How to Make a Wooden Spoon

By Lee H. Arten
Published on November 1, 1978
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PHOTO: LEE H. ARTEN
Stop by a lumber yard or high school woodshop to ask for free wood scraps to use when making spoons.

There’s something special about handmade wooden spoons, some quality that lifts them head-and-shoulders above the cheap imported utensils which line the shelves of discount supermarkets. Perhaps the value of these carefully crafted cooking and eating tools stems from the bond that they create between the carver who shapes the wood and the generations of cooks who will dip and stir with it. Unfortunately, such fine hardwood kitchen utensils are hard to come by in this day and age. But you can learn how to make a wooden spoon of your own.

To bridge this “supply gap,” I’ve been making wooden spoons at home for the past few years. I got my start at the craft when I carved a scoop for one Kathleen Alatalo … before she became Kathleen Arten.

At the time I didn’t plan to make more than the single crude (though heartfelt) gift. And, once I’d decided to attempt that first carving project, I pawed through my dad’s scrap lumber pile and found a piece of hard maple–about 18″ long, 4″ wide, and 1-1/2″ thick–which seemed to have a spoon inside just waitin’ to be carved. In order to try to “second guess” the hunk of lumber, I drew a narrow oval bowl and a tapered handle on one side of the board, and a slightly different spoon on another of its surfaces. Then I chose the shape that best “fit” the maple’s grain … and started to work on it.

Of course, my initial wood carving experience produced a stove-top tool that was far from perfect … with a knife slip here, a rough rasp mark there, and so forth. In fact, now and then I think about redoing that original spoon … but I always wind up deciding against it. After all, the thing works well enough, and It’s kind of a monument to my apprenticeship at this “hobby.” I’ll never make those same mistakes again (and, after reading this article, you shouldn’t have to make them at all).

Spoon Making Materials

A supply of hardwood (I use red oak and maple) is, of course, the first requirement for spoon carving. You should be able to scrounge all of this lumber that you’ll need from high school and college shop classes, furniture factories, or local lumberyards. These outfits often discard “spoon-sized” scraps, so they’re not likely to charge you for ’em. At least, I’ve never had to pay for my materials.

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