[PJB21]

hey guys, i finally went out today armed only with a cheap pocket knife with the intention of harvesting myself some forks to make a couple of naturals out of. i previously found the location when out with a mate while it was snowing, we went for a walk and he showed me this forest quite near to where i live and best of all about half the trees had been blown over/fallen in some parts of the wood, including several fairly fresh ones. unfortionately i wasnt better equiped and since i only had a £3 pocket knife with saw blade and my coat pockets cutting the forks was long and i couldnt carry that many, thoug i have to say there was plenty to chose from. hopefully ill be going back there soon with a folding saw and a backpack to collect quite a few. these are the 4 i collected today:

as you can see i put some bands on the last one just to see how it shoots, the forks are wider than im used to (dankung) but otherwise its a pretty nice shooter. the attatchment method is a hybrid between gypsy tabs and flatbands, essentially its a pouch that is only connected on one side and then tied to the forks in the traditional manor (using broken rubber bands, no point wasting them!)

of course i plan on working them and drying them properly, will probably microwave tomorow and get out the dremel and see what happens.

im not entirely sure what types of wood they all are, i believe the long narrow fork is hazel but i dont know about the others, the third one isnt particuarly strong and was very easy to saw, i believe it may have partially rotted so will most likely use that as a experiment piece rather than converting it into a functional shooter but could always make a plinker out of it...

will let you all know how it goes refining them but im pretty certain ill be going out there again to harvest some more forks.

Paul

 

[Dayhiker]

Looks like they all have potential. Interesting attachment. Keep us posted on their progress. But most important: Have Fun!

 

[jmplsnt]

Not bad at all PJB. I like them and after some curing, carving, sanding, and finishing you should have some good ones there. I like the third one in myself, but they will all work fine for you.

A cheap folding saw is your best friend when you are out and about for a number of reasons, and when on a fork mooch they truly are fantastic. They only cost about eight US dollars so they can't be much over there. Try one out and you'll leave your pocketknife at home!

That said, you did go out and get it done with what you had on hand so you get high marks! Keep us posted on how these and any others progress.

 

[harpersgrace]

Great work, my Girl and I went out before Xmas and cut about a dozen, nice for a old timer like me to have someone with you to take a spell on the saw from time to time....just remember cut your forks longer than what you want easier to cut one down than to have to little to work with..

 

[NoSugarRob]

 

[Botus]

Was walking the dog the other day and found a pile that the forestry commission had felled and only wished I had my folding pruning saw with me!!!! Having seen your lovely pics that has settled it and now will never be leaving the house without it! Great job by the way cant wait to see how they turn out! On this thread of topic are natural forks ok to be used in their green state?

 

[PJB21]

Was walking the dog the other day and found a pile that the forestry commission had felled and only wished I had my folding pruning saw with me!!!! Having seen your lovely pics that has settled it and now will never be leaving the house without it! Great job by the way cant wait to see how they turn out! On this thread of topic are natural forks ok to be used in their green state?

i think everyone dries theirs out, the minimal moisture the better, several meathods of doing this, just do a forum search. good luck with collecting some forks =)

thanks for the nice comments everyone, afraid i havent started work on them yet, still trying to get hold of all the tools (want to do a decent job) im aware some people have just used a penknife and produced a great looking catty but i simply dont have the time or experience for that and think a good rasp, files and sandpaper as well as some linseed oil/varnish would suit me nicely. as regards the size i take to heart the saying "you can always cut more off but you cant cut it on" the forks ive cut vary between 17cm-25cm so plenty of room to work with.

on a side note ive currently got some freelance design work which will be paying fairly nicely so will probably treat myself to a scroll saw and start some board cuts when that pays out.

 

[The Gopher]

nice looking forks.