In creating, the only hard thing’s to begin;
A grass-blade’s no easier to make than an oak
— James Russell Lowell, A Fable for Critics (1848)
I wonder if James Russell Lowell ever carved an oak bowl? In these two previous posts (here and here), I discussed the beginning stages of this bowl of white oak. I like the result, but I might wait forty years or so before trying another!
I thought the character of the oak called for some bold gouge cuts, albeit on a sleek form; a relationship similar to that of the hardy Northmen on their graceful oaken longboats. This oaken vessel is 23 3/4 inches long, 11 1/4 inches wide, and 4 1/2 inches high.
In this overhead shot, the grain orientation is visible, as well as the “character stains” resulting from bugs digging around in the log at the fringe of the sapwood.
I’ve posted it to my website. Time to go sharpen my tools…
David Fisher, Carving Explorations 
Simply amazing work Dave !!
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Beautiful as always! I can only imagine how hard that Oak is to carve. As I say, “Tougher than Woodpecker Lips.” : )
I’ll add these images to my ‘Inspiration Folder’. Thanks for sharing.
J.
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Beautiful bowl, David!
I just finished my own white oak bowl as well, all my carving tools are completely blunt…. Therefore I´m not that motivated to work on the other half of the log!
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Yep. The harder the wood, the more important it is to remove as much wood as possible while it’s still green. That sure applies in the case of white oak.
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Hi David – another outstanding piece, would you please post a few close-up photos showing the details of the carving on the side of the bowl & the bottom
e
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Rick — The bowl is out of my hands now, but I added a couple additional photos I had taken to the bottom of the post. Hopefully those will help.
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Worked out really beautiful! Thanks for walking us through the process.
Cheers, Frederik
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Spectacular work Dave. I have “tried” working with white oak in the past and can attest to its challenges. However, unlike your wonderful piece, mine ended up pretty much as it started – firewood .
Ken
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Just yesterday I read a poem by JOGGE SUNDQVIST on https://pfollansbee.wordpress.com/tag/jogge-sundqvist/ ” …To decorate his spoons with a jackknife
Dave uses sorcery
There’s no way his is an Earthly skill
It’s Way Beyond the likes of me-eeeee… “
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