As you probably know, sourdough bread baking was the it thing at the beginning of the pandemic, and no Instagram-worthy bread picture would be complete without an artful scoring pattern on the loaf. This Instructable is meant to teach you how to make an extremely simple bread lame so that you too can bake bread and make it a piece of art!

Materials

Wooden dowel (1/2" to 1/4")
8-32 knurled nuts, brass [like these]
8-32 x 1/2" machine screw, brass [like these]
Razor blade

Tools

Hand rasp (4-in-1) OR Sharp chisels
Drill with 5/32" bit
Sandpaper
Clamp OR Bench Vise
Blue tape (optional)

Step 1: Measuring and Marking

Caution: Be careful when handling the razor blade. It can easily slice open a finger. You can use the blue tape on the edges to prevent any accidents.

You can make your bread lame with any size dowel between 1/2" or 1/4" (I wouldn't recommend going any smaller). You can also make it longer/shorter to suit your needs.

First, cut your dowel to length. I cut mine at 9".

Second, mark the length of the razor blade (carefully) on one end of the dowel. It does not have to be exact, just do not mark less than the length of the blade.

Third, mark half of the diameter of the dowel on the same end of the dowel where you had the razor blade. You can "eyeball" this or try and get it super exact, it is your bread lame after all!

Step 2: Cutting the Notch for the Blade

You will need some way to secure the dowel to your work surface. I do not have a bench vise, so I improvised with a makeshift dowel-holding jig (see last picture).

First, remove the material from the dowel according to your markings from the previous step (length of blade + half the diameter of the dowel). This can be done with a hand-rasp or some very sharp chisels.

Second, remove material from the dowel to create a gentle slope down to the flat part of the lame (picture 3). I did not measure how far back to extend the slope.

Step 3: Drill and Dry Fit

I recommend wrapping the end of the dowel in blue tape before you drill to prevent tear out on your bread lame.

First, place the razor blade on the end of your dowel and mark where the hole(s) will go. I chose to secure the razor with only one nut/screw as it seemed stable enough, but you can instead secure it with two. Drill accordingly.

Second, carefully drill the hole where you marked it. Remove the blue tape.

Third, perform a dry fit of the hardware.

Step 4: Sanding and Finishing

First, sand the lame to whatever grit you like. I used some leftover 220 grit which was more than enough to make it smooth to the touch.

Second, give the lame a food-safe finish. This can simply be mineral oil or a homemade solution. I used a 4:1 solution of mineral oil to beeswax (usually called "Wood Butter" or "Spoon Butter").

For this solution, after applying and leaving on overnight, I remove and excess and buff the beeswax with a cloth/paper towel.

Step 5: Score!

It's time to get baking! Scoring bread is pretty simple once you have had some practice. As always, be careful! These razor blades can slice open a finger easily!

Before putting your bread in the oven, place the blade touching the bread and slash the top of your loaf with a quick motion. It just takes some practice as you can see by my center slash which I had to do multiple times!

I hope you enjoy your bread baking experience!

Also, if you liked this Instructable, please consider voting for it in the Woodworking Contest! Thank you!

-Wood is the Word