Make Chopsticks from a Yucca Stalk

Chopsticks are very useful for both cooking and eating; they don't scratch your Teflon-coated cookware and can last for years. The dried stalks of Yucca (soapweed) plants are ideal for quickly making chopsticks in various sizes. One could, for example, have one pair about a foot long and {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} in diameter for cooking, and several thinner, shorter, pairs for eating.

Steps

  1. If you live in the American Southwestern desert, finding a yucca plant can be as easy as walking into your backyard. Find a stalk that has already fallen to the ground; don't break down an upright stalk, because birds use them to perch and nest. The stalks vary in suitability; find one that is mostly smooth and not completely hollowed out by bees.
  2. Using a hacksaw or other fine-toothed (probably no less than 18 teeth per inch) saw, cut a section about {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} long; longer for cooking, shorter for eating.
  3. Using a non-serrated knife, split the piece in half: sitting and wearing a leather apron, hold the piece securely with your thighs while you press with the knife from the top, one hand on the knife handle and the other cupped over the top of the blade. Press lightly, working the blade side to side. Once the split starts, it usually continues fairly effortlessly.
  4. Continue splitting into quarters and eighths, until you get a suitable size. Discard the pieces that didn't split well (they make good kindling wood).
  5. When finished splitting the stick, you can whittle the pieces to any level of perfection you desire. The simplest way is to just make the "food" end of them rounded, and leave the rest as it is.

Warnings

  • Don't cut yourself! Never attempt to split yucca with the knife aimed at an unprotected part of the body; you are almost guaranteed to gash yourself badly, as the knife can move very fast once the split has started.

Things You'll Need

  • Hacksaw with 18 or 24 teeth per inch
  • Non-serrated knife, with blade preferably {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} long or longer
  • Access to the desert in New Mexico, Arizona, California, Texas, Chihuahua, Sonora, or similar areas

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References

  • This research was made possible, in part, by a land grant from the City of the Sun though the specifics of the research were not coordinated nor endorsed by COSF.
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