A wooden knife? Why would you need a knife made out of wood? Are you going to commit a crime and then burn the evidence? Well… you could, but really a wooden cake knife is perfect for showing off your fantastic woodworking skills to your fancy friends with this high end piece of cutlery. It’s also a great idea for a wedding present or that wood themed 5th anniversary gift.
Materials/Supplies Used
- Two pieces of scrap wood (I used Coffee Wood for the blade & Canary Wood for the scales)
- Wood Glue (I used TiteBond II)
- Gator Finishes Sanding Sponges (grits 80, 120, 180, 220, 320, 400)
- Walrus Oil Food Safe Cutting Board Oil
Make Your Own Wooden Knife
Pretty simple huh? Aside from the drying time with the glue up, this could easily be knocked out over a weekend. Have some stacks of premium scrap wood sitting around? Looks like they potentially have a new purpose in life.
Also worth a mention, I’ve had some people voice concerns about using wood for a knife and potentially having issues with bacteria build up. That’s why this is a decorative knife to be used specifically for foods like cakes, soft cheeses and even some fruits. Unlike a cutting board, you won’t be scoring the surface and damaging the grain. I used a food safe oil as well to seal the final piece, so if you hand wash it with water and soap you should be good to go!
Wait… there’s a Wooden Knife 2.0 now! Check out the newer design!
~ Lazy Guy
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What a beautiful gift this knife makes. Unique, beautiful, AND practical! Thank you for sharing. I’m going to try it. I’ve only been woodworking for a year. Wish me luck. ?
Good luck! It’s just a ton of sanding! Don’t stress too much on the initial cut out, it all sands down in the end. Absolutely send me pics when you’re finished!
This is beautiful!
what oil should i use for finishing a knife
I used Walrus oil cutting board oil which is food safe.
thanks i was going to make one for an anniversary present
Good luck! Definitely send me a pic when you finish!
I have always loved woodworking and think I’d really enjoy getting into the hobby. Where do you suggest I start building up my equipment? I definitely do not have a planer, so if that’s the case, is it easier to find a thinner piece of wood for the blade?
Thank you!
Hey Kelly! It’s a great hobby to start! I actually just dropped this post the other week: https://lazyguydiy.com/5-things-every-new-woodworker-needs/ Definitely a good starting place. Depending on what you want to build from furniture to smaller crafts will really determine what you want to start with. If you’re thinking smaller projects you can get a lot done with a circular saw, jig saw, random orbit sander plus a few clamps. If you’re breaking down bigger pieces of lumber then definitely look at a miter saw. As for the thickness of the material, you can definitely find thinner pieces. I like to get… Read more »
I have several pieces of 1/4 in. Walnut and Maple, would they work as well.
Absolutely! Those should look great together!
First off I love the project. This will make a great wedding gift! Are there any other Woods you could recommend for the blade?? I’m having a hard time finding Coffee in my area. Thanks
Thanks Aaron! Definitely don’t limit yourself to just coffee wood. Anything will work, just stay away from big box store pine or fur. You can easily get a great look out of cherry, maple, walnut or any other local hardwoods. If you have a Woodcraft or a Rockler near you, you can pick up those 24″ exotics boards. I think they even ship them. Good luck!
The exotics can make for special looking knives as can spalted woods like pecan.
Try Starbucks?
Made a few of my own and really helped to sell my cutting boards.
Awesome! I really should make some cutting boards to go along with mine too.
I love this idea ! My daughter is getting married and I’m making the cake stand for her and I’m definitely going to have to make one for her.
Awesome! Make sure you send me a pic when you finish them up!
How do you send a pic
Can I use an oil-based stain on the wood as long as I use food safe cutting board oil when done?
Personally I wouldn’t. There’s no stain that’s going to be food safe enough and the cutting board oil is not going to keep it from gassing all that well. If you’re linking for a tint you can always try India Ink dried thoroughly and then come back with cutting board oil and wax. India Ink really brings the color too.
Thanks – That’s what I thought
What about using tea as a stain before oiling
I like your design. I am going to try this
Good luck! Let me know if you have any questions!
I loved this idea and decided to give it a try for my wedding cake knife. Worked amazingly, and with so few tools needed. And the wife loved it was well, fitting in perfectly with our rustic theme. Took the idea further adding a server and a display board but so happy with the results so thank you. Used cherry and walnut.
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/nashivan1/my-projects/wedding-cake-knife-server-and-display-board/
They turned out great! Congrats by the way! The serving knife was a great idea as well, I’ll have to maybe borrow that for a future iteration.
Just finished mine. I made the blade out of hard maple and used walnut for the handles. Used my Rigid planer to get the blank down to the right width and then cut the shape out on my scroll saw. The thinner stuff cuts a lot easier than the 4/4 scraps I was using. I used my disk sander to shape the blade. Had to do a lot of hand sanding to get it smooth because the disk sander is so rough. Then a lot of sanding to round off the handle. Also drilled a hole in the end of… Read more »
What is the ideal thickness of the board to start out with?
You’ll have a better margin for error if you start with about a half an inch and work your way down.
Why wasn’t the overall length given,thickness of blade and handles and length of handles for proportion? The most basic information needed was missing,not much help
I actually recommended that you find a knife profile that suits you or that you have on hand and can trace on your blanks. I want you to create your own and not duplicate and knife that fits my hand, so the tutorial is to share with you the techniques to make sure you can make something personalized. The video also states I started with 3/4” thick blanks that I had to plane down because between the scales of the handle and the blade insert it was entirely too thick and required a ton of additional sanding. For the blade… Read more »
Very nice, I ‘ve made one similar
Way cool!
I too have long made them and included them with cutting boards. About to start back.
I’ve been making bread/cake knives and cheese knives ( soft cheese and cheese loaf ) and been getting a nice response – spent part of my day today roughing out a dozen blank blades – tomorrow I’ll rough out the handles – the most important part of my patterns show where the holes for the ‘rivets’ ( actually bamboo dowels used for shis-kabobs – strong, consistent size, and cheap in the Chinese food section at Walmart – I glue up the handles and blade and the dowelling holds everything in place – saves a lot of sanding – spalted cherry… Read more »
Beautiful! You know people are making wooden knives for toddlers because they are safe & work on a lot of foods. You need to make some! Add a small cutting board and Little Chefs everywhere will love you.
Would cake sit on the wood slab? Looks very nice, how much would it sell for.
For display and serving purposes, absolutely you can put cake on the wood slab. That’s sanded and sealed with a food safe finish coat like Walrus Oil.
As for the price of the wooden knives, depending on materials, I’ve seen them go for $50 to $300 fairly regularly.