Handprint Press

  • About Hand Print Press
  • Blog
    • spoons & wood
    • stories: building, earth, arts
    • oven stories
      • oventek
      • stovetek
    • music & more
    • Kiko’s gallery
    • food
  • Bookstore
  • Workshops
HomeBannerCrop3
Handprint Press
banner2ovns
Build Your Own Earth Oven
banner5ovns
Books and Advice
artbanner
Art Gallery
PlayPause
previous arrow
next arrow

Frequently asked questions about Cob ovens!

  If you can’t find an answer to your question here, in the book, or elsewhere on the site, please feel free to leave a question in the comment section and I’ll get back to you asap (if you scan the comments, you may well find your answer there). I’m delighted to hear from you […]

Wood, food, Bacteria & Nana-tech

September 17, 2019 By Kiko Denzer 3 Comments

People often express concerns that eating off of wood is “unhygienic,” and perhaps even dangerous. I will restrain myself from ranting about how industrialized, commercialized, and commodified culture has turned nature into an evil villain bent on poisoning humanity. Instead, I’ll refer you to the pdf below, a scientific study which compares bacterial survival on […]

The value of a wooden spoon

June 27, 2019 By Kiko Denzer 8 Comments

The economy of wares: the value of a wooden spoon When I can, I sell wooden spoons and bowls direct, person to person. I want people to be able to handle things, see some of the process, chat, build relationships — and burn less gas…. If all exchange happened that way, in time, perhaps, the […]

cob ovens, spoon carving, & other workshops for 2019

April 9, 2019 By Kiko Denzer 2 Comments

May 18-19, cob oven workshop at the Artisan Baking Center in Petaluma California, details here June 22-23, cob oven workshop at the Prairie Mountain Folkschool in Joseph, Oregon, details here August 17-18, A two day Greenwood Carving class (from simple to more complex), at the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology, Otis, Oregon, details here June & August Greenwood […]

Bushcraft weekend – spoons, baskets, fire! Sept 22/23

September 10, 2018 By Kiko Denzer Leave a Comment

Sept 22/23: Learn basic bushcraft Carve a spoon from greenwood, weave a cattail basket, make fire. Includes a wood-fired pizza potluck, and whatever other projects we can fit in around the evening fire. Myron Cretney is a regular teacher and inspiration at primitive skills gatherings throughout the west. In addition to cattail and all the […]

Instagram Feed

kikodenzer

SPOON CARVING CLASS! Make a beautiful sculpture th SPOON CARVING CLASS! Make a beautiful sculpture that will feed you (or your loved one) in so many ways…June 17th, Saturday, in Corvallis, with @CoyleOutside. Your best teachers will be the wood and the blade; I’ll provide introductions (and instruction as needed). Feel free to DM with questions, or register at: https://campscui.active.com/orgs/CoyleOutside?season=2750005&session=59496537
Cooking the canoe: I wasn’t there for the first Cooking the canoe: I wasn’t there for the first day, when it got filled with hot water; there were cracks tho, so the water level fluctuated and temps never topped 200°. Next day I was able to show up for support. We decided to try dry heat, putting it over a bed of coals…more cracks, but temps went well over 200°. End result, the slot between the gunwales went from 7” in the middle to 11”. He might have to recruit his little brother to paddle it…or cut the gunwales down a couple inches to maximize width. Or maybe it will get an outrigger! Or maybe it will be a drum. Or a dough trough! #DugoutCanoe #DugoutCanoes #dugoutcanoes❤  #thenewwoodculture #thenewwoodculturemeetsanoldwoodculture
I am just home from a wonderful week of no phones, I am just home from a wonderful week of no phones, no cars, lovely people, and delicious meals I didn’t have to cook. I’ve been going to @buckeye_gathering since it started in 2010. It is and has been a joy and privilege to be part of the #village. The first day we spent #tendingtheland together: freeing up strugglers, setting boundaries for aggressors, recognizing and re-moving the dead, raking and preparing the landscape for a prescribed burn, and generally looking for useful ways to participate in the life of the place — as members of the community rather than as “owners.” 

When we asked folks to share what the word “tending“ meant to them, they said things like: “taking time,” “listening,” “observing,” “taking care of”….the kind of things that friends do for each other. 

That word — “friend” — grows from the same root as the word “freedom” — isn’t that interesting?

Coincidentally, I’ve been listening to #DavidGraeber read his book,  #Debtthefirst5000years. He points out that the institutionalization of slavery required ripping people out of their homes and communities, cutting them off from the bonds of relationship that make friendship possible. So when we lose our connections to each other and the land, we also lose our freedom…which is why we can’t have freedom for all unless we also have land and community for all…
California critter…not a stinger… California critter…not a stinger…
we have been turning trees into paper for centurie we have been turning trees into paper for centuries, if not milennia; here I’m turning paper back into the mush they make paper from. Then I’ll add lime, powdered limestone, oil, clay, and starch to make something inspired by (and, I hope, similar to) a Japanese wall finish called #shikkui. “Sticky + sabulous = fabulous” — that’s the principle behind many building materials, and especially natural plasters, whether the sticky stuff is lime, clay, milk, wheat paste…even manure. “Sabulous” just means sand-like — but it rhymes with fabulous! Anyway, it’s a lot like cooking, but the ingredients are (mostly) underfoot, and the finished recipe goes on the wall (or the floor) instead of in your belly. You can paint on it too! I’ll be teaching a class this summer in Corvallis. For more info, goto tarweedfolkschool.com. Classes go live soon… #naturalbuilding #naturalplasters #corvalliscraft #corvalliscrafts #corvallisoregon  Thanks @eileen.k.h @rozerita
#dugoutcanoe carving — it’s really coming alon #dugoutcanoe carving — it’s really coming along. You can see the exposed ends of the half-inch plugs that we used to gauge thickness. Primary tools have been an adze and a gouge… when all the walls are evenly thinned down we’ll add hot water and stretch the gunnels. it makes a nice drum too! #newwoodculture #dugoutcanoes #canoecarving
Hey! I’m headed up to Portland on Saturday for a Hey! I’m headed up to Portland on Saturday for a plant sale @greenanchorspdx with @rewildportland. Super cool folks. Should be fun. And you can get your Plant fix: fiber and dye plants, edibles, perennial foods, medicine, pollinators, and some cool demos.
Affordable instruments for all! Here’s the book! Affordable instruments for all! Here’s the book! Build yourself an amazing little instrument out of just a 2 x 4, some scrap plywood, and cardboard! It’ll cost you about 20 bucks; less if you’re a scrounger. Back in print after a hiatus.  swipe left for a video of Ray and Shirley playing (if it comes through). You can also down load the PDF for free from my website (Link in bio) or from https://issuu.com/handprintpress/docs/raysdulcimer. #CigarboxGuitar #diyinstruments #diyinstrumentsworkshop #musicforall #musicforallpeoples #cardboardinstruments #rayjacobs
Instagram post 18136622275293500 Instagram post 18136622275293500
Follow on Instagram

Products

  • Making Things The Best of Making Things, by Ann Wiseman
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $12.00 – $14.95
  • the cob oven bible The Cob Oven Bible: Build Your Own Earth Oven, 3rd Edition $14.95 – $19.95

Categories

  • announcements, classes, opportunities (11)
  • Books (2)
  • Documents (2)
  • Tech (52)
    • building tech (13)
    • oventek (27)
    • stovetek (16)
  • the work of art (61)
    • food (5)
    • Kiko's gallery (8)
    • music & more (13)
    • oven stories (15)
    • spoons & wood (8)
    • stories: building, earth, arts (19)
  • Uncategorized (1)

recent comments

  • Kiko Denzer on waterglass for binding earthen surfaces & pigment
  • Jamie on waterglass for binding earthen surfaces & pigment
  • Kiko Denzer on Frequently asked questions about Cob ovens!
  • bug on Frequently asked questions about Cob ovens!
  • Kiko Denzer on Frequently asked questions about Cob ovens!

Search our site

Keep in touch

Please subscribe for access to occasional longer posts, sales of special woodwork and sculpture, and/or educational opportunities.
(For more frequent shorter updates, see my Instagram feed.)

Copyright © 2025 Handprint Press