How to turn a wooden letter opener

A wooden letter opener is a 7-inch spindle turning with one unusual step. After you shape the handle and rough the blade, you take the piece off the lathe and flatten one side of the blade to about 1/8 inch thick. The blank starts at 3/4 inch by 3/4 inch by 9 inches in hard maple, cherry, walnut, or boxwood, all dense, tight-grained species that hold a thin blade without splitting. The whole project takes about thirty minutes between centers plus another fifteen at the bench for the blade work.

The reason most turners get this project wrong on the first try is that they try to finish the blade on the lathe. A spinning blank at 1/8 inch thickness wants to flex, then it wants to launch. I leave the blade at 1/4 inch minimum on the lathe and do all final blade shaping off the lathe with a belt sander or rasp. The rest of this guide covers the wood species that work, the three flattening methods, and the full step-by-step.

Tools and Materials

You need almost nothing exotic for this project. A roughing gouge, a spindle gouge, and a skew will cover every cut. If you only own carbide turning tools, a 1/2 inch round carbide and a finishing scraper will also work, because the cuts on a 3/4 inch spindle are small enough that tool choice matters less than tool sharpness.

A 1 x 30 inch belt sander is enough for the blade, and you do not need a benchtop 4 x 36. A 1/8 inch parting tool is the only specialty piece and is worth owning for every small spindle project you turn after this one.

Wood Species: What Survives a Thin Blade

The blade is the constraint. A 1/8 inch piece of wood that has to flex past an envelope flap without breaking needs three things: tight grain with no large pores, decent hardness for stiffness, and straight grain running the full length of the blank.

Hard maple is the default I cut. Janka hardness of 1,450 lbf, no open pores, and forgiving under the skew. Cherry is softer at 950 lbf but the grain is consistent and it darkens into a pleasant warm tone after a few months of light exposure. Walnut at 1,010 lbf is darker still and turns cleanly, though sapwood inclusions can create a weak point in the middle of the blade if you do not orient the blank carefully.

Boxwood (European or Castello) is the historical choice for letter openers and the best wood I have used for the blade. Janka 2,840 lbf, tight uniform grain, and it takes a polish straight off the skew. You will pay $80 to $120 per board foot for boxwood blanks, but a single board foot makes twenty openers.

Species Reference Table

The species I avoid for blades regardless of how nice they look in the handle: red oak, white oak, ash, and any softwood. Their grain structure puts large pores in the middle of a thin section and that is exactly where the blade flexes hardest. Use them for the handle if you laminate, never as a single-piece opener. For broader species selection see best wood for woodturning.

Blank Preparation

Start with a blank that is 3/4 inch by 3/4 inch by 9 inches, with the grain running parallel to the long axis. This is critical. If you cut a blank from a wider board with the grain at an angle to the long axis, the blade will have short grain on at least one face and will snap the first time you torque it against a stuck envelope.

Mark the centers on both end-grain faces with the corner-to-corner pencil method. Punch the headstock-end center with an awl deep enough to seat the spur drive. Punch the tailstock end shallower for the live center cup point.

Mount the blank between centers. Spin it by hand to confirm it clears the tool rest, then check that the drive spurs have bitten into the end grain. A 3/4 inch blank flexes if the spur slips, so seat the live center with firm pressure — but not so much that the blank bows. You should feel resistance, not see a curve.

Step-by-Step Turning the Handle

The handle is straightforward spindle work. I cut the handle first, then move on to the blade. Working in that order means the headstock end is the handle end, which keeps the blade close to the tailstock where it gets cleaner support.

Step 1: Square to round at 1,500 RPM. Roughing gouge held square to the rest, work from the center toward each end with the bevel rubbing. Two passes max. Stop and check that the blank is round along its full length before increasing speed.

Step 2: Bump speed to 3,000 RPM. A 3/4 inch spindle at 3,000 RPM gives you the surface speed (about 590 SFPM) where a spindle gouge or skew leaves a finish you can sand from 320 grit. Below 2,000 RPM the same tool tears the surface and you start sanding from 120.

Step 3: Mark the handle boundaries with a pencil. I work from the headstock end: 1 inch of waste, 4 inch handle, 3-1/2 inch blade, 1/2 inch of waste. Use a sharp pencil with the lathe running so you get clean lines.

Step 4: Part down at the handle-blade transition. With a 1/8 inch parting tool, cut a relief 1/2 inch deep at the boundary between handle and blade. This gives you a clean visual reference for shaping both sections without one creeping into the other.

Step 5: Shape the handle profile. A 3/8 inch spindle gouge or 1/2 inch skew, riding the bevel, taking thin shavings. The classic letter opener handle is a slight taper from 3/4 inch at the blade end to 5/8 inch at the very back, with a small bead at the back end. Avoid carving deep coves — they look fussy and they make the handle uncomfortable.

Step 6: Sand the handle to 320 grit at 3,000 RPM. Drop to 1,200 RPM for 600 grit. The handle is now finished.

The Blade: Roughing It on the Lathe

The blade portion gets turned to a thin tapered cylinder while it is still on the lathe, with extra thickness left for the off-lathe flattening step.

Step 7: Reduce the blade to 1/2 inch maximum diameter. Spindle gouge, taking light cuts from the handle end toward the tailstock. The tailstock end of the blade should be 1/4 inch maximum diameter, tapering smoothly from the 1/2 inch base. Do not try to bring the tip to a point on the lathe — leave the tip as a 1/4 inch stub.

Step 8: Check for flex by stopping the lathe and pressing the blade with your thumb. Any visible deflection means you have gone too thin too soon. If the blade flexes more than a hair, increase the diameter by a 1/16 inch with a planing cut.

Step 9: Sand the blade to 180 grit at 1,200 RPM. Higher grits go on after the flattening step. The lower speed here matters — at 3,000 RPM a thin blade and sandpaper friction generate enough heat to scorch the surface.

Step 10: Part the piece off, leaving the 1/2 inch waste stubs at both ends. Cut nearly through with the parting tool, then finish with a hand saw. Trying to part fully through a thin blade end while the lathe is running launches the piece.

The Blade: Three Ways to Flatten It

This is the step that separates the project from any other small spindle turning. You have a tapered cylinder that needs to become a flat blade. Three methods work, in increasing order of control and decreasing order of speed.

Method 1: Lathe Indexing Pin and File

If your lathe has an indexing pin (most do — check the headstock for a spring-loaded pin and a row of holes in the back of the spindle pulley), this is the fastest method.

1. Lock the spindle with the indexing pin.
2. Hold a flat mill file at the angle you want for the blade face.
3. File from handle end to tip with the file riding the tool rest, watching the cut.
4. Release the pin, rotate the spindle 180 degrees, re-engage the pin, and file the opposite face if the design calls for a double-sided blade.

This method works because the blank is held rigidly between centers while you do bench work on it. You get a perfectly flat face, registered to the long axis of the spindle, in about three minutes. The drawback is that single-bevel blades come out slightly thicker than belt-sanded blades because the file removes material more slowly than a sander.

Method 2: Belt Sander, Off the Lathe

The most forgiving method and the one I use for 9 out of 10 openers.

1. Take the parted blank off the lathe.
2. Mount the blank flat against a 120-grit belt on a 1 x 30 or 4 x 36 belt sander.
3. Press the blade against the moving belt with steady pressure, watching the thickness from the side as you go.
4. Stop when the blade is at 5/32 inch (just over 1/8 inch). Switch to 220 grit and sand to 1/8 inch final.
5. Round the back edge of the blade slightly and bevel the cutting edge at about 30 degrees.

A belt sander removes material fast and lets you see exactly what is happening. The risk is over-sanding — once you go below 1/8 inch the blade flexes and snaps under almost any office use. Check thickness with calipers every twenty seconds.

Method 3: Hand Rasp and Card Scraper

For total control or when you do not own a belt sander.

1. Clamp the blank handle in a padded vise.
2. Rough the blade flat with a flat cabinetmaker's rasp, working from handle toward tip with the rasp angled away from you.
3. Switch to a card scraper to remove the rasp marks and bring the face to final flatness.
4. Bevel the cutting edge with the scraper or a sharp block plane.

This is the slowest method (fifteen to twenty minutes per blade) and the one with the best final surface. A card scraper leaves the wood ready for finish without further sanding. For sharpening the scraper see sharpening woodturning tools.

Method Comparison

Finishing

Wipe-on polyurethane is my default for letter openers. The blade gets handled every time the opener is used, so you want a finish that does not lift under skin oil or stay tacky in summer humidity. Two thin coats of Minwax Wipe-On Poly or General Finishes Arm-R-Seal, sanded between coats with 600 grit, gives a hand-polished feel and protects the blade edge.

Skip Danish oil for the blade. It looks beautiful for two weeks, then it dulls and the blade starts absorbing skin oil. Save Danish oil for the handle if you want a matte finish there and switch to poly on the blade.

For boxwood or pink ivory blades I sometimes skip the finish entirely. The natural oils in those species and their hardness mean they polish to a soft sheen with use and do not need film protection. A coat of paste wax (Renaissance Wax or Liberon) buffs them to a low shine and does not need redoing for years.

Safety

A spindle blank at 3/4 inch by 9 inches running at 3,000 RPM is small but not safe. Anything that breaks loose at that speed hits hard.

• Always wear a full face shield (not just safety glasses) when turning, including on small spindle work
• Check that the workpiece is secure between centers before starting the lathe — spin it by hand first to confirm clearance and drive engagement
• Start at the lowest speed (1,500 RPM or below) for the initial squaring pass, then increase gradually after the blank is round
• Never wear loose clothing, gloves, or jewelry near a spinning lathe
• Keep the tool rest within 1/4 inch of the workpiece, raising it as the diameter shrinks
• Do not try to finish the blade thinner than 1/4 inch while the lathe is running — take it off and finish at the bench
• For exotics like padauk and pink ivory, wear a dust mask rated N95 or higher; padauk dust is a respiratory irritant for a meaningful percentage of woodworkers

Common Mistakes

Trying to part the blade tip to a sharp point on the lathe. The unsupported tip flexes, catches, and the whole blade snaps. Leave the tip as a 1/4 inch stub on the lathe and shape the point off-lathe.

Using open-pored wood for the blade. Red oak and ash are pleasant to turn but the pores create voids that show up as cracks the first time the blade flexes. Stick to closed-pore species — hard maple, cherry, walnut, boxwood, pink ivory.

Grain orientation. If the blank was sawn so the grain runs at an angle to the long axis, the blade has short grain on at least one face. Short grain snaps with almost no warning. Hold the blank up to the light and check that the grain lines run end-to-end before you mount it.

Going below 1/8 inch thickness. A 3/32 inch blade looks elegant and snaps the second time you use it. The 1/8 inch minimum exists for a reason — that is the thickness at which hard maple can flex against a sealed envelope flap without permanent deformation.

Skipping the bevel on the cutting edge. A flat-faced blade with no bevel slides off envelope flaps and cuts your finger when you push harder. A 30-degree bevel about 1/4 inch wide along the cutting edge is the difference between a tool and a stick.

For more spindle project work see garden dibber and kitchen spatula. For tool selection see best woodturning tools and for a working start a beginner's guide to using a wood lathe.

Variations

Once the basic 7-inch opener is comfortable, three variations are worth turning.

The bookmark opener stretches the design to 9 inches with a 5-inch blade and a slimmer 1/2 inch handle. Use boxwood or pink ivory — at this length and thickness the blade really wants a dense wood. A small tassel hole drilled at the back of the handle turns it into a working bookmark that also opens mail.

The two-piece opener with a contrasting handle is a glue-up project: turn a 4-inch handle in walnut or cherry, then turn a separate blade blank in boxwood or maple with a 3/8 inch tenon at the handle end. Drill the handle, glue the tenon, and you have a contrast-color opener that uses scrap stock from larger projects.

The scoop-shaped opener has a slight concave dish to the upper face of the blade so it also works as a small letter scoop or envelope lifter. Cut the dish with a small spindle gouge on the lathe before the flattening step, then flatten only the underside of the blade.

Sources & References