The grain decides the spoon
Before the sawmill, wood was split, not cut. We open every log by hand and carve spoons that keep the tree's full strength.
See how a log opensThe oldest way to open a log
No saw. A wedge goes into a fresh log and the timber opens along its own lines of weakness. We never force a straight cut: we read the wood and guide the split.
Green wood splits cleanest, and straight-grained cherry, walnut, oak, maple and plum repay the effort.
A riven blank keeps its fibres unbroken from the tip of the bowl to the end of the handle. That is why a riven spoon can have a slender neck and still not snap: the strength is in the grain, not in extra wood. It also dries more evenly, so it stays straight and does not crack along a hidden cut.
We don't cut wood to a plan. We split it, and follow the line the tree grew.
Every fibre whole
A saw cuts straight, whatever the tree did. Where the grain twists, it slices through fibres, and a cut fibre is where a spoon neck snaps. A split runs with the grain, so every fibre stays whole from end to end.
The collection
Cherry
Carved from the bend where a branch meets the trunk, so the curve of the handle is the tree's own.
Walnut
A generous bowl for soups and stews, with a long handle that follows one unbroken run of grain.
Maple
A round, soft bowl for the first meal of the day. Pale maple that warms in colour with use.
Plum
Small and reddish, cut from fruit wood. Made to travel in a bag, a jacket or a lunch box.
Gallery
Each piece follows the line the tree chose. Tap any piece to look closer.
Browse by series
From log to kitchen
We choose straight, knot-free cherry, walnut, oak, maple and plum, felled green.
A wedge opens the log along its own lines. No saw ever crosses the grain.
Axe and hook knife shape the blank while the wood is still soft and wet.
Weeks of slow drying, then food-safe oil. Ready for a lifetime of use.
The workshop
Every piece starts as a log that is split, never sawn. It is carved green with axe and knife, dried slowly for weeks, then finished with food-safe oil.
It is slow work. That is the point: a spoon made this way follows the tree, and it will outlast the kitchen it lives in.
Riven ArtRiftcurve workshop · Switzerland
“A split runs with the grain, so every fibre stays whole. That is why a riven spoon lasts.”
Spōn — Old English: a chip of wood, split off
What arrives
Every order is packed by hand and sent from Switzerland.
Oiled and ready to use from the first day.
The wood, where the tree grew and the piece number.
A short note on oiling, so it lasts a lifetime.
Plain, plastic-free packaging, made to be kept.
