Scrape off the bark with a piece of stone or bone. In spring and summer it pulls off easily without the need for tools.
Split the "main stem" on thicker pieces to thin it quickly.
Carve it thinner and cut off the ends so it looks like a hook.
Finally, bind it to bring the barb closer to the stem and thus reducing the risk of the hook splitting in the "joint" because of leverage. On this particular piece I bent back the thin stem to make an eye. One always needs to try something new, not so?
Leave the hook to dry, if you need it right away you can dry it by the fire. Sharpen it when dry, tie it up and pitch it. Wooden hooks loose their sharpness very quickly because of soaking up water, I plan to experiment on glazing the hooks with pitch or smearing them with fat to reduce this effect.
