About Me

I live in West Oxfordshire and have been spoon carving for over twenty years. I have an academic background and have taught courses in ecology and conservation at both Southampton and Newcastle Universities. My favourite course to teach is woodland ecology and management. I'm very excited by the idea of bringing woodlands back into active management for conservation whilst at the same time making them economically productive. Spoon carving is a natural extension of the woodland crafts that go with active woodland management. It  also allows me to keep a collection of really sharp knives and axes! I really enjoy the design aspects of spoon carving and the developing my dexterity and skills with a carving knife.

I am a member of the Association of Pole Lathe Turners and Green Woodworkers. The Association hosts an excellent website at www.bodgers.org.uk. We have a local Oxford group, the Oxfordshire Bodgers. I also teach and volunteer with the Wychwood Forest Trust here in West Oxfordshire which is a wonderful collection of woodland-inspired projects including the development of new community woodland on the outskirts of Witney, Foxburrow Wood. I support the work of Combe Mill, the former water and steam powered sawmill of the Blenheim Estate, now a museum with working steam engines and associated woodland.

I teach courses on spoon carving  and hope to be able to populate this site with useful information and inspiration for virtual spoon carvers everywhere. I’m a blogger at davidknight5.wordpress.com