Cheese or Charcuterie board set #1

 

Price $75 with free shipping in the continental US.
I ship using USPS Ground, which is the least expensive option that included a tracking number.  If you prefer Priority Mail or another shipping option, international shipping or would like to combine shipping on multiple items to save a little money, please email me at judson@judsoncarroll.com

This is a pretty and useful set made of wild cherry, but there is much more to the story.

You see, these are the tools I used.... and I bet most modern woodworkers wouldn't recognize two of them.  These days, most people use power tools.  I use hand tools.  That is just a personal preference.  The big thing, on the left is called a froe. A froe is used to "rive" boards out of logs.... very old tech, so to speak.  Anyone who knows wild cherry probably laughed when I said that I rived a board from wild cherry.... cherry NEVER splits into straight, clean boards as the grain is very wavy an irregular.  But yes, I split this board from a cherry log with this froe.

The big, two-handled knife in the center is called a draw knife.  This one, I mentioned recently.  It belonged to my great grandfather, and if you look very closely at this pic, you will see his initials etched into it, "O.J.C".   I used the draw knife to shape the board.

The other tool is just my little sloyd style knife, stained with sweat and blood.  It was made in Ukraine, and I keep it razor sharp.  These were the tools I used to make this board, fork and knife.

Yes, I could have saved myself a lot of work had I used a coping saw to shape out the board.  But, I didn't have a set design in mind.  I simply followed the wood grain.  This piece had a dip or wave in the center that allowed for a nice, rounded handle with a graduated surface, as well as the beautiful rounded grain pattern.

The cheese (butter, etc.)  knife is carved to match the board, out of a piece of cherry that was adjacent to the handle.

I got a little creative with the pickle fork.  It occurred to me while carving it that the grain had a nice pattern that really showed if I put a few curves and some roundness in it.  But, also, if I made it more like a "spork" you could scoop up some olives, mustard or capers with it, too.

So, this ended up being a very practical, useable set.  It was a crazy amount of work to make a fairly flat board out of wild cherry though... probably 6 hours of very hard work in all honesty.  But, I really like this set and I hope it finds a good home with someone who will use it and pass it on.

I think whoever buys this these will enjoy using them.  They are sealed with Walnut Oil.  As always, my woodwork is sustainably sourced from trees that are storm damaged or that must be thinned. Each piece is entirely hand made in the ancient greenwood tradition. I use only a hand saw, a small axe and knives. Each piece comes with a handwritten, numbered and signed document. These are heirloom quality spoons that, if properly cared for, will last for generations.