Oak Barrel Aroma

I found OneOak project on the web: a 222 years old oak tree was cut down in Oxfordshire and its wood was given to craftsmen and artists, who created various things ranging from sculptures, beams and furniture to spoons and charcoal. The purpose of the project was to promote the importance of trees and woodland management, and the benefits of using wood.
I also learned that oak wood is not used for spoons very often; it is too porous and contains too much tannin. This page recommends to boil the spoons to remove the tannin, but the spoons could crack during boiling or drying. Tannin has a bitter taste, but it is not poisonous and it even has some healing effects.
Having learned all this, I started to carve. Oak wood splits easily, which helped me to carve faster.

The wood did not taste bitter, but it smelt like vinegar brine from pickled gherkins. After long weighing the pros and cons, I decided not to boil the spoon. I sanded it and finished it with oil. Only then I realized that some small pieces of sandpaper sank into the pores and stayed there. So the resulting spoon is a bit dotted... The wood is quite light and it could be polished to a nice gloss despite the porous structure.

 After sanding, the wood has a natural luster.

Sealed with walnut oil.