Most of the spatulas are made from locally-sourced hardwoods, mainly Ash and Sycamore, with occasional use of elm, cherry and weathered holly. There's a local sawmill that I use a lot of the time, and natural falls and storm damage often provide wood.  Working with the wonderful variety of timber is a large part of the joy of making wooden spatulas. Occasionally, something really special comes my way, and I spend far too much time and care in deciding how best to use it. If anyone out there has some laburnum . . .

European Ash

Considered the King of Trees by the Vikings, Ash is a tall deep rooted tree, with wood renowned for its lengthways strength and flexibility.

The wood is wonderfully varied, with the heartwood being much darker than the sapwood. And I use the pronounced grain as much as possible (see the Design section).

Sycamore

Sycamore is the largest of the European maples, and has been growing in Britain since the middle ages, but is still thought of as a foreign intruder.  It is light-coloured and has a fine and even texture, but is difficult to season properly.

I occasionally get figured sycamore off-cuts from a local musical instrument maker. 

Holly

It was holly wot started the spatulas in earnest - we have several old holly trees round the garden. They looked dead from the outside, but when I started to saw and axe them up for the fire, I was struck by how magical the wood was. 

Picture of original duck spatula is coming soon, and with more pictures and info.

Some beautiful spalted sycamore. If only I could get some more, he used to wail. Now he wouldn't DREAM of using it, however beautiful it looks.

Elm

Elm is the strongest wood sideways, and so was always used for the seats of wooden chairs. I use them for designs which have bits sticking out across the grain, like the conductor's finger or the pegs of the cello. 

Cherry

I would like to get hold of big bits of strong close-grained cherry, so if anyone near Haltwhistle has some . . . At the moment I can only buy thinnish bits, but cherry works well for the A68 Roman Road spatula because that is the only spatula that is ergonomically un-curved - because it's a roman road.