Hey folks, do you have a bin of scrap wood that you've collected over the years that keeps getting larger and larger? Ya know, stacked with wood that is either too short, too thin, too small or too oddly shaped for most projects? Well, I have one of those bins....and it keeps growing. Until now! Recently, I saw a Swedish Butter knife made out of juniper wood on Amazon and got an idea. Why not make one bigger, better, and out of all the scrap wood I have in my pile! Game on! In this Instructable I will show you how to make one or several to reduce your scrap pile! This wooden knife can be for butter, jam, jelly, but it's best for CREAM CHEESE....to appropriately schmear a large wad onto an Everything Bagel. Enjoy!

Supplies

Scrap Wood that is ~2.5" wide x ~9" long x ~ 3/8" to 7/16" thick [10mm to 11mm]. Pictured in this instructable are: mahogony, cedar, spruce, doug fir, padouk, walnut, maple, cherry, and lacewood. Any scrap wood will work fine!

1/4 inch wood dowel

Titebond I or II wood glue

Small Clamps [Harbor Freight tools]

Table Saw [Ridgid]

Planer [Ridgid]

Scroll Saw [Ridgid]

Chop Saw [Ridgid]

4" x 36" belt sander [Ryobi] w/ 80grit

1" x 30" belt sander [Delta] w/ 80 or 100 grit

Router and table [Porter Cable]

3/4" 45 degree bit

3/4" round over bit

Spindle Sander [Ryobi] with 60 or 80 grit

Sandpaper -- 100grit, 150grit, 220grit, 320grit, 400grit

Howards Cutting board oil [https://www.howardproducts.com/product/cutting-board-oil/]

Everything Bagel

Cream Cheese

Step 1: Come Up With a Design

I used a curved ruler to come up with this shape on graph paper. Then I cut it out and traced it onto thicker manila folder for a template. Design it how big or small as you like. This size feels good. Its' a nice large blade for a good size Schmear of CREAM CHEESE on the Everything Bagel.

Step 2: Plane Down and Cut Your Scrap Wood

Plane it down to around 8mm to 11mm. I usually make the knife blade around 10 to 12mm and the side cheeks around 7 to 10mm. Doesn't matter. Make it as thick or thin as ya like based on your hand. Next, cut the width on the table saw to about 3" wide [minimum 2.5"]...depending on the size knife you sketched on graph paper.

Step 3: Trace Your Template Onto the Wood and Cut With a Scroll Saw

Trace the template onto your scrap wood that is ~3" wide x ~9" long and 10 to 12mm thick. Use a scroll saw to rough cut your shape. Doesn't have to be a perfect cut. This will be fully shaped later on with the spindle sander.

Step 4: Spindle Sand the Blade to Shape

Next, smooth out the shape with a spindle sander. I use an 80 grit spindle sander to shape the edges of the blade. The sides must be perpendicular at this point. [The blade will be 'sharpened' in later steps.....]

Step 5: Prep the Side Cheeks for Your Knife

Next, we need to cut ~4" long pieces of scrap wood [~3" wide by ~7mm to 10mm thick]. I cut one piece on the chop saw ~4" long...then take a piece of blue tape and invert it so the sticky side is UP [see 2nd picture]. Place your cut piece and another cheek piece side by side...then cut on the chop saw. This ensures the cheek pieces are dialed in the same length. Cover the ends with blue tape to hold them together. Match your cheek color wood to the color of blade you like. Lastly, put your blade piece over the cheek set and trace out the outline of the blade as shown.

Step 6: Drill Holes Through the Blade and Cheeks [at the Same Time]

Choose a drill bit that matches the scrap dowel you have. I happened to have 1/4", so that's what I'm using. Clamp the blade to the cheek set and drill [fastest setting best] through all 3 pieces at once. Move the bit up and down to make the hole very slightly larger than the dowel [so it slides through easier when you glue it up! ]. Once you've drilled the first hole, I use a piece of dowel inserted into the hole to make darn sure it's all lined up. Then, your pieces will fit together perfectly. Some would ask if I use the dowel for simply aesthetics.... The answer is no. I use it for aesthetics, yes, but mainly to hold the cheeks together while gluing so they do not move. You want the cheeks to be symmetrical on both sides of the knife. The dowels achieve that, plus they look cool! Lastly, test fit that your blade and cheeks fit perfectly with your dowels.

Step 7: Route and Scroll Saw the Cheeks

Put some more blue tape on the cheek set [except the end you want to route] to prep for routing. I like to route the end of the cheek set with a 45 degree cut. [As you can see by the 4th pict over, this routes this edge nicely ...because you cannot route this edge later]. Next, cut out the cheek set just outside the outline by about 1mm. [The more outside the line you go, the more wood you need to shape later on on the spindle sander.] Then, test fit one more time to visibly see how you are going to glue it up. [Always wise!]

Step 8: Glue and Clamp!

[Sorry, I don't have more picts...]. I use titebond II glue with a rockler glue spreader. I use long q-tips to put glue in the holes. I put glue on both cheeks, then insert the dowels, then the blade, then the other cheek. I use el cheapo clamps from Harbor Freight tools....nothing special. Clamp overnight and good to sand the next day!

Step 9: Sand, Sand, Sand.....

First, use the 4" x 36" belt sander to sand the dowels flat. They will most likely burn, but that can be sanded lightly off later. Second, use a 3" diameter spindle sander to sand down the cheeks flush with the knife blade. Remove all glue. Now is the time to shape the outside of the knife to it's final shape.

Step 10: Route the Cheeks With a 3/4" Round Over Bit

A word of caution: be very careful when you do this. If you have never used a router table before, I would let someone show you how to do this. This is NOT for the faint of heart. I say a prayer, lock the doors to my shop, and put on a face shield with bright lights over the table. Once I get my mojo, I begin....No, I don't use a small piece holder [I've seen them and don't like them...they can slip and now you have a missile shooting in your shop]. I do this freehand. If you are wondering,...yes, i have all my fingers. I'm just very darn careful and do a coordinated dance with my fingers to hold the piece in place. It's scary indeed, but with prayer and practice all things are possible! :)

Step 11: Shape the Blade With a 1" Belt Sander

This little 1" belt sander is perfect for this. It's a delta 1" x 30" sander. I love it just for this project. This is going to take a bit of patience, practice, and skill...but you can do it! If you screw up, there's always more wood in the pile. I get a rough edge on the blade and save the final sanding by hand.

Step 12: Hand Sand With a Series of 150, 220, 320, and 400grit Sand Paper.

This is what takes a lot of time [going from the condition of the knives on the left to the final product condition on the right] Easy to get a hand cramp doing this. I spend probably about 30' to 1 hour for each knife. I start with 150 to get the final shape of the blade and handle. Around the back end of the knife, the router usually burns the wood. The 150 [or go lower to 100] will get out the burnt wood. After 150, goto 220, then 320, then 400. If you want it to really shine, do a 600 and even an 800 on it. Blow off all the excess sawdust, then coat/soak with Howards Butcher block oil and you're good to go! If over time the knife feels a bit rough, just sand it down with 320 or so and coat it again with butcher block oil...anything that is food grade will work fine.

Step 13: Grab Your Favorite Bagel, Schmear and Enjoy!

Step 14: PLAN B! a Quicker Knife!

Can't wait 2 days to make a knife to spread your schmear of cream cheese on your bagel??? I get it. I feel your pain! If you don't want to go through the hassle of making the side cheek pieces for the handle, just make it one piece and shape it! I found a very old piece of Cocobolo [that I must have bought 20 years ago] at the very bottom of my scrap wood bin. I just traced out and shaped it! WOW. Most stunning wood on the planet. This knife obviously took waaaaaaay less time to make. [Start to finish, one hour tops] I would make the thickness around 12mm to 14mm. Shape it the same way on the belt sander. Coat it with the Howards conditioner. Grab an everything bagel and cream cheese and schmear away! Enjoy! :)