Everyone can, and should carve a wooden spoon. This Instructable will show you how to get started carving your very own spoon and hopefully answer some of the basic questions regarding wood carving, whittling, and how to create your own wooden spoons that you can cook and eat with.
I've been collecting spoons of the world for a while (see second photo) and have always had an interest in odd spoons. Big ones, tiny ones, it doesn't mater really, there's just something about the spoon that from a design and function standpoint catches my interest. At some point I eventually started making my own spoons, and carving them with other people as well as a social event - it's a great thing to share in as a group activity.
Carving a wooden spoon is a great activity because the process is directed, but still has a place for creativity. It's easy enough for anyone to learn and delivers success at virtually any level of completion because there's always a use for an odd spoon and even when they don't go exactly to plan, they still come out as a beautiful handmade work of functional art.
I've been collecting spoons of the world for a while (see second photo) and have always had an interest in odd spoons. Big ones, tiny ones, it doesn't mater really, there's just something about the spoon that from a design and function standpoint catches my interest. At some point I eventually started making my own spoons, and carving them with other people as well as a social event - it's a great thing to share in as a group activity.
Carving a wooden spoon is a great activity because the process is directed, but still has a place for creativity. It's easy enough for anyone to learn and delivers success at virtually any level of completion because there's always a use for an odd spoon and even when they don't go exactly to plan, they still come out as a beautiful handmade work of functional art.
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Signing UpStep 1: Tools and Materials
I'm going to share my process for spoon carving in this Instructable. It's by no means the official way to do it, or even, a carving purists way to do it since it involves the use of several power tools that all remove wood more quickly than hand carving. Please just use this Instructable as an inspirational guide to start carving wooden spoons and utensils, and not as the end all word on the very complex and highly skilled process of wood carving, of which, I am by no means an expert or qualified teacher.
Tools and Materials:
Tools and Materials:
- sharp carving knives including at least a medium straight knife and a rounded or sweep gouge. (I bought my knives from Flexcut)
- chunk of soft wood a little larger than the size of spoon you'd like to carve (more on wood choices in the following step)
- 80, 120, 220 & 400 grit sandpaper
- small diameter (1"-2") sanding drum or flap wheel
- pen or marker
- food safe wood finish (like a butcher block oil or beeswax finish) or mineral oil
- belt sander
- dremmel tool
- scroll saw
- table saw
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Thanks for the info!
You can't bring new wooden surfaced tables or cutting boards into a commercial kitchen any more (due to idiots who didn't care for the wood so it developed cracks and/or wasn't sanitized correctly). However I still delt with many butcher block tables that were grandfathered in and was trained in their care at school.
In a commercial kitchen you clean the wooden surface by wiping it down with a light bleach/water mix (occasionally, if needed, it gets scrubbed down, but this is seldom if ever needed as long as it's wiped down regularly) and then once a week it gets oiled with vegetable oil (I've heard that you should only use linseed oil as vegetable oil will go rancid and smell. However I've been using vegetable oil at work and home for many years and have never experienced the oil going 'rancid').
I basically do the same thing with my wooden cooking implements at home (though I don't bleach or oil as often).
So to sum my recommendation up, I'd just use oil for a finish and occasionally renew it. I would never use varnish on an item that was going to be in direct contact with my food.
P.S. The oil reapplied over the years will make the wood harder and more durable also.
I normally carve the "cup" part at this stage, so if I accidentally jumble with the carving I can easily change the design to fit my mistake :D
On her workshop page, Spoonlady.com points to a link listing wood toxicities: http://www.cs.rochester.edu/u/roche/rec.wood.misc/wood.toxic
It's important to protect yourself, esp from inhaling sawdust, if using toxic woods.
I can't find where she gets her info. She lists beech as toxic and carcinogenic, but I can't anything that corroborates that.
Side note:
@noahw
Good Stuff not so nice. Maybe use something less potentially carcinogenic.
http://www.mapleblock.com/uploads/Good_Stuff_MSDS_2005.pdf
However, the spoons look really cool! Nice work!
Here's the copy from their website - I guess a food safe gel varnish is really too good to be true.
Good Stuff - 1 Quart
When your butcher block island or counter top starts to show wear or needs refinishing, give it a little Good Stuff. This easy-to-use gel urethane gives unfinished wood surfaces a protective moisture resistant finish. Perfect for butcher block islands, counter tops — even wood utensils and salad bowls. See Emmet’s Elixir for cutting boards and chopping blocks.
• Urethane Wood Finish
• 1 Quart
• Non-toxic, food-safe, urethane-based.
• For finishing or refinishing tops with Durakryl 102 finish
• Easy cloth application
• Clear satin finish
http://www.buybutcherblock.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=goodstuff-finish4&Category_Code=maintenanceProd
I would never bet on that.
To me a butcher's block should be left bare : if you use it every day or so it will wear but that's how things must be. That's the authentic touch that could be ruined by varnishing it with urethane.
If you really care to see the wood grain oil it with a cloth and any dressing oil (olive, peanut, whatever â¦) result will be as good â¦
My feeling (but that is purely personal) is that we shouldn't overdo things.
Thank you for the great instructable, though. I'm just getting back into carving, and I am definitely going to try this one!
That said, I usually use walnut oil and beeswax on the items that I make that may be in contact with food. They are natural and effective. Shellac is also a good choice for things that don't see too much water or wear. Shellac is so safe that it's actually used in food--it provides the shine to some candies like M&Ms and jelly beans.
Nice instructible, by the way! I have made a few spoons and stock-pot stirrers for my wife. Hard to find a 16" spoon to stir a deep pot of strawberries cooking into jam.
I'll have to try it.
I did not read all the comments before the one I'm posting, so please forgive me if mine is redundant. It's about the finish : instead of mineral oil, wouldn't olive oil (or any other salad oil for that matter) be an acceptable substitute ?... After all olive oil is edible !
However there is an alternative, although I'm not sure it will be accepted by other members : no finishing at all !
Keep the wood bare and the spoon will slowly oil and "finish" itself over time.
Most of the wooden "cutlery" (spoon and forks) sold in local markets here (France) are free of any finish. They keep very well overtime : I spoil mine when I happen to leave them near a flame /) !... Otherwise I wouldn't have to get new ones. En they get a very nice tanned color overtime ...
I'm 60 + and I still see in my mother's kitchen spoons she used when I was a child.
Thanks,
Pfarmkid
I do ensure that I get a "safe" formulation of mineral oil by purchasing it at the drugstore, where it is sold as a laxative. I've received several odd looks from cashiers when I purchase 2-3 large bottles at the same time, and the occasional warning that "you do know you are supposed to only use a couple tablespoons of that a day, right?"
the finish(es) I use are really simple: oil, then wax with a mix of oil and beeswax (I use locally-sourced olive oil and beeswax, because I can) neither will stand up to a dishwasher, so don't put it in there! They don't need to be dishwasher-ed, just cleaned with water and detergent
Are there woods that are generally not food safe that you can comment on? I had an allergic reaction when working with pau ferro. The interwebs say walnut is toxic to horses, but no sign it is bad for humans.
Rather than try to preach about the relative safety of wood compared to virtually everything else in our environments, I will simply say that working with walnut, cherry and maple is completely safe, and those are great places to start without any fear of a possible reaction.
(I'm pretty sure that's what I read on another forum, which has lots of woodworkers)
there are almost certainly online resources which will tell you what woods are dangerous/easy to work/nice finish/etc.
if in doubt about some wood, Google it
A simple statement in your instructable for first time wood workers could be useful.
Please accept my apologies - my comment was intended to be directed towards pjotrkuh (see their comment below) and I must have accidentally hit the incorrect reply button. pjotrkuh's comment has a tone of alarm about "toxic wood" to it that I just wanted to turn down a bit since wood is generally a very safe and stable material to work with.
Regarding your comment - I have also heard that walnut is bad for horses, but I do know that it is fine for humans. I have also read that people who suffer nut allergies should be fine working with wood from nut bearing trees - the proteins concentrate in the nuts, not the rest of the plant structure.
It's a good idea to say a word about wood allergies for the beginning wood worker and I thank you for the suggestion. Quite frankly I though wouldn't know what to say as we all mitigate risks in our lives differently and react in our own way to allergens. For example, many woodworkers get itchy skin when working with certain types of wood like cedar and cocobolo. This is a widely known occurrence, and woodworkers suggest wearing long sleeves, or, quite simply, to not let the itch bother them. That being said, the dust from these woods could certainly be described as an allergy. Should cedar and cocobolo be labeled as allergens? Does it merit a warning? I'm not looking for an answer, simply trying to explain why I think these are tricky questions.
If you'd like to point me towards a good reference on wood allergies I'd be happy to read it, and include it in the Instructable. I'm really not trying to deliver a sermon, just simply wanted to answer your question with the thought and explanation that I think it deserved. Thanks again for your suggestion and support.
on your list I would definitely scrap down all the "pine" category such as pine, cedar, fir and redwood : after all you wouldn't mind to use turpentine as a salad dressing !
Same for teak : who would care for a taste of teak oil ???
PS. : Turpentine (at least the traditional stuff that has been manufactured for centuries before synthetic chemistry took over) is made from pine resin : great smell when you enter Picasso's studio,  but it's compatibility with human health stops here !!!!â¦
Also, basswood is great stuff to work with and is very lightweight. It is not as strong as it could be, tho', so it gets used as 'decorative' vs. used.' Just a thot.
Great 'ible! Always wondered how my Dad did his.
Thanks for sharing this. :-)