Hi,

I made a wooden spoon for my wife from some scrap cherry and everybody
wants one. That's fine, and they ship better than nightstands so it's
great for the relatives a thousand miles away. The cherry spoons look
great so I started experimenting.

Got some beautiful BE maple from craigslist. My wife got one of the
first birdseye maple spoons and that's my question.

I finish them all with walnut oil because it dries hard and I'd prefer
not to use mineral oil. With the cherry, that's fine. They keep that
nice rich finish no matter how much they get used.

But the maple, no. Just use it once and it gets that washed out
whiteish look, as though it was never finished. I've re-oiled it
twice. The first time, I warmed the spoon and the oil to about 150
degrees in the oven.

But one use still makes the birdseye look washed out. It's a great
display spoon and it works fine as a tool if you don't mind that it's
not nearly as pretty any more. :-)

Is this something that happens to birdsey maple spoons or have I just
gotten an odd sample of it? I'm going to experiment with mineral oil
just to see what happens, but several family members have said they
would prefer unfinished over mineral oil. So far everyone likes the
walnut oil finish. I'm thinking of mixing beeswax in with the walnut.

No problem finding other things to do with the wood. I'm just
surprised there's so much difference in behavior between the cherry
and the maple. To me, it seems more difference than I'd expect just
because the cherry's darker.

Is this something that happens to birdsey maple spoons or have I just
gotten an odd sample of it? I'm going to experiment with mineral oil
just to see what happens, but several family members have said they
would prefer unfinished over mineral oil. So far everyone likes the
walnut oil finish. I'm thinking of mixing beeswax in with the walnut.

Years ago we made several dozen rolling pins and used Wesson Cooking
Oil for finishing. They have held up well with no "damage" or whatever
from usual hand washing along with other dishes. We have not used a
dishwasher that I recall.

We kept a few of them and gave the rest of the rolling pins away to
relatives and for wedding presents.

Bob AZ

On Jun 9, 11:20 am, " wrote:

Just use it once and it gets that washed out
whiteish look, as though it was never finished. I've re-oiled it
twice. The first time, I warmed the spoon and the oil to about 150
degrees in the oven.

But one use still makes the birdseye look washed out. It's a great
display spoon and it works fine as a tool if you don't mind that it's
not nearly as pretty any more. :-)

I made a lot of spoons and turners for a while and tried all manner of
wood and finishes. I made them to use, only one to show, and I came
to this conclusion:

If you are going to use them, they become tools. They will never be
presentation pieces again. I had some beautiful white oak that was so
close grained it didn't look real that I used to make turners and a
couple of spoons. Over the last few years they have turned gray
like I had left them outside.

The maple looks like it has been in restaurant use as it is really
discolored, scorched, and stained. I can sand it lightly, and oil it
again, but it doesn't do anything to preserve the appearance once it
is back in the kitchen.

I have tried all manner of woods, and oddly, the only one that has
held up extremely well as far as appearance goes is walnut. (I know
it is poisonous, but I am not eating the utensils). I have one last
cookie/cake batter turner left of some really tight grained walnut
(exact type unknown) and it looks great with a simple mineral oil
finish.

I was so disappointed in the appearance of the kitchenware after a
just a year of use I haven't made any since.

Robert

wrote:


I made a lot of spoons and turners for a while and tried all manner
of
wood and finishes. I made them to use, only one to show, and I came
to this conclusion:

If you are going to use them, they become tools. They will never be
presentation pieces again. I had some beautiful white oak that was
so
close grained it didn't look real that I used to make turners and a
couple of spoons. Over the last few years they have turned gray
like I had left them outside.

Just curious, what wood do they use to make the elcheapo wooden
spoons.

They may be cheap, but they don't discolor.

Lew

On Jun 10, 1:09 am, "Lew Hodgett" wrote:

Just curious, what wood do they use to make the elcheapo wooden
spoons.

They may be cheap, but they don't discolor.

The best of them are made from solid beech. It seems to be perfect
for utensils. It handles heat well without scorching, doesn't
discolor much (if at all), and wears extremely well.

It is straight grained and has no open pores, so it really doesn't
require much care or finish other than to clean it well after using
and letting it dry thoroughly.

It took me 3 - 4 hours to make a nice wooden spoon out of maple, oak
or cherry. Handmade, wooden spoons can be pricey, but not mine. I
don't make art out of my utensils, so they really aren't anything
special.

I can buy a better wooden spoon than I can make out of solid kiln
dried beech for about $4 - $5. They are available everywhere from the
mall to Amazon.

No more spoon/spatula/utensil making for me.

Robert

On Jun 10, 12:45 am, "
wrote:
I made a lot of spoons and turners for a while and tried all manner of
wood and finishes. I made them to use, only one to show, and I came
to this conclusion:

If you are going to use them, they become tools. They will never be
presentation pieces again. I had some beautiful white oak that was so
close grained it didn't look real that I used to make turners and a
couple of spoons. Over the last few years they have turned gray
like I had left them outside.

The maple looks like it has been in restaurant use as it is really
discolored, scorched, and stained. I can sand it lightly, and oil it
again, but it doesn't do anything to preserve the appearance once it
is back in the kitchen.

I have tried all manner of woods, and oddly, the only one that has
held up extremely well as far as appearance goes is walnut. (I know
it is poisonous, but I am not eating the utensils). I have one last
cookie/cake batter turner left of some really tight grained walnut
(exact type unknown) and it looks great with a simple mineral oil
finish.

I was so disappointed in the appearance of the kitchenware after a
just a year of use I haven't made any since.

Well then, now I'm surprised at how well the cherry's holding up. :-)

It's not a show quality finish any more, and it does look used. But it
still looks great. Still got a "vibrant" sort of look to it. SWMBO
loves it.

The maple, for reasons I'm not sure of any more, looks beat to death
with just one plunge into boiling water and back out.

Strangest thing.

I don't know how the zebra wood spoon is doing. It went to my
supervisor as a retirement present and I don't think she'll slow down
enough to ask for a few years yet.

I guess I'll have to make another one for testing.

On Jun 10, 5:27 pm, " wrote:

I was so disappointed in the appearance of the kitchenware after a
just a year of use I haven't made any since.

Well then, now I'm surprised at how well the cherry's holding up. :-)

It's not a show quality finish any more, and it does look used. But it
still looks great. Still got a "vibrant" sort of look to it. SWMBO
loves it.

Keep using them. They are a mainstay in my kitchen and are used
frequently for all manner of things like pasta sauces, beans, stews,
soups, etc., etc.

Make two of one kind. Set one aside, then compare the user and the
untouched version after about 2 - 3 years. You won't believe the
difference.

Robert

The best of them are made from solid beech. �It seems to be perfect
for utensils. �It handles heat well without scorching, doesn't
discolor much (if at all), and wears extremely well.

Robert

So where does one get some "solid beech"? I would think some 2X beech
stock would be in order.

Bob AZ

On Jun 12, 4:23 pm, Bob AZ wrote:
The best of them are made from solid beech. �It seems to be perfect
for utensils. �It handles heat well without scorching, doesn't
discolor much (if at all), and wears extremely well.

Robert

So where does one get some "solid beech"? I would think some 2X beech
stock would be in order.


Beech doesn't yield its water readily when being kiln dried so
it is uncommon to find it thicker than 4/4.

--

FF

Fred the Red Shirt wrote:
On Jun 12, 4:23 pm, Bob AZ wrote:
The best of them are made from solid beech. �It seems to be perfect
for utensils. �It handles heat well without scorching, doesn't
discolor much (if at all), and wears extremely well.
Robert

So where does one get some "solid beech"? I would think some 2X beech
stock would be in order.


Beech doesn't yield its water readily when being kiln dried so
it is uncommon to find it thicker than 4/4.

Not _too_ hard to find..
http://www.advantagelumber.com/domestic.htm

Beech dries fairly readily, actually, but it is bad about checks, warps
and is prone to discoloration during the process iirc...

--

On Jun 12, 11:23 am, Bob AZ wrote:

So where does one get some "solid beech"? I would think some 2X beech
stock would be in order.

Bob AZ

Check out dpb's post later on down. He has a link. A couple of
minutes on the net yielded several sources.

Robert