The bowl matters more than the handle
Most people choose a ladle on looks. The part that actually changes your session is the shape of the bowl. A deep, narrow scoop dumps its water in one spot and you get a short, sharp burst of steam off a small patch of rock. A wide, flat bowl spreads the pour across more stone surface, and the löyly comes up softer and lasts longer. This one is the wide, flat kind, 3.5 inches across.
The handle
14.5 inches overall. Long enough that your hand stays clear of the column of steam coming off the stones, which is the reason sauna ladles are longer than kitchen ladles and the reason a short decorative one is a bad buy.
The wood
Oiled Birch. Oiling is what separates the two versions we carry. The oil closes the grain a little further, so the ladle sheds water faster and keeps its colour longer against the constant wet and dry cycle of a sauna. Birch is the traditional Nordic sauna wood for hand tools: it is dense enough to last, light enough to hold at arm’s length, and it does not splinter the way softer species can once they have been through a few hundred heat cycles.
Specifications
- Wood species: Oiled Birch
- Length: 14.5 in
- Width: 3.5 in
- Height: 2 in
- Weight: 0.4 lb
- Designed, engineered and made in Estonia
What is in the box
- 1 oiled birch wooden ladle
Care
Take it out of the room to dry rather than leaving it sitting in the bucket. A wooden ladle left in standing water in a hot room is the fastest way to ruin one, and it is the reason most people are on their third.
Pair it with a bucket
It belongs with a Nordic wood sauna bucket, which we stock in spruce, alder and thermo-aspen from the same Estonian mill.
Why this one
We have handled a lot of sauna ladles, including some expensive ones that photograph better than they pour. This is the one we keep stocked because the bowl is the right shape and the price is not silly.
Call Ben² at (844) 565-1113 if you’d like to talk through the order.
Prebuilt
Sauna Brushes
Vents