How to Make a Wooden Spoon

As a project for our survival class, we made a wooden spoon. Though, you probably aren't going to be sitting in the bush carving a spoon, we thought it would be a good skill to have and we were determined to make it when others thought we couldn't. This is a lot easier than it seems if you put your time and effort into it.

• A small plank of wood, we used Pine because it is soft and easy to carve.
• A sharp bush knife, a full tang would be better.
• Vegetable oil.
• Sandpaper
• A rag, to apply oil.
• Hook knife, to carve the bowl of spoon.
• Coal, as an alternative to hook knife.

Firstly, start by splinting the piece of wood into a managable size. Looking at the splint of wood you’ll notice the wider and thinner ends. The thinner will be the handle and the wider will be the spoon. Sand down the rough split so that an outline could be drawn on, as a guide to work from.

Next, you use a knife to carve the outline into a rough spoon shape on the sides. Then use it to shape the back of the spoon and do some finer work on the handle. I found it easier to start by carving the spoon end and then doing the handle end after I had done that.

You can get a hot piece of coal and blow at it with a straw, or use a stick to apply pressure on it, so that the embers burn the wood to form the bowl. If you have a hook knife you need to start by going across the grain of the wood, this will get easier the more you do it. Once you have the depth of the bowl. Start sanding it.

Use a small amount of sandpaper to just simply sand the wood until it is smooth to the touch. If you are eating with it you don’t want splinters in your mouth. 

Finally, coat the spoon in vegetable oil. Use the rag to spread it evenly over the exposed wood. This prevents it from getting damp or becoming gross from food. Apply coats for a couple if days until the wood stops compelling it.