At 70 LP per cutlery, and them using up one block each, you're making 1,680 LP per tree, not counting chopping it down, making blocks of the logs, or removing the stump. That's not "starting out" LP at all. That rivals a lot of normal methods for LP, and is probably the biggest reason it got nerfed. A lot of people put down their tools to go make wooden forks. It's boring, yes, but it's simple, and the supply of trees is perceived as endless.
If you really want LP, particularly as a new player, just... work. Clear the land, pave the land, build a house. Go look for clay for a kiln and cauldron. Make some storage containers, fill your house with cupboards. Build a wall. You can make thousands of LP doing this stuff, and it's no harder than making forks, and on top of that, it actually causes you to advance through the game materially and infrastructurally (is that a word?) rather than just adding more digits to your characterlator.