There is a certain charm involved in carrying and drinking from a handcarved
wooden cup. It is true that they are not quite as versitile or lightweight
as a sierra cup, but water dipped from a fast rushing stream seems to taste
a little better from the wooden cup.
I first became interested in these cups when reading about the kuksa
carried by the Lapps in Skandanavia. I purchased this one from the
gentleman who made it in Skandanavia.
It is made of an arctic birch burl, as is traditional. It is
fininshed in with a mixture of linseed oil and beeswax. I have added
additional coatings of oil and wax as the cup appeared to need them.
The paracord attached to the handle suspends the cup from the leather bag
I often carry when hiking.
Later I purchaced the large wooden spoon/cup from a person in Sweeden
who buys things from estate sales. It is called a kosa. Again,
it is made from the burl of the arctic birch. Someone had varnished
the outside of this kosa. I sanded the varnish off and finished it
with beeswax and flaxseed oil. Flaxseed oil is a food-grade linseed
oil that you can get at health food stores. It does not contain the
drying agents that linseed oil from the hardware store does. I made
the strap on this kosa from twined braintanned buckskin.
The third cup is one I carved from a burl. I purchased several
dried pieces of wood from a woodworker who was reducing his inventory.
I do not know the wood, but it may be walnut from the appearance.
I call this one a noggin, as I am told that is a name given to such cups
on the American frontier.
This picture shows the noggin with some of the tools that created it.
I also used a hand saw to rough out the shape. Parts of the burl
were hard, and parts soft. I was more tempted to carve out some of
the soft parts so the cup assumed an asymetrical appearance that has started
to grow on me. I used an electric dril to start the hole in the handle
and the hole in the interior of the cup.
The noggin has received several coats of flaxseed oil, which it drinks thirstily. After it becomes well saturated and the oil hardens a bit I will give a final coats with beeswax/flaxseed oil.
Here is my son's kuksa. It was made by a craftsman living in the north of Russia.
