Take a look at the following photo. I actually did not get this right at my first attempt. What I really meant to say was that starting with the same lateral profile jig, originally made for renge spoons (only), shorter stemmed piece will look like renge spoons and longer stemmed piece will look like ordinary spoons.
They share exactly the same profile jig. It is amazing, to me, anyway...
I found myself fascinated by these two spoons. They are effectively replicas from the same mould, except that one of them has a longer stem. I have been gazing at them for good 5 minutes.
Yesterday, I spent a night at a ryokan, wanting to see some fire flies and have ayu fish dishes to celebrate the season's arrival and only came back this morning to continue with my ongoing work. Above is one of today's achievements.
Granted that there are some exotic spoon types, occasionally to the extent of being absurd and outrageous, to my mind, at least. I go for sane spoons. Anyway, my small discovery today and I have been making spoons for many, many years by now, and this still is a new discovery.
Of course, I have had to cerebrate to properly formulate my idea, and my idea is this. Renge spoons are nothing but short forms of ordinary spoons. Spooning areas remain the same, and that is the point, actually.
Renge spoons are not just shorter in length. It is the ratio of spooning area and stem area. In the case of renge spoons it is about 5:1, and with ordinary spoons it is close to 5:4, or thereabout. Later, I will make better measurements, of course.
On a seperate front I tried to produce a new grinding tool for my spoon making. Take a look at the following three pictures.
With these, I tried to produce a new cylindrical tool, for the abrasive work with the lateral profile of my spoons. The idea was superb, grabbing a chunk of stubby rod with my lathe and covering it with an abrasive paper. Next photo is showing the intermdeiate stage.
Next photo shows how it failed. It is the breakage and rapture of the abrasive paper. You may think I might use adhesive, but that is exactly what I wanted to avoid. I will probably come back to this. My current idea for improvement is to make a narrow groove or slit in the rod, into which both ends of the paper are inserted.
Fixing is by way of water hose clamping pieces from a DIY sop.
Away from all these and looking into the near future and beyond I will almost certainly start making spoons (or more of them) for my friends, I think. I have in a way started making them that way, and my current work already hovers around making spoons for somebody I have not even met in my life!
I will also have to make an improved version of coating work explained, and that will keep me pretty busy. Yes, yes, eys, I will do that whle in Borneo! What an excellent idea!