Pinewood Forge Hook Knife

By Paul Mayer

Photos by Paul Mayer

Posted: January 19, 2010

While I am not an avid carver, I enjoy dabbling in it occasionally, and on a whim, I recently made a first attempt at carving a spoon. While I was reasonably pleased by the results, I was frustrated by the challenge of getting a consistent shape and smooth bottom to the bowl of the spoon.

Then a friend directed me to Pinewood Forge, a small toolmaker in northern Minnesota that specializes in spoon carving tools and I chose a 1 ¾" right handed hook knife. I was pleased to learn that I was I not the only one who had experienced the challenge of carving a tight concave shape with my standard carving tools and that solutions to this problem were readily available. Additionally, I was thrilled to have an opportunity to actually speak directly with the person who made the tool. My order was delayed a couple days while the tool was made. They apologized for the inconvenience, but I relished the thought of my tool being hand crafted.  

When I received the tool, I was amazed at the beauty of the teak handle and the quality of the blade. Pinewood Forge uses some of the finest steel available to produce their blades and the quality is obvious. I immediately used the tool to improve the bowl of the spoon that I had previously shaped and it worked extremely well, producing smooth, micro-thin shavings with minimal effort. I own a variety of high quality carving tools and this one immediately jumped to the top of my favorites list, not only for its precise purpose-built usefulness, but also for its beauty. The tool also included helpful sharpening instructions, as this process is not obvious for a tool with such a unique shape.

Now I can't wait to carve my next spoon…