The Art of Spoon Carving: A Classic Craft for the Modern Kitchen

I wish I had spent more time researching this book. It is totally inappropriate for anyone interested in carving a decent cooking or eating spoon. There is no mention of a sloyd knife or even a proper carving knife really, nor a spoon knife or hook knife (this is the knife you use to scoop out the bowl of the spoon), the only discussion about wood selection is non-existent as all projects say to use basswood (A very soft hardwood normally used for decorative carvings and is not really suitable for the hard wear of a kitchen utensil.) Furthermore the knife she uses for the majority of her carving is a lamb's foot which is more suitable for Swiss chip carving. If you are interested in proper spoon carving there are loads more books out there written by people well versed in the art of traditional spoon carving which is also known as green woodworking. I don't know if I can mention them here, so if you want you may email me for a couple of good titles.

I have several of Lora Irish's books and this one follows her formula. If you are a beginner carver or even never touched a knife before, I believe you can carve a decent spoon following this books instructions! She uses very inexpensive tools which most people will be able to afford. The book has eight different projects with lots of step by step instruction and color photos. Also Lora is VERY generous with all sorts of patterns in the back of the book for spoon projects. On the negative side if you are looking to carve green wood in the Bushcraft tradition, using axes, draw knives ,etc. you will find no info here. All of the projects use relatively thin Basswood which at the end of the day is not a very pretty stand alone wood when finished with food quality mineral oil. If you are experienced still a good book for the overview and abundance of good patterns in the back of the book.

I had ordered this book as an addendum tutorial book for spoon carving. What a deal! I love it . With its easy to follow reading and illustrations what a deal.
The author knew exactly what they were wanting to convey.
I went to a spoon carving class and found this book to be one of the suggested reading books.

Great book with guides how to carve and nice basic designs with different patterns.

It's not a whittling book.. well it is after you use the saw to cut out the wood. I don't have one. Still like the book for reference tho.

Nice book, I am impressed and I like the way it has been put together.. very descriptive with lots and lots of pictures. Concise in the information that’s given, with no over sharing. This book has a very impressive amount of patterns in the back, from a quick count, I believe there is more than 55 different patterns.

I carved my first wooden utensil at Georgia Bushcraft this fall and fell down the rabbit hole. I like creating useful things. This book has great ideas with matching full size patterns in the back. The pages are thick, it’s coffee table quality. It covers the basics like tools etc and step by step instructions for each project. It’s New Years Eve and I’m head your back into the woods for project material.

The styles, sizes and types of wood and tools used to carve with,

not what I thought it would be but useful, gave the book to an organization that teaches woodworking and carving to young boys,

Love, Love, Love the book. Especially the patterns in the back. The book is very helpful great photos!