~ Company History ~

Handmade wooden spoons, ladles, dippers, bowls, breadboards, trenchers, mixing paddles and many other types of woodenware have been made by craftsmen and used by cooks and bakers for hundreds of years in all the nations of the world.

In 1978 my wife, Debbie, asked me to make her a wooden spoon that wouldn't break. With only a homemade band saw and an antique wood lathe, I met her challenge and produced our first wooden spoon. In 1984 I realized my dream of a full-time woodworking business with The Carpenter Shop— designing and constructing custom furniture, doing millwork, and making wooden spoons. Being encouraged by the enthusiastic response of those who purchased our woodenware, in 1991 The Carpenter Shop was retooled solely for the designing and making of Whetstone Woodenware.™ At the present we are producing over 100 products that are sold in catalogs, kitchen stores, hardware stores, museum stores, and in our own 2 retail stores. We also enjoy the privilege of working with some of the largest living history museums in the USA; crafting historical reproductions from their archives which are then sold in their museum gift stores.

Our skilled craftsmen make Whetstone Woodenware™ from kiln dried hard maple. And after 17 hand operations and a final polishing, the products are treated with mineral oil. The hard maple tree is grown and milled in the USA; our main lumber source is only 10 miles away from our shop. In 1999 total production at our Silver Lake facility was just over 37,300 pieces.

~ Caring for Your Woodenware ~

Hand wash only. Never wash in a dishwasher. After the first few times of use and hand washing, buff the utensil with a piece of 400 grit wet/dry sand paper or a Green 3M ScotchbriteŽ pad. A regular application of mineral oil will keep your Whetstone Woodenware™ in prime condition.

Thank you, for purchasing our genuine Whetstone Woodenware.™

John B. Whetstone

The Media

In 1996 we participated in The QVC Quest for the Best 50/50 Local Tour. Appearing live to potentially 40 million viewers, we sold 840 three-piece sets of our Tapered Wooden Spoons.

In 1997, WFYI - PBS Channel 20 of Indianapolis, featured us on their award winning program, Across Indiana. The segment was also incorporated into their cook book The Best from Across Indiana.

Our Woodenware has been sold in Early American Homes magazine, promoted in Country Living magazine, and in the following catalogs: Lehman’s Hardware, Cumberland General Store, King Arthur Baker’s, and The Wooden Spoon.

Outlets

Our product is sold in the following museum gift shops: The Henry Ford/Greenfield Village Museum in Dearborn, Michigan; Old Sturbridge Museum in Massachusetts; Old Salem Museum, at the J Blum Printer Merchant Shop in Winston/Salem, North Carolina; American Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton, Virginia; Mackinac State Historic Parks in Northern Michigan; Sauder Farm and Craft Village in Archbold, Ohio; Jamestown Settlement in Williamsburg, Virginia; Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in Williamsburg, Virginia; The New Salem Lincoln League in Petersburg, Illinois; and The Indiana Historical Society in the Historic Market in Indianapolis, Indiana.

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