Carving a Mushroom Spoon from Colombian Dormilón Wood

I recently finished my first mushroom spoon, carved from a piece of Dormilón wood I brought back from a trip to Colombia. It took a few months, stretched my skills further than any spoon I've carved before, and this morning, after its second coat of finish, I'm genuinely proud of how it turned out.

I'd still call myself a moderate beginner. I've whittled maybe ten spoons over the last two or three years. I started on pine and basswood spoon blanks, moved on to harder walnut and cherry blanks, and eventually graduated to scraps and branches I found out in the world: a piece of redwood a friend brought back from a backpacking trip, a little manzanita branch, and a block of Zapan, a dense hardwood I also brought home from Colombia. Somewhere along the way I started experimenting with small flourishes. My redwood coffee scoop has a bird carved on the end of the handle. I didn't love how it turned out, but it was a fun process, and it planted the idea that a spoon could be more than just a spoon.

This mushroom spoon is where that idea finally came together. Here's a bit about the wood, my process, the carving tools I used, and a few things I learned along the way.

The Wood: Dormilón

Dormilón means "sleepy one" in Spanish, a name that comes from the way the tree's leaves fold up when touched. It isn't a common commercial wood, so there's not much written about carving it, which is part of what made it exciting to work with. It's a medium-density wood with warm tones and interesting color variation. It carves noticeably easier than harder, denser woods like the Zapan, but it still holds detail well. That combination turned out to be ideal for a delicate design.

If you're curious how it stacks up against other Colombian species, I wrote about five native woods for spoon carving - and my experience carving a rice scoop out of Zapan - in Carving Colombian Hardwoods: Testing 5 Native Woods for Spoon Carving. And if you're still figuring out the best wood for spoon carving as a beginner, my honest advice is to follow roughly the path I did: start with soft, forgiving blanks like basswood, then work toward harder and more unusual woods as your confidence grows.

The Spoon Carving Tools I Used

You don't need a huge toolkit to carve a spoon, even a decorative one like this. Here's what I reached for:

Schaaf Tools 3pc Whittling Knife Set. This set includes a roughing knife, a detail knife, a hook knife, and a strop. It's the set I'd point anyone to if they're curious about spoon carving for beginners. It also comes with a basswood blank and a step-by-step tutorial for carving a feather spoon, so you can carve a first spoon right out of the box. The detail knife did a lot of the delicate work on this project.
https://www.schaaftools.com/products/3-piece-carving-knife-set-perfect-for-whittling-and-spoon-carving

Schaaf Tools Sloyd Knife (coming this fall). This was my go-to for roughing out and for long, controlled shaving cuts. A sloyd knife has a longer, sturdier blade than a typical whittling knife, which makes it great for removing wood quickly and shaping broad surfaces. The detail knife then takes over in tight spaces. I've been carving with our upcoming sloyd, and it's been a delight. I'm excited for people to try it. 

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8a 10mm Spoon Gouge (from the Schaaf 12pc set). This tool did most of the work on the bowl. If you're interested in relief or sculptural carving, the full 12pc set is the way to go. I think it's the best balance of quality and price you'll find. If you're only here for spoon carving, we also sell individual gouges as supply allows, so it's worth checking the site to see if a spoon gouge is available on its own.

Cut-resistant gloves. These protect your fingers, of course. They also help with grip. When you're holding a small or thin piece of wood, the gloves give you a more secure hold, which matters a lot once parts of the carving start getting fragile.

Sandpaper and a finish of your choice. I used 120 and 220 grit, then Tried & True Original Wood Finish, a linseed oil and beeswax blend.

My Process

This isn't a full tutorial, but here's roughly how the mushroom spoon came together. For an article that takes you step-by-step through the process of whittling a spoon, you can check out How to carve a spoon: a complete beginners guide to spoon carving.  

Reading the block. Starting from a raw block or branch feels different from starting with a spoon blank. When the wood is completely fresh, the possibilities feel endless. That said, if you're brand new, I really do think starting from a blank is the way to go. I still enjoy carving from blanks today. This piece of Dormilón was long and skinny, so from the beginning I pictured something with a thin, elegant handle. It wasn't wide enough to make a functional ladle or spatula, so I leaned into a decorative ladle look, or maybe a really over-the-top soup spoon.

Knocking off the edges. The first thing I usually do is shave the sharp corners off the block with the sloyd knife. It makes the wood more comfortable to hold, even with a glove on.

Starting the bowl with a spoon gouge. Next, I clamped the piece to a table with a basic C-clamp and started hollowing the bowl with the spoon gouge. You can absolutely carve a bowl with a hook knife, and I did use one later on. For starting a bowl, though, especially in harder woods, I usually prefer the gouge. With the work clamped down I can use both hands and get real leverage, and I find it removes wood faster and more easily. Once the bowl is established, the hook knife becomes much easier to work with. It's great for refining the curve and cleaning up the inside, and it's the tool I reached for when I was carving away from my bench.

Blocking out the mushrooms. Before shaping the handle, I marked where the mushrooms would go and defined that area with stop cuts. Then I started carving the handle, making sure to leave plenty of wood at the end. I knew I wanted three mushrooms, but I honestly wasn't sure how they'd look until I started carving them.

Working both ends at once. From there I worked back and forth between the two ends of the spoon. I'd refine each side of the bowl, thin the handle a little more, and then add a bit more detail to the mushrooms. It was a balancing act. I didn't want any one part to get too delicate while I still had to work on another. The last thing I wanted was a tiny mushroom stem snapping off while I was holding the spoon to carve the middle of the handle.

Detailing between the mushrooms. Once the shape was really coming together, I went in with the detail knife to carefully clear the gaps between the caps and stems. This was the slowest, most careful part of the whole project, with small cuts and lots of stopping to look.

Final thinning, sanding, and finishing. The last carving step was finalizing the thin handle, which I saved for the end on purpose. After that came plenty of sanding, first at 120 grit and then 220, and then two coats of Tried & True.

Most of this happened in short, sporadic sessions, a lot of them while I was working as a sauna host at our local community sauna. Carving slowly over a few months turned out to suit a project like this. I was never tempted to rush the delicate parts.

A Few Things I Learned

Leave more wood than you think you need for embellishments. You can always carve wood away, but you can't add it back. Having extra material at the end of the handle gave me room to figure out the mushrooms as I went.

Save the most fragile parts for last. Thinning the handle last and working the whole spoon evenly kept the piece strong while I was still handling it a lot.

Pay attention to grain in the delicate areas. Small features like mushroom stems are strongest when the grain runs along their length. Where the grain runs across a thin section, it's much more likely to break.

Use the right tool for each stage. The spoon gouge versus hook knife question doesn't need a winner. The gouge was better for starting the bowl, and the hook knife was better for refining it. The same goes for the sloyd knife and the detail knife.

Experiments that don't turn out still count. I wasn't thrilled with the bird on my redwood scoop, but it gave me the confidence to try the mushrooms. Every flourish teaches you something for the next one.

If you're earlier in your journey, our guide to Essential Knife Techniques for Beginning Whittlers covers the fundamental cuts and tools behind a project like this.

What's Next

I stepped out of my comfort zone with this one, and now I can't wait to see what comes next. I still have a few pieces of wood left from the Colombia trip, so stay tuned.

If you've carved your own mushroom spoon, or any spoon with a little something extra, I'd love to see it. Share it with us on Instagram and tag @schaaftools, or send us an email to info@schaaftools.com

Ready to start your wood carving journey? Explore our beginner tool sets and safety equipment to get started with confidence.