Working with wood; a Gypsy tradition

Photo description: Bottom: Veshtike Rom spatula, Left to Right: Bertike style spoon (oval bowl), Romanian Roma spatula, traditional Gypsy clothes peg (clothespin), Veshtike Rom stirrer, Veshtike Rom spoon (round bowl), Top: Honey/jam spreader (jam spreader does not, actually, have holes)

The Romani People (Gypsies) have had a knack of making a living from many activities in which they used the materials that were and are found in the environment around them, be this wood or others. Some of those activities today have died out, others continue, such as spoon carving and basket making.

Carving spoons, and the making of other kitchen and household items from wood, is just one of them, another is making baskets from osiers (thin branches), grasses and such.

Neither of those activities are invention of the Romani People, that is true, but the Rom carved – pardon the pun – themselves in many places a niche here and then, later, also in the recycling field well before recycling was even cool and a word.

The various different Romani groups, when it comes to carving spoons, and other kitchen utensils, developed their very own styles which, for instance, differed from the styles of the general Russian (and other) spoon carvers and also those of the Scandinavian ones.

On the other hand, however, the Romani craftsmen and even -women, created many of their own designs of spoons and kitchen utensils from wood, such as the stirring woods and spatulas, which are so very different from those that are found in Western Europe per se.

Designs and styles of the spoons vary too from group to group. The Romanian – and “Balkan” in general – spoon carvers make the bowls, while egg-shape, with the point towards the from while the Bergtike Rom in Poland have the “tip” of the egg towards the handle and the Veshtike Rom spoon has a more or less round bowl, similar to those of the Doukhobors (a Russian sect).

It was also the Gypsies, the Rom, who seem to have been the first, though whether it can be proven is another question, to have created the clothes peg, or clothespin, as our American cousins call it. When exactly the current design of the Romani clothes peg, and with that I mean the one made from a stick and banded with tin, has come about I cannot say but it will have been, I should guess, when strips of metal could be found or made.

When it comes to the Gypsy clothespins there are then also at least two design variations, at least among the Romani People in Western Europe, both Sinti relations. The Romanichals in Britain, and from Britain, use a strip of tin, which is affixed with short nails (pins) near the top end, in general, while the Manouche in France tend, at times, to use wire which is wrapped around and tightened with pliers of sorts. The latter version has a slight safety issue in that there tends to be a little bit of wire sticking out to the side.

Among the designs of wooden kitchen tools designed and made by the Rom craftspeople are many that have never been known before as such. The ever so useful stirring wood (stirring paddle, or stirdle, as I have termed it) is just one of them, as is the rather narrower trapezoid shaped spatula, narrower than the traditional Western European spatulas, both of Rom Polska origin apparently.

The Romanian Roma of the lowlands have a different spatula design, which is akin to the stirring paddle but more of a triangular shape, and the honey and jam spreaders, in both design variations, follow the stirring paddle, or the Romanian spatula design, depending on the makers, but are much smaller, obviously.

Other wooden articles were also made by Romani woodworkers and the wooden flasks that were so very common in Romania were, in general, made by very skilled Rom on a foot-powered lathe. Alas, today, there is probably not one maker left and those that are turned out today are badly made in factories.

“Wood, Leather & Recycled” produces wooden spoons and other wooden kitchen utensils, plus some other wooden and carved products, including also Gypsy clothespins.

Wood, Leather & Recycled

A move back to our roots: more wood and clay and less plastic

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Before plastic became ubiquitous, many kitchen items were made from wood or pottery, that is to say clay, and also from metal. Predominately the material was wood and pottery; metal in the form of copper, lead, bronze and then finally iron, from whence came steel, including stainless steel, came into the equation much later.

The anti-plastic movement is gaining strength as more people realize the folly of using a material that not only leaches chemicals into our bodies, food, and environment, but also does not biodegrade. The movement has taken many shapes and forms, from no-straw campaigns to the zero waste lifestyle to more natural-fiber clothing.

But there is plastic and there is plastic in this context and while, yes, predominately, though not entirely anymore, plastic is made from oil and thus not very sustainable and all that, some plastic is better than other. The main concern, in the general context of getting away from plastic, is the disposable kind, the stuff that really no one needs and that ends up in our countryside, rivers and the seas.

Children are the key to the future so it is the children, therefore, first and foremost that we must educate about the “back to our roots” way of using natural materials. Once kids’ habits change (through education), they will influence their parents to change, while holding them accountable.

To this end teaching children the making of things from natural materials, such as making a wooden spatula or even a spoon, and in that case an eating spoon just right for them, and making a piece of pottery, would be the order of the day.

There was, once, a time when all schools were teaching handcrafts, especially woodwork and pottery but today that is all but gone.

When a child makes something him- or herself, for personal use especially, this product will have a special value for them – and thus we should teach them to aim for the best they can do.

But it should not stop at wood and clay (pottery) but include also the making of products from other, ideally natural materials, by hand and schools – and other places – must be at the forefront again for children – and not just children – to learn again the skills and the joys of making. Textiles, leather, and also metals, should be included.

While in regards to wood, pottery, and even textiles, the entire process can become part of the learning process with leather and metals it is somewhat of as different story. Working with wood and clay for pottery the process goes from natural to made product easy. With textiles it is a little more complicated. Wool needs to be shorn off the sheep, then made into yarn and then worked either by knitting, weaving or otherwise. Even more work is involved in the making of cotton, canvas and linen. And metals are getting even more complicated.

Having said that, however, does not mean that the skills of working those materials should not be taught; they should, as they once were. They should also be taught to both genders, as far as schools are concerned. Boys and men should know how to sew as well, not just girls and women, and the same goes for mending. We must remember that traditionally in the past the tailor was male. Also the cooks – chefs – in inns and hotels were (and often still are) predominately male, so both cooking and sewing is not (just) something that girls and women do. But I digressed somewhat.

We must become makers again instead of being (just) consumers (and learning again to appreciate the handmade efforts of ourselves and our children – proficiency comes with time) and this making can take many forms.

And making “by hand” may not always mean absolutely without any machines. As long as your hands are still involved in the work, and your skills, and it is not an automated process you are still making whatever you are making “by hand”. The potter who uses a powered wheel rather than a kick wheel still shapes the clay by hand into the object that he or she is making. The wood-turner who is using a powered lathe rather than a foot-operated pole lathe or such, still, like the potter, shapes the object, using his hands. I am just saying.

© 2017

Which cutting board is best, wood or plastic?

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

When it comes to cutting boards which is the more sustainable and healthy choice; plastic or wood?

The good old cutting board is one of our most durable household goods and it has proven its worth through times and ages, especially when made from good wood. Properly cared for it will go through generations without complaining of breaking.

As a refresher, it is generally considered advisable to have at least two cutting boards, kept separate, so to speak, in your kitchen. One of those should should be designated for raw meat, seafood, and poultry, and kept for that purpose only and the other board(s) for everything else. This helps avoid cross-contamination for purposes of health (keeping bacteria from sneaking into our produce, bread, and other non-fleshy items) and for purposes of hospitality (vegetarians and vegans will thank you).

In fact, this question of bacteria helps answer your question about plastic vs. wood. Plastic gained favor for a while because it is non-porous and dishwasher-safe, two qualities that made it seem like a healthier, cleaner choice. But it seems this was just another PR coup by the plastics industry.

According to research, including a study at the UC-Davis Food Safety Laboratory, wood wins the bacteria battle hands down. While bacteria such as salmonella and listeria are easy to clean off brand-new plastic boards, these boards become, so say the researchers, “impossible to clean and disinfect manually” once damaged by knives. In other words, the sneaky little bacteria hide out in the cracks and crevices. Wood cutting boards provide a home for bacteria too, but only for a very short time, and the little critters actually scoot down under the surface and die.

Many woods, in fact, have very high antibacterial and antiviral properties, such as the much maligned Sycamore, for example, which has one of the if not indeed the highest. Maligned, in Britain, for the fact that it is not a “native” tree and that is spreads somewhat like a weed. It has been in Britain for almost 2000 years, having brought here by the Romans and thus, I should think, we really should give it citizenship.

This makes wood more or less magical and if you buy a cutting board made from sustainably harvested sources – sorry, but forget the bamboo notion – it is definitely a greener choice than oil-based old plastic.

Once there are too many cuts showing on the surface of your wooden cutting boards or they have become excessively worn or have developed hard-to-clean grooves there still is no need to throw them away, even though the food safety people may say so. All you have to do is sand them smooth again or, if need be, planed down a bit, and they are ready to roll and entirely safe again.

So, if you have old wooden cutting boards rejuvenate them with some sanding and giving them a coat of vegetable (or mineral oil) and they will be yours to use, safely, and will last for many generations to come. The reason I put mineral oil in brackets is for the fact that – personally – I do not like using it simply because it is oil-based, as in the black stuff coming out of the ground. Some people claim that vegetable oil goes rancid but I have not found this to be a problem.

© 2017

Sloyd spoon carving

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Let's first quickly look at the meaning or etymology of the word “sloyd”. It comes from the Swedish “slöjd” which is translated to mean sleight of hand, skilled or crafty, in other words, handcrafts or made by hand. Often it is put together with green woodworking but just means handcrafts and no more. Nowhere does it actually mean that the wood has to be so-called greenwood, that is to say wood that is freshly cut or laid up for no longer than 18 months.

Many a tutor in spoon carving will teach methods and often quite elaborate ways. But do we really need that? Personally I do not think so. It actually often gets in the way. The piece of wood will tell you what it wants to become and, within reason, it is much better to follow this rather than to work against it.

Often many things are made to appear so much more complicated than they actually should be and you can look at all the complicated ways that some people do things and how they, more or less, try to achieve what I would call “production runs” with everything looking almost the same. You only get that when you force your will upon the piece of wood, and I would always advise against that.

I always suggest the KISS system; keep it simple stupid. The most important thing is (1) to develop your own way and (2) to allow the piece of wood, as I said, with in reason, to be your guide via the grain structure as to what it wants to be and now it wants to look when done.

This requires, as so often in forestry and working with wood, the development of “the eye”, the skill to see what a piece of wood is destined to become by the way it is shaped, and then by the way the grain runs.

Yes, you can impose your will onto the piece of wood but often that means, possibly, weakening the grain structure at times. Best to follow the grain as much as possible and by doing so producing entirely unique pieces. This goes as much for carving spoons as for other treen goods.

© 2017

The photo above shows a spoon made from Paper Birch which fought me all the way but is an indication for letting the wood guide you as to shape, etc.