Treatment for spoons

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mmcniven

Forager
Nov 1, 2003
139
1
55
Paisley
Hi
Dont know if this a daft question but i have been making a few spoons and have been finishing them in lemon oil to give them a bit of a finish and preserve them.....what is the best finish to use on spoons and other eating utensils??? If there is one. I have noticed that the lemon oil doesnt last very long.
Also what type of wood do most people use, just out of interest???

Cheers

Michael
 

ally

Forager
Oct 15, 2003
109
0
lincoln
when i attended the woodlore fundemental we were given walnut oil but i presume that any food grade oil would be suitable?
 

mmcniven

Forager
Nov 1, 2003
139
1
55
Paisley
Ahh linseed oil thats a good idea .....hadnt thought of that one and i have plenty of that as well.

thanks for all the replies

Michael
 

Gary

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Apr 17, 2003
2,603
2
57
from Essex
As Ally pointed out any food grade oil is ok.

I like to use toasted sesame oil as it gives the wood a deeper luster and a nice taste (for a bit) - of course its not really a nessecity as the wood you use should last without it unless it will be exposed to continious dampness ect.

Also bear in mind the characteristics of the wood, something like Alder is suseptable to damp while an Oak isnt so much - another thing to consider is your woods toxiscity i.e dont use yew for spoons as an example. If you use the right wood for your task you real can skip treating it all together.
 
R

Ross

Guest
Hey,
I have had loads of success with heating up spanish oil in a pan nad putting the spoon in. You have to be careful not to make the oil to hot or you will burn the spoon. the spanish oil is really dark and it gives the spoon a good lasting finish! :-D
 

ChrisKavanaugh

Need to contact Admin...
ALARM! Only raw linseed oil is safe for consumption. Boiled linseed oil is actually poisonous. I don't think there is enough on a spoon to cause major distress though. Another trick is to give your eating utensils a wash in apple cider vinegar( and again , there is real ,raw vinegar and a manmade product.) The cider kills all the biological nasties without introducing harsh soaps.
 

ESpy

Settler
Aug 28, 2003
925
57
53
Hampshire
www.britishblades.com
I knew there was something about linseed oil that made me twitch - couldn't remember what exactly.

I've used olive oil.

One thing to remember is that the tree has it's own resins that have been coping with bacteria quite well for a number of years. There was a study a few years ago that presented findings that wooden chopping boards were better suited to hygenic food preparation than plastic ones for that very reason.

Of course, anything absorbent is a no-no as far as food safety regs are concerned...
 

Gary

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Apr 17, 2003
2,603
2
57
from Essex
Missed the comment about linseed oil - but yes aviod it.

As for spoons and bacteria - tests by the boffin's conducted at the institute of medicine and tropical diseases have shown that wooden surfaces (allowed to dry between use) are the least like breeding ground for bacteria - indeed many woods contain their own anti-fugisidal. Stainless steel can be heated and sterilized of course.

One of the many reasons we teach spoon carving is the hygiene level of wood - those who have met me on courses will know I have an apple wood spoon which I use all the time and rarely does it get washed any more than a stir of the tea.

Incediently the history of spoons is such that it is believed spoon like tools came about when hunters (who ate with their fingers) discovered that if they used a sliver of wood (a cast off from carving something) to eat with they got less illnesses. Eventually they hollowed out a piece of wood to hold more food and the spoon was born - spoons needing some effort to make wouldnt have been used then discarded so it is believed each man would carve his own and use it continiously - in Finland and Sweden there is a tradition of hunters keeping their eating spoon wedge in a crack of their cabins chimney stack so as the meal was ready so was their eating utensil and OF COURSE they'd only used their own spoon.

Many native traditions and etiquettes state that if you visit someone you should take your own cup and spoon.

If only your germs go on your spoon it'll be safe - remember also to cook your food throughly and boil your water. Do all these and mr Tummy will be happy and mr Pants will stay clean.
 

Matt

Tenderfoot
Jul 31, 2003
51
1
*
A very good range of environmentally sound and biologically safe organic oils are the 'Organoil range' they do a variety of oils for a variety of finishes, and all are safe to use on utensils. Its based on tung oil, and smells great!

You can get most of the range from Axminster, the hard burnishing oil works well for spoons plus there's also a good selection for the woodturner :-D
 

Jack

Full Member
Oct 1, 2003
1,264
6
Dorset
Hi all.

Try cracking open a hazel nut and the rub nut all over the finished surface, the oil in a hazel nut is plentiful and this is a great way of waterproofing your wooden product and it also gives it a beautiful shine, stickdressers have been using this method for centuries.

Cheers.

Jack.
 

Stew

Bushcrafter through and through
Nov 29, 2003
6,446
1,284
Aylesbury
stewartjlight-knives.com
What's the benefit of oiling my spoons?

Am I just as well to leave them as they are?

Obviously something like the Boxwood one I'm working on at the mo (very slowly as it's so hard) should be ok, but what about Birch, for instance?

Stew.
 

Stew

Bushcrafter through and through
Nov 29, 2003
6,446
1,284
Aylesbury
stewartjlight-knives.com
Jack said:
Hi all.

Try cracking open a hazel nut and the rub nut all over the finished surface, the oil in a hazel nut is plentiful and this is a great way of waterproofing your wooden product and it also gives it a beautiful shine, stickdressers have been using this method for centuries.

Cheers.

Jack.

Try using a brazil nut instead. I've just tried it and there's a load more oil and it's easier to hold on to than a hazelnut.

If only I can get into the bloody things without destroying them so much...
 

Stew

Bushcrafter through and through
Nov 29, 2003
6,446
1,284
Aylesbury
stewartjlight-knives.com
This morning my copy of Wille Sundqvist's book, Swedish Carving Techniques turned up and it's excellent!

There's one part in particular that I thought might be of interest:

"An old recipe for finishing cooking utensils is merely to boil them in milk for a couple of hours. The casein, which is sometimes used in water-resistant cold-water paint or glue, is absorbed into the wood, protecting and preserving it."
 

larry the spark

Forager
Dec 16, 2003
183
0
Belfast
Thats a great idea! Casein is something that has been kind of rediscovered in recent years and is something that is pushed by environmentalists and 'green' architects as an alternative to modern wood finishes in buildings. Never thought about it being used on spoons before though! Great find Stew!
 

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