Simple coffee scoop wood carving

Carve your own rustic scoop.

LEVEL: EASY

Welcome to this easy-to-follow tutorial for a beautiful coffee scoop wood carving! If you're passionate about woodworking and enjoy creating practical, beautiful items, this tutorial is perfect for you.

Crafting a wooden coffee scoop not only enhances your carving skills but also adds a personal touch to your coffee-making routine. It also makes a wonderful gift. 

By the end of this tutorial, you'll have a beautifully carved wooden coffee scoop that is both functional and a testament to your creativity.

Let's dive into the art of coffee scoop wood carving and create something special together!

Coffee scoop wood carving

Everything you need for your coffee scoop wood carving

  • I used a basswood block that is 1.75 inches by 3.5 inches (4.4 cm x 8.9 cm). The depth of the wood was about 1.5 inches (3.8 cm). I used a scrap piece of wood so the depth was much more than I needed. 
  • You will need a ruler and something to sketch with, such as a pencil, pen, or magic marker. 
  • I used a roughout knife and a shorter detail knife to refine the scoop handle. I also used a Mora hook knife to carve out the bowl. 
  • Always wear a carving glove for safety! If you carve over your lap, protect your leg arteries with something flat and hard. 
  • I applied food safe walnut oil medium with a brush to finish my coffee scoop. You can use any food-safe oil. 

Carving a coffee scoop wood carving tutorial at-a-glance

Take a look at this short video to see the key steps for carving a coffee scoop before you begin carving. 

Sketch the design for your coffee scoop wood carving

Sketch the bowl of your coffee scoop, and the handle, which a series of stacked hearts (photo 1).

You can easily adapt the handle if you want something plain. Another option is to sketch three boxes that narrow toward the end. You can also add a little geometric design (see picture above) that you can highlight with kolrosing.

Tip: If you want your bowl to be a symmetrical circle use a compass to make your sketch, or find something in your kitchen that is round, and trace your bowl. 

Guidelines sketched for wood carved coffee scoop1. Guidelines are sketched

Use a roughout knife (or another sturdy knife with a long blade) to roughout the shape of your coffee scoop. I like to start removing wood from the top corners (photo 2). 

Making first cut for wooden coffee scoop2. Roughing out the bowl

Use a deep V-cut to start to remove wood directly above the coffee scoop handle (photo 3). Continue your V-cuts across to the back of the coffee scoop (photo 4). 

Rough out the handle of your coffee scoop (photo 5) and shape the hearts (completed in photo 6).

Sketch the inner rim of the coffee scoop bowl (photo 6). Mine is about a 1/4 inch (0.6 cm) wide.  

Making a V-cut to roughout wooden coffee scoop3. Making deep V-cut
Continuing V-cuts on carved coffee scoop4. Extending V-cuts
Roughing out wooden coffee scoop5. Rounding out handle
Rim is sketched on carved coffee scoop6. Rim is sketched

Carve the bowl of your coffee scoop

Use your hook knife to remove wood from the bowl (photo 7). Tip: Practice on a piece of scrap wood if you have never used a hook knife. It takes a little practice to get the hang of it.  You can see in photo 7 I've stopped about half way into the bowl because I need to remove the rest of the wood from the opposite direction to avoid grain issues. 

Keep removing wood until your bowl is uniform (see photo 8). Use your knife to refine the inner rim of your bowl, but be careful here. You will remove more wood and refine the back of the bowl later.

Tip: Continually check the thickness of the bowl as you are carving by placing your thumb on the top of the bowl, and your index finder under the bowl (see photo 12). Keep your bowl a little thicker than normal if this is your first scoop. It's easy to remove too much wood and poke a hole in the bowl. But don't give up! By my third coffee scoop wood carving, I was able to carve a nice, thin bowl. :) 

Separate both the rim from the handle and the hearts (photo 8). You can make stop cuts, removing wood from underneath. You can also use a paring cut, or hold your knife like a pencil to make your fist cut, and make a second slicing cut. 

Using spoon carving knife to carve coffee scoop7. Carving the bowl
Separating the handle on a wood carved coffee scoop8. Separating the hearts

Refine the handle on your coffee scoop

Once the hearts are separated, you can further shape and reduce wood off the top of the coffee scoop handle (photo 9).

Keep removing wood off each heart, angling your handle to be lower in height at the end (photo 10).

Removing wood from top of carved coffee scoop handle9. Shaping handle
Creating angle on carved coffee scoop10. Angling the handle

Refine the outer bowl of your coffee scoop

Use your knife to shape the outer rim of the coffee scoop (photo 11) and round the outer bottom of the bowl (photo 12). Continue to shape and remove wood, periodically checking the thickness of your scoop with your fingers (photo 13) to gauge where you need to remove more wood.

Tip: Go slow and be careful not to remove too much wood at one time. You may run into grain issues on the sides of the bowl and will need to rotate your piece. 

Once the outer bowl is shaped, further narrow the bottom side of the handle of your coffee scoop (photo 14). Also, use V-cuts to carve the neck of the scoop (photo 15).

Shaping sides of wood carved coffee scoop11. Shaping the outer bowl
Shaping bottom of coffee scoop bowl12. Rounding the bottom
Using fingers to judge the thickness of a coffee scoop13. Checking the thickness
Carving the back of a coffee scoop14. Carving the back
Shaping neck of coffee scoop15. Carving the neck

Finalize your coffee scoop wood carving

Use a carving knife to refine the final shape of your coffee scoop (completed in photos 16-18).

I used my hook knife to thin the bowl a bit more. When you are happy with your coffee scoop wood carving, use a food safe finish to seal and protect your carving.  

Front view of finished wood carved coffee scoop16. Top view of scoop
Back view of scoop17. Back view of scoop
Left view of wood carved coffee scoop18. Side view of scoop

Coffee scoop wood carving tutorial summary

  • This is a fun and easy project that you can easily carry with you.
  • Keep your first coffee-scoop bowl a little thick until you get the hang of using a hook knife.
  • Take your time as you shape and refine your scoop.
  • Use a food safe finish to seal your scoop. 


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