A spurtle is a Scottish kitchen utensil dating from around the 15th century that is used for stirring oatmeal and soups. Since we have oatmeal for breakfast quite regularly I thought it would be a fun project to turn one (notice that I said ‘turn one’).
Shortly after I turned the one spurtle my wife’s family was over for Thanksgiving dinner. My wife showed the spurtle to them and since none of them knew what it was she asked them to guess. Their suggestions included a drumstick, a small bat, a magic wand and a conductor’s baton! Once they found out what it was used for they all wanted one. 🙂
With Christmas coming these will make them great gifts. Since I still had lots of wood and they were so fun and quick to make I turned another half dozen of them.
Here’s a closer view of the ends of the spurtles:
If you want to make one (or more) yourself they start off as a piece of approx. 3/4″ square hardwood (Maple) and roughly 13″-14″ long. Turn this to a cylinder. From here you can turn approximately 4″ of one end into the ‘handle’ and then taper the other end as seen in the photos above. They’re simple and fun and make great gifts, if only to have the recipients try to guess what they are!
Back to the shop…
cheryll roche
I got some spirtles in Washington state some years ago and they are now getting a little “long in the tooth” (sorta like me). But I love using the little darlin’s. Would you know of anyone who makes and sells them anywhere near me or on-line??
Thanks a bunch.
Woodworker's Guide
Cheryll, I’m sorry but I don’t know of anyone in your area. Anyone else have a suggestion?
cheryll
when you finish making enough for your relatives, would you consider making me some? If so, what would be the price? Oh by the way, you might try the flat-edged ones that are great for smaller jobs that need scraping.
Woodworker's Guide
LOL! I never knew these would be so popular. 😉