And the reveal… wooden tongs! I made wooden tongs as gifts this year. I used mesquite wood for the blades and wedge, but wasn’t confident with glue joints so learned to set brass pins. I posted on that previously, but didn’t show what I was actually making (spoilers).

After shaping and sanding, I did my usual water rinse to raise the grain, and was quite surprised that the mesquite was still quite smooth. I ran over everything with 400 grit again, just to be thorough. I added some embellishments with wood burning, then sealed with butcher block conditioner (which is a food safe mix of oils and wax).