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gift for a whisky drinker

June 8, 2012by Sharif Adams - Woodenway 3 Comments

Last winter I made a quaich for a friend’s birthday. Pronounced ‘quake’; a traditional Scottish drinking vessel with handles. In Ireland they are called cuachs. I have made them from spalted […]

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beeswax, cuach, quaich, whisky

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Sharif Adams - Woodenway

I liberate spoons and bowls from logs, then take them to artisan craft markets where they find new homes. I also run spoon carving and bowl turning courses in Devon, UK. For more information please see my website; www.sharifadams.co.uk

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Last winter I was contacted by the course organiser at Trill Farm. Trill Farm is a 300 acre mixed organic farm set in the beautiful rolling hills and woodlands of East Devon. It was bought in 2008 by Romy Fraser, founder of Neals Yard Remedies. Her wish was to create at Trill ‘a diverse farm environment where people can learn not only a whole range of practical skills from building, cooking and carpentry to herbal medicine and beekeeping, but also how to live in the world while preserving its fragile ecosystem.’ To this end Trill now houses an education centre catering for adults as well as children. There is also a community of like-minded people who live at Trill and run small businesses selling organic food and products using what they can harvest each season from the land available there. It’s an amazing place. So when I was asked if I wanted to run a weekend residential course there I didn’t have to think about it too hard. I was asked to create a two day course aimed at beginners, based around learning how to carve green wood using simple hand tools. I chose to focus on two simple projects on day one; a Swedish butter knife and a coat hook. These would teach the fundamental principles of carving with axe and knife, working with the grain, and instill the safety aspects which are so important when using sharp tools for the first time. Day two would build on this foundation by carving a cooking spoon. I titled the course ‘Slojd -Scandinavian Woodwork’, inspired by @surolle and his lovely book “Slojd in Wood”. It was a great weekend. The company, food provided by the wonderful chef and kitchen staff at @olddairykitchen and @trill_farm all exceeded my expectations. I got some really nice feedback from the course participants about how much they had learned and enjoyed themselves over the weekend. They all left with coat hooks, butter knives and spoons, full of enthusiasm to continue carving at home. I’d like to say a huge thanks to all the course participants, and the lovely folks at Trill Farm...and an extra big, heartfelt thanks to @romyfraser for making me feel so very welcome for the duration of my stay. Go check out Trill Farm!

I’ve met so many interesting people since moving to Dartmoor 7 years ago. Among them are some of the local farmers who I’ve become friends with. I really like listening to their stories, especially their lives as children growing up here. They are a like a treasure chest full of country lore. Yesterday I met up with Martin Perryman, a cattle farmer who lives on the farm next door. As we walked along a field boundary in the soft September sunshine we stopped near some heavily laden hazel bushes. Some of the nuts were very big. “As big as cob nuts” I commented. He said that they called them ‘filberts’ locally, a name I’d never heard before. He then asked me if I knew how to open hazelnuts with a knife. I never had. For years I have been gathering hazelnuts and either breaking my teeth cracking the shells between my molars or taking them home and using the back of an axe, which usually results in a mess and not much nut. (For some reason I’ve never owned a nut cracker). I always have a folding knife in my pocket, so I was intrigued to see how Martin opens hazelnuts with a knife. We both pulled our penknives out, (nice to see he carries a knife on him too), and I watched as he showed me how he does it. It’s so simple and results in a perfect clean split shell with a perfect whole nut easily removed. I know I’m easily pleased but it’s hard to explain just how happy this made me! Never again will I break my teeth or smash shell and nut to smithereens with an axe! The video is pretty self explanatory but basically you scrape the nipple off the top of the nut until a thin slit appears. Then stick the tip of the blade in to the split and twist the knife to split the shell. Thanks Martin! I’d be very interested to know if anyone else knows of this method. Please let me know if you’d heard of this before. #wildfood #countrylore #wildharvest #woodenbowl #foraging #Dartmoor #passingontraditions

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