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A4 checklist with all illustrated steps. Tick the boxes on paper as you go.

FeatherSticks · Tools

Hook Knife & Crooked Knife: Spoon Carving, Safe Grips and Sharpening

One curved blade hollows every spoon. Here is how to use it safely.

Quick facts

Time
Hollowing a spoon bowl: about 45–90 min for a beginner
Difficulty
Moderate: needs controlled grips
Best for
Spoon bowls, kuksa-style cups, small bowls, ladles
You need
Hook knife, cut-resistant glove, thumb tape, strop

What you need

  • Single-edged hook knife for your carving hand, medium curve
  • Straight sloyd or bushcraft knife for the outside
  • Cut-resistant glove and thumb tape or a leather thumb guard
  • Dowel with wet-and-dry paper, ceramic rod or slip stone
  • Leather-wrapped dowel, flat strop and polishing compound
  • Edge guard or sheath for the hook
  • First aid kit within reach

Step by step

  1. Pick the right hook knife

    1 Pick the right hook knife

    Choose a single-edged hook knife for your carving hand with a medium curve. Open curves suit eating spoons, tight curves cups and kuksas.

  2. Hold the work safely

    2 Hold the work safely

    Hold the spoon by its handle, bowl up, in a hand wearing a cut-resistant glove. Sit, brace your elbows and keep your fingers behind the bowl.

  3. Use the thumb-pivot cut

    3 Use the thumb-pivot cut

    Brace the thumb of the knife hand on the spoon, outside the path of the blade, and close your fist. The hook scoops a short shaving and stops.

  4. Cut from the rim to the centre

    4 Cut from the rim to the centre

    Work from the rim down into the hollow from all sides: across the grain on the sides, downhill at the ends. Never cut up and out of the bowl.

  5. Strop the inside often

    5 Strop the inside often

    Every 20–30 minutes, strop the inside on leather wrapped round a dowel and the outside on a flat strop, edge trailing. Sharpen when stropping stops helping.

Common mistakes

  • Buying a single-edged hook for the wrong hand.
  • Bracing a thumb on the rim of the bowl, in the path of the edge.
  • Using the thumb-push grip on a double-edged hook.
  • Cutting from the centre up to the rim and tearing the grain.
  • Taking thick bites with a dull hook instead of stropping.
  • Hollowing dry, seasoned wood instead of green wood.
  • Carrying the hook loose without an edge guard.