How to Mold Utensils Into Hooks

You can often find old utensils at yard sales or rummage sales.

Repurposing everyday objects for practical uses can be fun and creative. It is a great way to save money and keep discarded items out of the landfill. Metal utensils make interesting decorative hooks for dishtowels, keys, or anything else you need to hang in your kitchen. You can mount these hooks directly to the wall, or you can sand and paint a block of repurposed wood and affix the hooks to it to make a hanging rack.

Things You'll Need

• Metal utensils
• Vise
• Pot
• Metal tongs
• Gloves
• Drill and small metal drill bit
• Screws

Instructions

1. Flatten any curved part of your utensil, such as a curved handle or a spoon bowl, by placing it into a vise and screwing the vise shut.

2. Boil water in a pot. Drop the flattened utensils into the boiling water for a few minutes to soften the metal. Remove with tongs.

3. Handling the hot utensils with gloves, close the bottom half of each flattened utensil in the vise and carefully bend the handle of the utensil toward you around a small, circular item until you have created a U-shape.

4. Let the utensils cool. Drill two holes in the bottom of each utensil: the flattened spoon bowl, the knife blade or just under the fork tines.

5. Screw the utensil hooks into the wall.

Tips & Warnings

• The stiffness and quality of your utensil metal will determine how strong your finished hook will be. If you are planning to hang heavy items, be sure to choose utensils that do not bend easily.

• Drill hooks into a stud or use drywall anchors for more stability.