Thanks much for visiting me! Due to declining health – I cannot make enough bowls for everyone. But I want you to be able to find what you’re after. Below are a couple of the many bowl makers I know that may be able to help you.
I fully endorse the quality of their work. There’s also links for tools, and a wonderful tool maker!
Fight boredom while working in your shop! Tune in to FM 98.1 WBRF radio in Galax, Va. at https://www.blueridgecountry98.1.com
The tools I use for carving animals, birds, etc. come from “Smoky Mountain Woodcarvers” https://www.woodcarvers.com . I love the high-quality tools they sell and the 1st rate customer service that they provide!
You can Google “handmade wooden bowls” online to find several websites that sell them. I also know many craftsmen here in the US that make hand-hewn bowls. Most work and sell bowls in their communities – Leon Neal, Raleigh, NC, Jim Young, in Georgia and Billy Parrish in S/W Mississippi come to mind here. But I also know 2 excellent bowl makers here in the USA that don’t have websites yet – but will make and ship hand-hewn bowls. You may want to give them a holler. Dyrkton Ingo does have a website and I’m listing him for anyone in Canada that may want to keep from paying the high “brokers fees” at the border.
Bob Barrett – of Stoneville, NC – does beautiful work. He’s a “stickler” for detail and you can bet if Bob makes it – it is going to be something great. He learned from one of the best (me – LOL) and has impressed me with his style and quality from his very 1st bowl. He uses many types of wood and has made some really nice bowls! All are hand-hewn and very symmetrical. Then he sands them smooth so you can see the graining better. As you can imagine – they’re not only prettier, but a finely sanded bowl is much easier to clean.
email Bob at bbarrett001@triad.rr.com
Philip Jones – of Gastonia, NC – is the absolute best bowl maker I have ever had a hand in teaching. His “hand-hewn” bowls are the best I have ever seen that didn’t come out of my shop! Phil goes the extra mile on his bowls to thin the walls – make the sides flow seamlessly into the bottom (inside and out) and really pushes the symmetry of his work. His quality is second to none. I may have helped to teach him but he “amazes his teacher” every time I have the pleasure to see some of his work. He has made bowls up to around 4 feet long and loves a challenge.
He uses adzes made by Jason Lonon https://www.jasonlonon.com and does things the “old way”. He’s a remarkable young man. In addition to his beautiful symmetry – he finishes the job by sanding them all super slick.
email Phil at philmichaeljones@gmail.com
Dyrkton Ingo – of Lasqueti Island, Canada. There’s not enough space here to describe all of his talents in carving. He carves Bowls / Masks / Spoons / Ladles / Scoops / Wood-Spirits – you name it he masters them all. I met Ingo thru a mutual (now deceased) friend named Don Dillon. Ingo will amaze you not only with his style but also with the very life that he lives. Imagine living your life on a secluded Island off the coast of Vancouver, Canada, with a boat bringing supplies being his only connection to the mainland – living a life with minimal electricity – using solar panels all the time except the darker days of winter when he has to use a generator – and only the crafts that he excels at to get him through. His carvings are his life. He is very much the outdoorsman … see him in his many videos on Youtube under “Carvings by Ingo” of Lasqueti Island, Canada.
reach Ingo at: https://www.lasqueti.ca/ingo or email him at toeclip2000@yahoo.ca
If you need a well-made adze (the tools used to chop out bowls) I suggest “Jason Lonon, Toolmaker”. Jason makes the sharpest tools I have ever used. He brought several for me to try out when I was still a paid display artist for the NC State Fair, and they cut extremely well. Contact Jason at: https://www.JasonLonon.com or call him at (828) 460-1942.
I am 100% in to sanding bowls slick to show off the beauty that God hid in there for us to enjoy. I feel that as craftsmen – if we don’t do all we can do to show off that beauty it’s an insult to the God who made it. The bowl is not finished until it’s sanded.
After sanding – To “Buff” the wood – getting even more grain definition and drawing out more beauty that God placed into the tree – check out www.bealltools.com. This is a system that will greatly improve the looks of whatever you buff and is not very difficult to do. They have several Youtube videos showing this from start to finish and some very knowledgeable folks answering the phone. On Youtube simply search for “The Beall buffing system”.