Over the course of a few months I've been experimenting with turning spoons. Every now and again I'd find a random piece of maple or cherry, turn the handle on the lathe, and rough out a spoon shape using a variety of techniques: straight chiseling, spoon chiseling, routing, dremeling, flapwheel grinding, scraping, etc. I'm not quite sure which method works best, but that's part of the figuring out process and that's why I ended up with about a dozen spoons in varying styles.
So for xmas, I sanded these prototypes down, finished 'em with mineral oil (plus beeswax and carauba wax), put a pretty ribbon on 'em, attached some care/feeding instructions, and gave 'em away. In the true spirit of xmas, the best present is the type that actually can be crafted in Santa's workshop and not something that can be bought at Wal-Mart.
Each spoon had a different handle/spoon shape and was personalized with the iron/toner transfer technique that I use on lots of my other projects.
Once I figure out a streamlined modus operandi, I'll start selling these too.
Again, Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.
