Cup from Birch Burl

About a year ago I received a piece of birch with a fist-sized burl (or rather two burls, one bigger and one smaller, joined together). I finally took courage to carve something from it during Christmas vacation. I wasn't sure if I would succeed, so I didn't even take pictures during the carving. Now I regret it because it turned out excellent.

First I sawed the burl off the branch. The top layers were soft and porous like normal birch wood, but the material was darker, denser and harder inwards. I wanted to hollow the inside of the cup, but the wood was as hard as nails on that side. So I began with a drill and high speed cutter and then I extended the hole with carving gouges and a spoon knife.

A knife was sufficient for shaping the outside walls but I had to be very careful because the wavy wood tore out easily in some places. The smaller burl was transformed into a tiny handle.

 

Carving from burls is challenging but the wood pattern is worth it. The light strips occur in the places where the direction of the fibers changes. And they even move slightly before your eyes when you turn the wood under a lamp, which is a truly fascinating sight.