from Norway.
Thank you for watching - I am glad you got some information from the video & thank you for the compliment - anyone can do it with a little practice. Greetings from Scotland
Do you ever use different styluses for different effects? Different pressure to open the fibers wider to get thicker/darker lines? Scrimshaw art is very detailed and they are scratching very hard surfaces therefore can create mush more detail but I am just wondering how much more can be done on ver hard woods in terms of detail and effects. Shadowing, colors, light on dark woods…
Yes I do use different tools from time to time, kolrosing being one of the finest incision tools. Scrimshaw in many ways is similar to kolrosing. The other tools I use are bigger for example palm gouges & chip carving knives. To create thicker lines with kolrosing you simply have to push harder in the cut which with the right blade will open up the cut wider allowing more pigment in. Shadowing can be achieved by making fine dots with the tip of the blade or similar tool & you can also use the straight blade to make hash lines or crossing lines to create shading. If I want a higher level of shading, contrast, colouring I tend to use paints. Kolrosing is great as it takes minimal tools & doesn't hide the grain which paints tend to do.
I just watched Lydia Latham’s kolrosing from the Zoom group Rise Up and Carve. She talks a bit about tools before she does her demo. One stab tool she uses is the point of a compass or as she says any pointy thing like a nail or a screw. I think when pressing harder to bury the head a bit more and make a wider gap you get into crating more resistance which encourages punching harder which can lead to slips/going off track. Maybe it’s done by making progressively deeper passes by going over the line several times? As I get further with it I’ll experiment with more techniques. For now I’ll continue to get the basics down. It’s always nice to learn the basics then find more of the tricks of the trade. Thanks.
Excellent video Martin. I have tried this several times over the years but you have inspired me to have another go. Thanyou
That's Fab Eric - really pleased to hear that. Best of luck with it.
Oh, this is a _nice_ video!
very helpfull mate! greetings from greece!
Thank you Kram - greetings from Scotland
nicely done! 👍
Nice work, man. I can see that you must have watched the same Adam Hawker video that I did, years ago. haha He's the best at kolrosing spoons. 👍👍
Martin I’m working on a “kolrosed” birch knife-handle, but I’ll be dyeing the wood white to create an even greater contrast between the birch and the pattern. Should I apply the dye (btw. a water-based dye) to the wood before the kolrosing process or afterwards?
what's the name for Saami antler carving and engraving?
Lindo trabalho.
Wow - that’s a strop and some!
Thank you so, so much for this video! Fantastic :)
You're very welcome. Glad you enjoyed it. 👍
Hey Martin, I really enjoy watching the whole video. I try doing just a small leaf with my bushcraft knife, I was wondering if you do sell a similar Kolrosing knife, as I can't find any online in the UK. where are you based in Scotland. your spoons look very nice, I still learning how to carve a spoon properly. I am not to your level yet, looks like you are at the university level compare to me. Marvelous Educational video, I learn a lot by just watching you. thanks.
Check out "Hewn and Hone" by Nick Westermann in Wales. They are regularly sold out, but are usually restocked within one or two weeks. Amazing quality.
Thanks Hans, I am glad you have got something from my videos. Carving is something anyone can learn & even though some pick it up quicker than others you can get as good as anyone with practice. I make the occasional knife & I can certainly make one for the right person but I think there will be other knife makers out there with Kolrosing knives in stock. If not send me a private message & we can discuss it. Thanks for watching & happy carving.
Absolutely. Reasonable prices & the quality is top notch.
Martin, what would happen if you premixed the oil with the coffee grounds (it _is_ real coffee, is it, and dead grounds, not new unused coffee)? I was wondering if the colour of the coffee would mix with the walnut oil and thus give a darker, deeper finish. Also, could you _sieve_ the coffee to get a finer mix?
How long does it take for the oil to polymerise?
Great video, one question it may sound stupid but can you was the spoons after this process or will the coffee come out ? :)
If you have burnished it properly & left the oil or finish to polymerise then you can wash them. You will have to re-oil them occasionally & I wouldn't recommended scrubbing the kolrosed parts aggressively woth a brush or scourer. Just a gentle wash is all that's needed.
When you were saying about the two most common oils for it, I couldn't be sure what you said the second one was... Sounded like you said _Walnut Oil_ , but my hearing isn't perfect for hearing words spoken. Has something to do with my unusual range of hearing (can hear range of sounds most don't hear).
You are correct. He did say walnut oil.
@@richdiacont2337 yes spot on - walnut oil. It polymerises unlike most other food safe oils.
That spoon with the two different colours in the handle... If you did a positive design on the one side and a negative design on the other side...
Some of the designs I've seen are blue. Washing blue, perhaps...?
Medical tongue depressers are wider...
Talk about cutting... Seems to be ALOT of cuts in the video. Basically every sentence it looks like you had a cut in the video. Your hands' or body in a different position for each sentence.
I really should take more time to get the first take right rather than do lots of editing. It is an issue I am aware of believe me - thanks for commenting
You're not related to Dean and Nala, I suppose... You look similar, like you could be brothers.