How to make chop sticks?

Question

I'm making myself some chop sticks. I need to know what type of wood would be best. I have a lilac bush that has some favorable pieces in it... Not sure about lacquer either... What would make the best food-safe chop sticks?

Answer 1

The most prevalent material used to make chopsticks is aspen wood. Aspen is used to make the disposable chopsticks used in restaurants. About 20-billion pair are used yearly, mostly in Japan. Many other materials are used to make chopsticks designed for more than one use. Metal chopsticks are common in some areas, and elaborate chop-sticks may be carved of precious materials such as ivory or jade. Most chopsticks are made of some variety of wood, and coated with oil, paint, or lacquer. Some varieties of chopstick wood have superstitions related to them. Chestnut chopsticks are said to bring wealth, black persimmon chopsticks, long life. Other typical woods used for chop-sticks are pine, cedar, cherry, sandalwood, and paulownia. A traditional Japanese material is a sandwich of thin boards of maple, pine, and cedar called shuboku wood. In general, the wood used needs to be relatively hard and impervious to water (I doubt Lilac branches meet this requirement). The color and grain of the wood is also important for fine quality chopsticks.

Answer 2

Most chopsticks are made of bamboo. They are so inexpensive, why bother making them. You can pick them up in the dollar store. The extra ones in the package could be used to make hair sticks. These 2 sites will show you what I mean. http://www.eebeads.com/Webzine/99mar/3_52_99.htm
http://bellamia/netfirms.com/instructions.htm