Making Wooden Spoons

by E D W A R D S S M I T H on MAY 29, 2010

Last year I got a letter from a wooden spoon collector named

Norman D. Stevens of Storrs, Connecticut. It seems that he
became interested in collecting spoons by American woodcarvers.
One of his internet searches pulled up my name and he sent a
letter inviting me to contribute to his growing collection which I
did.
The more I thought about this, the more I appreciated what
Norman is doing. He is documenting the state of wooden spoon
making throughout the world in the early 21st century. Norman
has complied a directory of perhaps as many spoon makers he has
identified, and is maintaining hard copy files with background
information and correspondence with many of those artisans.
More importantly, he is creating a catalog describing each
contributor to his collection and his or her spoon. A number of his
spoons are on display through May 23, 2010 in an exhibit at the
American Association of Woodturners in Saint Paul, MN.

Norman Stevens Spoon Collection Display

There will also be a special display of many of his spoons, with
presentations by Norman, at the AAW Symposium in Hartford,
CT from June 19-20, 2010. That exhibit is open to the public
without charge. Further information can be found
at: http://www.woodturner.org/sym/sym2010/. AAW will be
issuing and selling a catalog for the exhibit at the Symposium that
will contain color images of about 100 of the spoons. There is also
an exhibit scheduled for the Gallery-on-the-Plaza of the Homer
Babbidge Library of the University of Connecticut. If you are
interested in his project his e-mail is: normanstevens@mac.com.

What a nice thing to do! Spoon makers are not exactly in the
spotlight of American woodworking so to pay tribute to the many
fine craftsmen who devote their energies to spoon making is like a
breath of fresh air to me.

Spoons Got Me Started in Woodworking

It turns out that wooden spoons were my first venture into
woodworking as an adult. I had cut down a maple in my back yard
to make some light for a vegetable and rose garden. The wood was
so pretty and white that I couldnt bear to split it all for firewood
so I saved a log or two.
By the time I got around to a project with the maple it had spalted
nicely. My first impression was that the wood was ruined but the
more I worked with it the more I came to appreciate the spalting.
As I learned more, I realized that I had cut a curly maple log that
had spalted and then I wished that I had saved the whole tree.
There are as many ways to make a wooden spoon as there are
wooden spoon makers. I thought I would just share some of my
thoughts about the craft. A test I once took indicated that I was a
pragmatic idealist. That sounds like a bit of an oxymoron but it
really does describe two opposite aspects of my character.

Spoons For Looking And Spoons For Cooking

I do appreciate the intricate work of spoons with all of the delicate
cut out work, but the spoons I wanted to make were to be used in
cooking. Every fine cook knows that nothing beats a good wooden
spoon. So my spoons had to be practical and built to last.
My first ones were a bit clunky but seemed to please the intended
users. On the other hand, I wanted my spoons to reflect the

beauty of nature stored in the wood and that this be set off by
some refinement of the design.
One thing I looked for in the design was a sturdy handle. The
flimsy ones from the box stores are too easy to break. I wanted
ones that would hold up to the hardest tasks. I got an e-mail from
one of my customers this year. She said the spoon I made for her
was the only one that was up to stirring her fruit cake batter and it
was her favorite spoon. That appealed to the pragmatism in my
nature.

Taking Advantage of Wood Grain

As I learned more about woodworking I realized that making the
handle parallel to the direction of the grain made for a handle
which was stronger and not quite as much mass was needed to
keep the handle sturdy.
With more experience I learned that the grain does not always run
straight in every piece of wood and that it was alright to have the
handle curve this way or that following the grain of that particular
log. In the colonial days the wood for spoons was rived with a froe
(a metal blade which was pounded into the end grain). This
caused the wood to split right along the path of the grain and all
handles produced in this manner had handles which followed the
grain.
Some still rive the wood for spoons and this is a fine way to make
them. Yet I need to do production work as I sell many spoons at
craft shows. They are one of the most consistent sellers. I have
probably made more than a thousand spoons and so now I cut my
blanks from wood which has been sawn into planks with the band
saw. The band saw is such a useful tool as it allows you to make
planks out of any log or branch that comes your way.

Below is a picture of a few of my spoon blanks.

Another thing I learned is that cooks like spoons that are not
completely symmetrical and they like odd shapes. It may help
them locate their favorite from their collection and the odd shape
or curved handle may be just what is needed for a particular job.
So now I vary my design to suit the wood grain and my whim and
just draw the design freehand on the plank. This way it is easy to
follow the grain in the handle. I then go back to the band saw and
cut the outline drawn on the plank.

Gouging the Spoons Bowl

The next challenge is to hollow out the bowl of the spoon. Again,
the ways to accomplish this task are numerous. I settled on using
a spoon gouge with a curvature that suits the maker. Too shallow
and the edges of the gouge will dig into the sides of the spoon
bowl Too steep and you will get deep grooves in the wood and
not a smooth flowing curve of the spoon bowl.

The width of the gouge is also a matter of personal choice but I

use one wide enough to remove plenty of waste wood with a single
pass. I have had a number of bent gouges but they seem to have a
propensity to wander off when I do demonstrations and the only
one left is one that never leaves my shop. It is a firmer gouge,
meaning that it is thicker and will stand up to repeated heavy use.
It is the one in use in the picture below.

Now unless you are a whole lot stronger than I, you will not be
able to push this gouge through the wood for very long using just
the muscles of your hands and arms. This is especially true of
hard woods such as fruit woods like cherry and apple.

To remove large amounts of wood quickly I use a wood carvers

mallet. The one shown above I made of a dogwood head (very
hard) and a hickory handle. Beech also works well.
Notice that the handle of the gouge has a metal ferrule on the end
which keeps the wood of the gouge handle from splintering from
repeated blows. With these tools I am able to remove large
amounts of waste wood quickly. I keep the spoon blank secured to
the work bench with a simple clamp.
I start at one end of the bowl and remove some wood. However, if
I go too deeply the wood will tend to split and ruin the blank. So I
go as far as I dare and then remove stock from the opposite side. I
always work in the direction of the grain. By going back and forth
from one end to the other I can remove large amounts of waste in
a short period of time.

By angling the cutting edge of the gouge one way or the other you
can begin to shape the walls of the spoon bowl. The straight cuts
work best for roughing out and for the bottom of the spoon. Below
I am cocking the gouge to one side to make the near wall of the
spoon bowl.
Here you need to exercise care not to take such big cuts as will
cause splitting because you are now working on a thin rim of the
spoon with less margin for error. You will find that some species
of wood will split far more easily than others.

You can only get so much control of the cutting edge of the gouge
when you are pounding on it with a heavy carvers mallet. So for
finer cuts I just use muscle power without the mallet striking the
gouge as seen in the picture below. Notice I use a glove on the
hand that guides the cutting edge.
Considerable force is needed to make even these lighter cuts and if
the hand slips it may hit sharp corners of the band sawn edge of
the blank and cause cuts. Using a glove in the hand that does not
grip the gouge handle cuts down on the need for band aids and
loud exclamations.

For the finest cuts I remove the blank from the clamp on the
bench, sit comfortably and use the gouge free-hand as you see me
doing below. This gives maximum control and allows clean up of
any rough areas left from previous steps.

In my earlier spoon making days I used to carve the outside of the

bowl of the spoon and the handle all by hand. I used a
combination of gouges, draw knives and small pattern maker
spoke shaves to remove the waste. However this is a slow process.
Now I use a large belt sander with an aggressive planer belt from
Klingspor. With a bit of practice you can smooth the contours and
remove all the bandsaw blade saw marks. You can even round out
the handle.

Sanding and Oiling the Spoons

What remains is to hand sand the spoon. I do not go above 220

grit as these spoons are for cooking and finer finishes are not
important. I oil my spoons with sesame oil. I used to use mineral
oil but since this is a petroleum based product and not renewable,
I feel more comfortable using a vegetable oil.
I choose sesame oil as it has the longest shelf life of all the nondrying oils and does not become rancid easily. This is due to
unique antioxidants found in sesame oil and not in other
vegetable oils.
I dont recommend olive oil as it spoils very quickly and you get a
tacky residue building up on the utensil. A food safe drying oil
such as tung oil can also be used.
Care of the finished product is very easy. Just wash in soapy water
and let it air dry. Over the course of time the surface may become
whitened due to fragmentation of the fibers with repeated use and
washings. Just apply another coat of sesame oil and the finish is
restored.
For heavily used spoons a light sanding before reapplication of the
oil is all that is needed. A well cared for spoon can last for
generations. Below is a picture of spoons ready for oiling.

Other Methods of Wooden Spoonmaking

I would just like to say a few words about other methods of
making spoons. If you only want to make one or a few, then you
may enjoy carving them completely by hand. This allows for great
individual expression.
There are even special tools for hollowing out the bowl such as
curved bladed carving knives or special spoke shave like tools with
a curved blade. Just bear in mind that the curve of the spoke
shave tool will limit the radius of the bowl of the spoon.

More recently I have used special carbide cutting burrs with a

flexible shaft tool. There are burrs which are suited to hollowing
the bowl of the spoon. There is a bit of a learning curve to this. It
requires a firm hand and practice to know how aggressively to
make the cuts or you will find that the bit wanders and wipes out
the rim of the spoon you are trying to make.
It is easier with one of these tools to make a deeper bowl in a
spoon than you can with spoon bent gouges. After using the burrs
I clean up the tool marks with the hand held spoon bent gouge
using light finishing cuts. So for certain shapes I have actually
come to prefer this method of hollowing.
Some spoon makers turn a blank on the lathe. This gives a very
symmetrical round handle and outside of the bowl of the spoon.
Then they may use a saw to remove waste from the spoon bowl
and use some hollowing process to carve the inside of the spoon
bowl.
Some even mount this on the lathe and turn it out. Be advised that
what you have is a spinning propeller and take care to keep
fingers away from the spinning handle which you cannot
completely see.
So, I have not tried to provide a comprehensive treatise on spoon
carving but rather to share with you what works for me with an
eye towards making useful and practical cooking spoons in
sufficient quantity to meet the needs of my crafting.
I find that it is a good means of using up odds and ends of wood
from the shop. After more demanding tasks I find it very relaxing
to work up a few spoons and allow for my creativity to express
itself in this simple way.

Wooden spoons make wonderful gifts. People especially love

when the wood is from a tree or a limb that they gave you. With a
bandsaw, any limb wood can produce good spoon blanks. It
provides them with a connection to the nature that they had
known and come to love. The tree may be gone but the memory of
it survives in the spoon and that can be passed down from
generation to generation.