I’ve mentioned that I prefer to work on no more than one, or sometimes two things simultaneously when making utensils. Everything on this page is part of a larger batch of various utensils, partially made here, partially made on the farm elsewhere, and partially finished here. The impetus for this was a reduction in noise to appease the neighbors. It’s a scattered process that is revealing its effects as I finish each item. I’m not pleased.
The long spoon in the center is, as fine spoons go, a truly fine cocobolo spoon. It’s solid, elegant, long and nice all around. But it’s cracked. Had I been focusing on only one or two things rather than twenty, I’d surely have spotted the crack before reaching the final finishing phase. Unfortunately I didn’t, not with this one or the three others that also have cracks.
Of the 4-so-far spoons with cracks, two of them were some of the better work I’ve done, with an amount of time invested I’m hesitant to admit. The other two are the other results, of this HOA impelled, scattered batch process; they are merely awkward or bearing symptoms of mediocrity or other attributes unworthy of endurance. And a good cocobolo spoon should endure, for a lifetime.
I think the rice paddles came out worthy. There are few exceptions with cocobolo where I have more than ample sized pieces to play freely with and this applies here. The two other rice paddles are from what I presume is teak, an unusually hideous piece. If so, I’ve never encountered teak so ugly or unpleasant to work with, yet they still turned out perhaps worth keeping if I can verify they weren’t some kind of marine or PT product. .
Pretty much everything but the cracked spoon has a tone of mediocrity to it, though I am pleased with the rice paddles. The cocobolo spatula below, 4th down from top, is solid, made to last and should do its job well for many years while not being ugly. Perhaps it will be more than not ugly to someone else. To me it seems nice, but nothing to say wow about. The spoon second from down from top, also has a crack, but it received much less time. The cocobolo spoon, 3rd down, is questionably thin where it tapers between the bowl and handle, suggesting something other than strength and dependability.
It may not be Armageddon, but it’s a high casualty rate. Sometimes, especially with bad eyes, it is very difficult to spot a crack in rough wood. The sanding process, the finer the grain, exposes the imperfections. Near the dark line in the spoon second to right, is a crack. A bit easier to spot once might think, but surprisingly elusive for me, although I did subtly expect something might be remiss. I guess I’m now a few more spoons farther from a fungible inventory. Fungible…
It’s been a while since I’ve heard anything about fungible tokens. I hope it remains so.