How to Cut Balsa Wood: 4 Different Ways

After much plotting and planning, I decided to do a “front entrance hallway” on the first floor of the Keeper’s House and create a bathroom space on the second floor. The bathroom and front halls got tile floors, and everything else got wood floors.

When I laid out the balsa wood, I decided to cut the strips to different lengths to make the floor look “real.” I also wanted to cut the balsa wood before I dying it because I didn’t want undyed edges. That would look weird.

I remember using balsa wood all the time in elementary school for projects, and I don’t remember cutting balsa wood being particularly hard. Well, either balsa wood has changed, or I am misremembering because working with balsa wood was harder than I anticipated. Turns out that even though I used this stuff long ago (in school, no less), I have a lot to learn about how to cut balsa wood.

How to Cut Balsa Wood: The Experiment

So, I laid out the balsa wood with the room dividers in place so I could estimate how many balsa wood strips I would need:

I had three bags of 75 sticks each (225 sticks total). Once I finished the layout, I figured I would need about 200 sticks total.

I didn’t want to practice on the sticks. Not that the bags were expensive, but I don’t want to waste money or materials. Fortunately, each bag had a couple of lemons.

That gives me practice material. Score.

A Hardwood That’s Soft

So, balsa wood is a hardwood, but it’s one of the softest hardwoods you can buy commercially.

All the pros said that no matter what I used, I should always use the sharpest blade possible to cut balsa wood. Apparently, it can be hard to cut softwood. I guess my thought is, “I’m cutting wood. Of course, I’m using a sharp knife.”

I may be a miniature newbie, but I cook a lot, so I know knives tend to work better when they’re sharp. That’s just a fact. But let’s just say my sharp blades were not sharp enough.

Hold It Steady

Other advice included clamping the balsa wood before cutting it. That’s good advice, but the thing is, these are balsa wood sticks, not balsa wood sheets, and I thought it would be overkill to drag out the giant C-clamps (though it would have been funny).

Instead, I used my hand as a clamp. The free hand “clamped” the wood while the other did the cutting. This wasn’t exactly a mistake, but my hand was quite tired and sore by the end of this exercise.

How to Cut Balsa Wood: 4 Different Methods

My research revealed three ways to cut balsa wood, but I happened to have a fourth on hand, not that it mattered in the end. Each method was questionable at best. 

I tested each of these methods for cutting balsa wood. I have a “best,” but what I really learned is that cutting balsa wood is a pain.

How to Cut Balsa Wood with Scissors

When I said I used this stuff in school, this is what I was talking about. I distinctly remember cutting balsa wood sheets into smaller pieces with scissors. I swear.

That said, I guess times have changed because everyone on the internet said: “Don’t.” No matter what you think, your scissors are not as sharp as they need to be to cut balsa wood successfully. Dull blades will split or crack the wood every single time. And everyone was right (so, thank you, internet).

Here are the scissors I used:

They’re ancient and not used very often. I figured they wouldn’t be that sharp but not that dull, either. Plus, I’m sure I’ve cut balsa wood with scissors before. So, I gave it a shot.

I put the scissors to the balsa wood and started to cut. I got a lot of resistance. Here’s what happened after I pressed hard but didn’t feel like I would cut through:

I made a mark but didn’t get through the balsa wood. It’s more like I scratched the wood than cut it. 

Here’s what happened when I tried to cut another piece of balsa wood with the same pair of scissors.

As you can see, one side came off pretty clean. The other side… not so much.

I need both sides of the balsa wood strip to have even cuts. Not clean is OK. It’s wood. I expect rough edges. But I don’t want the strips to be uneven. If I use them on the floor, the floor will be, well, uneven.

So, pass on using scissors to cut balsa wood.

How to Cut Balsa Wood With an X-ACTO Knife

Up next, an X-ACTO knife. I honestly figured this would be the winner. It’s literally a knife for cutting and shaping things.

It worked. Kind of.

All the X-ACTO enthusiasts said not to cut deep on the first pass. They said I’d have to make several passes over the wood in the same spot (like I’m scoring it) to make this work. 

There were also instructions about cutting at 45 degrees and going across the grain. I’m not sure I went at 45 degrees because, well, I just held the X-ACTO knife. There wasn’t much else I could do. And as for across the grain. It’s a small stick, so, yeah.

>>RELATED: Wood Grain: What Is It, How to Find It, and Why You Should 

After a couple of passes with the knife, here’s what I had:

I used a fresh blade, but clearly, this was never going to work. Eventually, it would, but I need something more efficient. So, I abandoned the X-ACTO knife and went to a method I hoped would work best of all.

How to Cut Balsa Wood With a Paper Cutter

I’ve got this paper cutter.

For the record, nowhere in my research did I come up with “cut balsa wood with a paper cutter.” And, as I learned, with good reason.

My thought was the paper cutter has a sharp blade, and because of the setup, I could anchor the wood and draw the blade across the balsa wood without killing my hands. In case it’s not clear, this isn’t the kind of paper cutter with an up-and-down cutting action. This is a safety blade that moves (technically) side-to-side. You’re not pulling the blade onto the paper to cut it as much as you’re moving it across the paper.

I slid the stick under the guide. It fit!

Then, I pulled the blade, and nothing.

It would. Not. Budge. It was like, oh, I don’t know, a huge branch had fallen across the roadway, and only a lumberjack could clear it.

You can’t cut balsa wood with a paper cutter. At least, not this paper cutter.

How to Cut Balsa Wood With a Utility Knife

Fortunately, I’ve got a utility knife, so I figured I’d give it a shot. I saw a lot of advice that said using a utility knife is the best way to cut balsa wood, and I assumed it would be the same as an X-ACTO knife, so I wasn’t planning on testing this. But once everything else failed, I figured I should give it a shot.

I made a few passes on the wood and ended up with this:

The top line is the scoring with the utility knife. The bottom line is from the original scissors experiment.

It looked good, so I scored a little more. I found it best to make a back-and-forth sawing motion. I have no idea if that’s good for the blade or not, but it was an effective way to score into the balsa wood.

That said, I had to use a lot of force to get it to score. I suppose I could have used a lighter touch, but I didn’t. As a result, my hands tired quickly. So, I figured, let me snap the wood on this line and see what happens. Here’s what happened:

Yup. Looks just like the scissors.

I have to cut all the way through the balsa wood, I guess.

I tried again with another piece, this time scoring it on the side, too.

Then, I broke it off again and got, you guessed it, another rough edge that splintered.

Man. I really do have to go all the way through.

There’s nothing wrong with that. It probably is best. But it was really hurting my hands. Again, maybe I was using too much pressure, but I don’t think a lighter touch would have accomplished as much.

Best Is OK, But I Need Better

So, based on this experiment, it would seem that the utility knife is my best bet. But I have to hold the balsa wood strips down and press like crazy with one hand while sawing with the other. Doing even one stick was darn near impossible. I suppose it’s possible I was at a bad angle (table too high or low, whatever). But I can’t picture cutting about 200 of these one by one by one by one and not wanting to die.

I could have gone another route and bought a sheet of dollhouse hardwood flooring (that’s a thing) and cut it to fit. There’d still be cutting and measuring involved, but I don’t think it would kill my hands (as much).

But, if you scroll through the comments at the bottom of this post, you’ll see some kind readers mentioned a miter box. I got one, and it was an absolute game changer — once I figured it out!

I won’t rehash it here, but if you’re wondering how to cut balsa wood without destroying your hands, a miter box is the way to go!

Frequently Asked Questions About How to Cut Balsa Wood

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