My…’Late-Etruscan’ kuksa!

Finally I have carved my own wooden cup! I have made it without a defined project and without the textbook step-by-step instruction.
I did not use birch wood but I started from a fresh olive tree pruning that i found in my area after an adverse climatic event (very bad event for all my area ).
I know that it’s an unconventional wood for a kuksa, however this timber has been used for similar purposes for centuries in the mediterranean area and actually many artisans continue this carving tradition.
This timber has a nice wavy grain, a good smell and is easy to work (if you are interest in wood specifications have a look to this interesting wood database that I have found recently http://www.wood-database.com/).
The branch that I used for this work was not large enough to chop it down the centre, so I decide follow its shape and work to a small kuksa.

I started removing the nodes with a my Fiskars x7 (that worked very well) and a cheap japanese saw.

Then with the hatchet I rounded as possible the wood and shaped it like a cup.

With the knife and the saw i’ve started to define the handle.
After this, with Mora 162, I started to carving the bowl, I’ve used its three edges in different ways and angles to obtain it.
As you can see, I left tick wall to my cup to avoid wood cracks, I didn’t want to lose my work!

Then with a wood file I have defined better the shape of my work. I refined it with sandpaper, but at the end for a faster result, I admit..sigh… 🙂 I’ve used a belt sander.
I a second time I decided to carve a zoomorphic handle, a sort of wild boar to my cup, and with the swiss knife awl I’ve made a hole for a leather string.

Then I’ve given it a protective patina using a little warm olive oil (this will protect the cup from hot drink).
That’s all, I hope you like it, obviously it’s not perfect, but I personally think that sometimes breaking the mold can open the mind and lead to good results!

Ciao, Bye, Tschüß, またね！
Mattia