Spoon Carving

Woodworking

Spoon Carving

Learn to carve a wooden spoon and you may discover a new addiction!

Tuition Assistance and Other Policies

Meeting Times
  1. Sun, 10/19/2025 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  2. Sun, 10/26/2025 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Sun, 10/19/2025 - Sun, 10/26/2025

Waitlist

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Type:
Class, No Prerequisite

Location:
Woodworking & Small Boat Studio

Interests:
General Woodworking, Hand Woodworking

About

Because of the way wood grain interacts with carving knives, creating a finely crafted spoon is challenging. Yet the project is completely doable — it doesn't drag on and on. Spoons come in infinite varieties, so there's always a new design or type of wood to try.

Learn how to use a sloyd knife with a straight blade, and a knife with a curved blade to shape a recently harvested chunk of local hardwood. You'll learn how to select and prepare wood and experience the advantages of starting with "green" wood, which still contains a lot of moisture. You'll also learn how to hone the blade to keep it sharp and how to finish the wood.

The class sessions are a week apart so you can work on your spoon between sessions, if you wish. You can purchase the knives or use BARN's during Open Studio times between the sessions.

Details

Skill level: Beginners welcome.

Project

You'll start by carving an "eating spoon" about 6 or 7 inches long. The instructor also will give you several other blanks to make additional spoons, including longer ones suitable for stirring a pot or serving food if you want those. Expect to complete at least one spoon in the class, maybe more, depending on your skill and whether you carve between the class sessions.

Materials

There are two options for materials. You can select a registration with or without a knife purchase. If you choose the knife purchase option, you'll also go home with two carving knives and stropping compound.

Both options include a $20 materials fee for other materials needed in the class.

Class Policies

  • Ages 14 and up are welcome.
  • You must wear closed-toe shoes and safety glasses, tie back long hair, and avoid dangling clothing and jewelry. We recommend bringing your own safety glasses.

BARN Policies

Instructors or Guides

Michael Alexander

Michael started woodworking after his daughter went away to college about eight years ago, starting with a spoon carving class at Pratt Fine Arts Center. He fell into a warm and welcoming Seattle spoon carving community. He’s one of the organizers of the Seattle Spoon Club, a member of the Seattle Woodturning Club, and the lead organizer of the Pacific Northwest Spoon Bash, a weekend-long carving festival at Rainbow Falls State Park in Chehalis. At Pratt, Michael predominantly turned bowls, harkening back to his high school ceramics class. He has taken a number of furniture-making classes at the Port Townsend School of Woodworking. Since moving to Bainbridge Island with his wife in the spring of 2025, Michael has set up a “much-improved shop” in his garage to use when not at BARN. He loves working with burl, figured, and crotch woods — all abundant here in the Pacific Northwest.

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