After carving a couple of fairly simple snuff spoons out of zebrawood, I figured it was time to break out the sycamore and carve a snuff spoon with more of a dramatic shape. I have the handle and overall shape more of a swooping feel, and gave it a graceful tapering bowl. Of course the real star of the spoon is that sycamore wood-grain. Sycamore is often used for inlaid wood due to its natural color and translucent appearance. And, the shape of the spoon really shows off the grain of this particular piece of sycamore. You can see larger versions of the pictures at this blog post.
@Markstinson I thought Lacewood was sycamore. I’m pretty sure it’s also known as American Sycamore. I may be wrong but that’s what we call it down here in the lumber business. Own a lumber and pallet mill down here in the south, but it’s not a finished wood mill so it’s all rough cuts typically for pallets. Sometimes we have really pretty wood come through like Lacewood or heaven forbid a Walnut. I always think Walnut is about the prettiest wood there is. Unless we’re really low on lumber I pull out the Walnut logs and haul them down to my house (about a half mile from our operation) and use the lumber there for my own projects.
About the snuff spoon itself, that thing is gorgeous. Love the curve in it.
Thanks, @Mynheer. @hgrissom. The good news is we’re both correct on this. In common parlance, any wood with a large flake lace-like grain can be called “lacewood.” But in specific exotic wood terms, “Lacewood” is a specific species from South America. Every exotic wood dealer or wood carving store sells the South American wood as Lacewood, and American Sycamore as Sycamore. I think this is where the phrase “American Sycamore is the poor man’s Lacewood” comes from. American Sycamore is just as lacey and beautiful as the South American Lacewood, but much cheaper and easier to get. And in common parlance, they are both lacewoods. Mark
@markstinson thanks for the info, the more you know and all that. The thing with a lot of lumber is people just know the big names. There are tons of gorgeous woods people don’t know about or don’t think to use because it’s cheaper
Definitely. With something small and detailed, it can be all about the wood grain and the color and the luster of the wood. Same exact spoon out of pine or out of Borneo Rosewood, for instance…is going to be something completely different in its impact when people look at it.
With this Sycamore spoon, for instance, I had to make some clear choices about which piece to carve, and how to position the grain in the finished carving. Even with this same type of wood, just choosing to use a different piece from the same larger piece of lumber would make it a completely different spoon.
