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This is my first kuksa. I really enjoyed the carving process, and I'm just about ready to tackle a full-sized bowl. This holds about 8oz. It's a little on the small size (I wish I had a little more wood to work with to make it a bit taller - I would've been happier with the proportions), but it was good wood for a first try. The small bird on the side is very much an Esherick inspired carving. He had a similar one on the inner door of his workshop.
As always, there's nothing like using an axe to rough out a piece of wood. Totally enjoyable. Hopefully this will be the first of many. The finish is Tung oil. I'm going to try to dry it slowly (anybody have experience with this?), and I may go with a technique I read about that involves boiling the kuksa in salt water and then packing in wood chips to dry. Sounds risky, but I just may try whatever Ian Tomsett suggests-his work is stunning.

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Looks awesome! Great job on it!
 

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Nice, what kind of wood? I goggled Ian Tomsett. He may have suggested boiling because it was a fruit wood; apple.
 

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Hi TopamaxSurvivor, This is cherry wood. It looks like Tomsett also uses birch frequently, and I believe he boils that as well. Thanks for checking into it.
 

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In just a few short projects you have not only improved skill wise, but now your imagination is working. Great job.
 

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Courtney...+1 on Monte's comment above. You certainly have the fever (woodworking kind and not the pyrexia kind) !!
Keep up the excellent work !!
 

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Courtney…+2 on above comments. That is a beautiful piece of wood and a very interesting piece.

Thanks for showing.
 

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That is a beautiful kuksa … what is the origin of the work kuksa?

The coloring is not what I'd expect from cherry!
 

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Thanks, everyone!
Hi oldnovice. The work "kuksa" is Finnish, but I believe that variations on the same idea (and word) appear throughout Scandinavia. This particular cherry tree was small and didn't look very healthy. It had lots of crooks in it, so I chopped it down to use mostly as spoon wood. I was able to get a couple good looking blanks from near the roots for kuksas (the largest I gave to my friend who helped me carry it out of the woods and was anxious to try to make one himself-that had a ton of marbling and mineral deposits. Really beautiful stuff). This piece also had some interesting coloring. Can't wait to see what the rest of the tree looks like…
 

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Ok I have to say X10 on what every one had say, I just love it ,it looks native with the bird on it .
Wood worker Nimkee
 
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