How to Whittle a Wooden Jam Spreader

For this project I wanted to make a simple tutorial that teaches most of the fundamentals of whittling. I am currently a Junior at the L&N Stem Academy. I wanted to make this project because whittling is a great way to get rid of stress and with five AP classes, multiple year long projects, and a bunch of clubs to manage this year is going to be pretty stressful, but hopefully very rewarding. Speaking of year-long projects, I have a year-long research project and my SASEF project that I am currently trying to raise money for, because it needs quite a few custom metal components and if I am a finalist in this contest I will definitely be using to support it. My project is going to focus on recycling polymers for use in additive manufacturing, but I can't give out to many spoilers because I'll leave that for my big Instructable that I should publish in mid to late March! I have enjoyed whittling for over 4 years and it consumed a large part of my time during Covid. I enjoy whittling because it provides a great time to reflect in nature and is very peaceful (it's also the reason I made my username whittlegears). It also allows you to make creative decisions and helps you to understand that mistakes don't ruin your work but allow you to make something truly unique. Unfortunately, I don't have much free time anymore but I still try to whittle whenever I can for example I made ornaments last year: Ornaments. This project will probably take around 2 hours of carving and 30 minutes of preparation and finishing. Thank you for reading about my hobbies, and I hope it inspires you to whittle or at least find a pastime that allows you to sit and reflect.

1. C-8 Small Cutting Knife from Beavercraft or any other small blade
2. An eight-inch or longer branch (at least 1/2 an inch in diameter)
3. Cut resistant gloves (optional but highly recommended)
4. Tung oil or another food safe finish
5. Sandpaper, belt sander, or Dremel (optional but recommended)
6. A nice peaceful spot to sit outside

Hardwoods like maple, cherry, or walnut are ideal because they are dense and durable, making them suitable for kitchen use. Make sure the wood is dry and free from cracks, knots, or defects that could weaken your spreader. To start you want to find a good relatively straight branch (if you can't find one, use the most straight branch) which you can find pretty easily from pruned trees or in the forest. If you don't have access to branches you could always use a piece of wood and a lathe to basically create a dowel that can be used for carving (normal dowels break easily and often split). Once you find a branch, use a saw to cut it at 9 inches if possible because it is always better to have a little wood to act as buffer. Now cut off any branches that may have grown off of your main branch. Next find the way the grain runs in the wood since you always want to cut with the grain. You can find the grain by paying attention to the way it grew (the grain usually runs towards the extremities of the tree) or by making a small cut into the wood and if it is smooth you are carving the correct way. Once you have an branch you will need your small bladed knife and make sure it is sharpened; I use a C-8 Small cutting knife because it is extremely useful for carving intricate details and is the perfect knife for small projects.

Once you have your materials I would recommend wearing a cut resistant glove on your non-carving hand, because this is the one that you hold the wood in when you are whittling and is the easiest to cut. Now pick an orientation that goes with the grain (the blade should be like an arrow following the grain) and complements the wood. Next you will want to measure out each section with the blade being 3½ inches, the thumb rest being 1 inch and the handle being 3½ inches or whatever space you have left over if there is more. While these are measurements that will provide excellent results, they should not restrain your carving and should provide general guidelines that evenly section out your carving. Using a pencil, sketch the outline of your jam spreader onto the wood. I uploaded a reference image above. Whenever you are whittling I would recommend putting your thumb on the blade so that you have more control over it. Don't try to finish a section before you are done with the whole thing because you can always carve off more wood but not less.

The first part you want to whittle is the blade, because it is the primary function of this carving. To carve the blade cut the wood so that each face is parallel and the blade is in the center of the stick. This is the most basic whittling technique but it is extremely important to master because it is what is most often used for removing large amounts of wood. The next technique is making curves. To make a curve you basically make the slope smaller for each cut which I illustrated in the above graph.

This step will teach you how to make edges smooth and how to make my personal favorite cut, the stop cut. To round out the end of the stick I like to hold my knife at about a 45 degree angle to the wood and then rotate the wood in my hand. Once you have finished that you can begin to make the stop cut. The stop cut starts with pushing the blade of the knife into the wood, for this you want to push the blade into the wood parallel to the end of the stick and rotate the stick in your hand. This should make an indentation that is parallel to the end of the wood. Next you want to very slowly make small cuts towards the indentation stopping when you reach it. This should leave behind small cuts of wood that may resemble flower petals. Once you have made these cuts push the blade back in to the indent to remove each cut. Repeat this process until you are satisfied with the result. The stop cut is the most useful in my opinion because it makes sure that you are restricted and don't accidentally cut in the wrong places.

The thumb rest is the last major step when carving this project and will teach the V cut. The V cut can be made similar to a stop cut, and is made by making a cut in one direction (without shearing off the cut) followed by a deeper cut in the opposite direction. This should create a V or a U shaped cut depending on the slope of the cut (deeper is more defined while a shallow longer cut is more fluid). You want to make a V cut on the two sides that the blade is not on, because this defines the blade. To make the thumb rest you can make another stop cut to separate the handle from the thumb rest. This should separate the handle from the thumb rest. Now you want to make a smaller v cut on the two planes that the blade is on to separate the thumb rest from the blade. It should look like the first above picture. I like to add another stop cut (probably because I find it fun) to make the handle feel like less of a drop off into the thumb rest. I believe that this makes the handle feel more separated from the blade and thumb rest. It should look like the second above picture and now you should be done with whittling unless you want to add your own personal features.

For sanding I like to use a belt sander because it gives the entire blade a very flat plane. It also allows me to smooth out the ends of my carvings from where the saw may have cut and for this project it helped me make the tip of the blade more round. I first sanded down both sides of the blade and made sure to remove any of the bark on the blade and round out the edges and tip of the blade. If you want to go further you could also use a Dremel to make the V cuts that you made more smooth or you could use sandpaper.

Once you are satisfied with the result you can finish making your Jam (or whatever you desire) Spreader. I use tung oil but you can also use mineral oil or another food safe finish to make your wood really shine. To do this I like to use a paper towel and dip it into the polish and spread it over the wood. Once you are done polishing wait for it to dry. After it is dry use it to make a PB&J or whatever your favorite sandwich is!

There are three main cuts that I did not address because they are less commonly used (at least by me). The pull cut is used primarily by more experienced whittlers because it is the most dangerous since you are cutting towards yourself. The reason for this is because you may need to make a specific cut on the edge of wood but there may not be an easy way to hold it. The other two cuts I have rarely if ever used which are the triangle and line cut. They are both similar to a stop cut (maybe I am just repeating it because it is my favorite cut) as you make indentations and then cut out the respective shape.

Thank you for reading this Instructable, I spent a lot of time working on it. If you want any more information or any lessons I have learned from my experience whittling fell free to ask below. If you are looking for some new projects that will test your skills consider creating a canoe or a ball in cage. If you have any comments, questions, concerns, or advice I would love to answer. If you enjoyed this Instructable and learned something new feel free to like it. If you are a fellow whittler I would love to hear about your favorite carving and your experiences. Thanks again:)