Wood for cooking implement --

[Rob Wilkins]

When I was a kid, I made a wooden straight spatula in school; a really simple thing, but my mother loved it (we'd been taught, by a great teacher, how to consider the design before we made it. As a result, all our class's twelve-year-old school spatulas worked better than most of the ones you can buy...)

Anyway -- a couple of years ago, it broke. My mother gave me the pieces; and with her birthday coming up, I figured I'd remake the spatula as a present. But I'm not sure if there are any woods I should avoid, or any woods that are particularly nice for the job. I'd really like to find a wood that's suitable for this, but with a pretty grain; something that would stand out. I've no idea what wood we used before, but it was pretty plain.

Is there any problem with any wood that I could choose for this? Also, are there any particular coatings that are either ideal, or a completely horrible choice, for this kind of item?

[Von Bickley]

Rob,

I have made several "Big Spoons or Pot Stirrers". I used maple when I made them. I think maple will probably be the most used wood.

[Bob Rufener]

I would also recommend hard maple. If you want some " character" in the wood, you might use curly or tiger maple. Avoid using any porous woods like oak or ash as contaminants can get in the pores since the porous wood is difficult to clean thoroughly. Mineral oil is used most often on cutting boards but could be used for your spatulas as well.

[Rob Wilkins]

That does sound nice! I like the look of curly maple particularly, so I think that could give me some really good results with this.

I think I have some mineral oil around; I don't use it for what I work with usually, but I suspected I'd end up going back to an oil of some kind for this. Thanks for the pointers!

[Rob Wilkins]

Thinking about less porous woods; one wood I'm particularly fond of is olive, as I'm always delighted with the results I get from it. The contrast of the grain is really beautiful; I'm just not sure how it'd hold up for making an actual utensil. Are there any obvious problems with making a spatula out of something like that? I also saw someone suggesting Osage orange wood as a good option; that wood looks pretty from what I see of it, but I've absolutely no experience of working with it -- does anyone know if it'd be suitable, or would cause any problems for a project like this?

[Lee Koepke]

Sycamore is also an alternative. Read somewhere that it will not impart any 'flavor' into whatever is eaten or cooked.

I just turned one of those 'honey' spoons with a piece I had, and if you pick it right, its got decent grain patterns at times

[John Shuk]

Beech is popular. It is dense and durable. I have a couple of stir fry type spatulas made from it(store bought) and it is nice. I made a spoon from hard maple that I like as well.

[Dave Zellers]

Thinking about less porous woods; one wood I'm particularly fond of is olive, as I'm always delighted with the results I get from it.

Olive will definitely work. I have an olive wood spoon that I bought on Martha's Vineyard 4 or 5 years ago. I rubbed in mineral oil and it's been great.

[Rob Wilkins]

In that case, olive sounds wonderful! :-) Though sycamore is definitely a good tip to know about; if I'm making cooking implements just for the sake of making them, I think I'll go back to that. But for a gift, I think olivewood may end up winning this.

[Peter Quinn]

In that case, olive sounds wonderful! :-) Though sycamore is definitely a good tip to know about; if I'm making cooking implements just for the sake of making them, I think I'll go back to that. But for a gift, I think olivewood may end up winning this.

I used an olive wood spoon for stirring risotto for several years as a professional chef, and it held up well under daily use in a professional kitchen. It did not hold up so well to my wheaten terrior puppy however who snagged offvthe counter at home one day and chewed the business end off. I found the olive easy to maintain and attractive.

[Rob Wilkins]

Fortunately, my mother doesn't have a puppy -- I think the spatula should be safe! :-)