Post #242,378
1/24/06 11:31:02 PM
|
Today I recieved my umpteenth "gourmet" / "home chef" . . .
. . mailorder catalog of "professional grade" crap - and I diligently perused all 99 pages. Like all the rest, it included a number of things that are completely useful, but of course I already have all those and probably paid less.
Like all the others it has a great many useless items and specialty tools and devices that would surely be useful if you had a walk-in pantry the size of my house to store all the crap in.
Like all the rest, it lacked the one thing I'm willing to buy and willing to pay an indecent price for but can't get. A DAMNED USABLE WOODEN SPOON!.
When I last saw them in a bin at a grocery store about 25 years ago, I bought several (probably for about $1.25 each) but alas not enough of them. My last one will hold me for another two years, but is entirely unreplaceable.
I am planning soon to purchase a band saw and belt sander so I can make my own, since I cannot buy a usable product in stores or on the Internet. No, plastic is NOT acceptable.
Here it is. Note the curvature of the handle that allows you to get down into a pot and bring out an amount that you can actually taste - impossible with the straight handled crap spoons you can actually buy now (whether hand made from olive wood and sold for "craftsman" prices or mass manufactured out of stud grad 2x4 and sold for a $buck.19).
[image|http://www.clovegarden.com/ajg/ke_wspoon01.jpg||||]
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
|
Post #242,380
1/25/06 12:04:34 AM
|
GIYF
Google Is Your Friend - [link|http://www.google.com/search?q=%22curved+wooden+spoon%22|"curved wooden spoon"]... first hit:
[link|http://www.lehmans.com/jump.jsp?itemType=PRODUCT&iProductID=28|http://www.lehmans.c...UCT&iProductID=28] - spoon "D"
At the bottom of the page there's a "giant spoon for huge kettles" that might be interesting to you as well.
And, [link|http://www.motherearthnews.com/library/1978_November_December/Hand_Carved_Wooden_Spoons|how to make one yourself]. Second hit. :-)
Regards,
-scott anderson
"Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
|
Post #242,388
1/25/06 2:40:18 AM
|
One of those is just "hand carved" mispelled.
The only "curved" product for sale (which I think I have already seen in my searches) appears to just have a curved handle rather than being the needed "S" curve and that just makes it worse.
What I can see in the photo is that it's thick and clumsy compared to my example and would need to be completely recarved - but without the "S" shape that isn't practical. The "S" shape and thin flat handle are critical features of a useful spoon, allowing it to scoop up enough to taste from a pot that's only partially filled.
Band saw and belt sander still look like the most practical approach for getting spoons without spending endless jack-knife hours on each. A Dremel motor with a burr should be able to rough out the bowl for a bit of hand sanding. Tedious but effective.
That "big pot" one is the worst of all shapes - long straight "dowel" handle with shallow bowl - useful with big pots only for stirring unless the pot is filled to the brim. I have a more practical shaped one (deeper bowl) already.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
|
Post #242,394
1/25/06 8:40:26 AM
|
Hard to tell from the picture.
[link|http://mountainmade.com/productdetail.asp?P=944-3w|http://mountainmade....tail.asp?P=944-3w]
[link|http://www.ona.com/en/products/48/933|http://www.ona.com/en/products/48/933]
[link|http://www.potatoplates.com/prod%20window/WOODEN%20SPOON.htm|http://www.potatopla...OODEN%20SPOON.htm]
[link|http://kitchencarvers.com/images/14servingladle200.jpg|http://kitchencarver...rvingladle200.jpg]
Regards,
-scott anderson
"Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
|
Post #242,403
1/25/06 10:41:11 AM
1/25/06 10:43:19 AM
|
The first one might be worth a look.
I can't tell from the picture if it is an "S" curve or not. Expensive, for a spoon, but $20 (including shipping) amortized over 3 years isn't a lot if it works.
The second is too short, the third is tiny (table ware) and the fourth is a ladle (problem explained in another post).
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
|
Post #242,462
1/25/06 4:38:35 PM
|
Looks nicely curved on the makers' site.
At Allegheny Treenware's own site, [link|http://www.spooners.com/|http://www.spooners.com], there are more pictures of more variants. (And they're for sale at a slightly cheaper price, too! :-)
The pictures of the [link|http://www.spooners.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=S&Product_Code=8&Category_Code=SS|"Granny Spoon"] (10" - $10.50; 12" - $12.50; 14" - $14.50) are from the same stupid angle, so you don't actually see any curvature... But the [link|http://www.spooners.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=S&Product_Code=21&Category_Code=SS|"No Drip"] variant (10" - $12; 12" - $14; 14" - $16) is fortunately pictured from both the top and the side (in order to show off the drip-stopping notch/beak thingy) -- and surely the non-drip-stopping version must have the same curve to its handle? (The various sizes of each model all use the same picture, as far as I can tell, so on six pages you actually have only two different pics.)
There's also a [link|http://www.spooners.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=S&Product_Code=116&Category_Code=LS|10" 'Deep' one], at $18, if you want to take larger sips... But is its handle really curved as nicely as the "No Drip" ones? Hard to tell, from that picture.
HTH!
[link|mailto:MyUserId@MyISP.CountryCode|Christian R. Conrad]
(I live in Finland, and my e-mail in-box is at the Saunalahti company.)
Yes Mr. Garrison, genetic engineering lets us correct God's horrible, horrible mistakes, like German people. - [link|http://maxpages.com/southpark2k/Episode_105|Mr. Hat]
|
Post #242,469
1/25/06 5:48:47 PM
1/25/06 5:56:57 PM
|
Hey BTW, how about this one?
[image|http://www.kodin1.com/images/tuotekuvat/1022409_3.jpg||||]
Coupla bucks at the big stuff-for-the-home store I walk past right after/before the Metro station, on my way to/from work... Ya want I should buy five or ten of 'em and bung in the mail? Either way, I'll certainly check it out tomorrow.
[Edit: Or [link|http://www.propuu.fi/profin/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=145&Itemid=|these ones]?]
[link|mailto:MyUserId@MyISP.CountryCode|Christian R. Conrad]
(I live in Finland, and my e-mail in-box is at the Saunalahti company.)
Yes Mr. Garrison, genetic engineering lets us correct God's horrible, horrible mistakes, like German people. - [link|http://maxpages.com/southpark2k/Episode_105|Mr. Hat]
Edited by CRConrad
Jan. 25, 2006, 05:56:57 PM EST
|
Post #242,480
1/25/06 7:37:10 PM
|
Looks like a decent shape . . .
. . though I can't tell enough from the photo. If they're real wood and about 30 cm long I'd take 5 or so at a couple bucks each.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
|
Post #242,491
1/25/06 8:49:40 PM
|
I have some friends in the food business.
And when I told them what I was looking for (after asking for info on catalogs/websites for supplies) every single one of them laughed at me and said "He can't tilt the pot?".
-----------------------------------------
NOTICE: Due to Presidential Executive Orders, the National Security Agency may have read this email without warning, warrant, or notice, and certainly without probable cause. They may do this without any judicial or legislative oversight. You have no recourse nor protection save to call for the impeachment of the current President.
-Put it on all your emails
|
Post #242,495
1/25/06 9:00:32 PM
1/25/06 9:02:25 PM
|
Tell 'em I don't do work-arounds.
Tilting big bubbling pots with one hand while weilding a spoon in the other is another opportunity for scalds, burns and making a mess. Work-arounds are not a substitute for the proper tool.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
|
Post #242,503
1/25/06 9:16:41 PM
|
I thought you said this was only usefull to dip tastes from
mostly empty tall pots. Or did I misread you?
-----------------------------------------
NOTICE: Due to Presidential Executive Orders, the National Security Agency may have read this email without warning, warrant, or notice, and certainly without probable cause. They may do this without any judicial or legislative oversight. You have no recourse nor protection save to call for the impeachment of the current President.
-Put it on all your emails
|
Post #242,509
1/25/06 9:35:34 PM
|
Mostly empty? No.
You should always cook in a pot that's the right size and shape for the job and that means it should never be too small. Not too small means you're pot may have significant headroom. Significant headroom makes getting a tastable spoon full with a flat (particularly the common round handled flat) spoon inconvenient.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
|
Post #242,674
1/27/06 7:11:40 AM
|
Assorted models are in the mail.
Give it a week or three; I chose cheapskate surface mail.
[link|mailto:MyUserId@MyISP.CountryCode|Christian R. Conrad]
(I live in Finland, and my e-mail in-box is at the Saunalahti company.)
Yes Mr. Garrison, genetic engineering lets us correct God's horrible, horrible mistakes, like German people. - [link|http://maxpages.com/southpark2k/Episode_105|Mr. Hat]
|
Post #242,721
1/27/06 11:56:51 AM
|
Thanks. Let me know what your costs were.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
|
Post #242,772
1/27/06 5:26:35 PM
|
Feh - don't pay it back, pay it forward.
|
Post #244,303
2/12/06 12:49:42 AM
2/12/06 1:00:52 AM
|
The spoons are here
They are much better in shape than anything I've seen for many years, and are of the desirable soft wood (less heat conduction). The larger ones will need just a little carving to make them ideal, but so did my original model.
The trinkets included are also appreciated, especially the [link|http://virtual.finland.fi/netcomm/news/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=25786|Sami] cell phone. I'm sure it will be ideal for communicating with the spirit world during shamanic rituals and that it can be used in everyday life as well is a plus.
The cloisonné pin of the Finnish flag will join my collection of cloisonné pins. The collection includes service pins from companies I used to work for, some religious and political pins (I think the "God and Country" one is Lutheran), swag from Comdex past (when it mattered) and Canadian trade booths, my Hitlerjugend pin, a Kriegsmarine service pin (World War I) and two SS stickpins.
If I remember correctly I purchased the Hitlerjugend and Kriegsmarine service pin somewhere during my misspent youth and inherited the SS stickpins from a crazy Russian (ummmm . . . is there another kind?) who shot himself (succeeded on second attempt - missed the first time).
Thanks, Conrad. Let me know when I can return the favor.
[link|http://virtual.finland.fi/netcomm/news/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=25786|Sami] Cell Phone (for communicating with spirit world - beer bottle opener on reverse side) - not a Nokia model.
[image|http://www.aaxnet.com/ajg/samicellphone.jpg||||]
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
|
Post #243,212
2/2/06 1:40:11 AM
|
Having one in hand I can now report . . .
. . the maple "granny spoon" is a very nice spoon but the manufacturer rightly lists it as a "serving spoon", not a cooking spoon.
The "S" curvature is there, but very shallow and the handle is not as flat as implied, but the major flaw is the bowl is wide and very deep. Use this as a cooking spoon and you'll burn your lips for sure.
The objective is to get enough liquid to taste but in a shallow bowl with low volume compared to surface area. It's a delecate balance, but an essential one because cooking is a highly distractive
environment. If you have to pay too much attention to your tools you're going to forget and experience pain.
Also, the wood of the granny spoon is very hard and conducts heat better than the soft wood of my example spoon, providing additional discomfort.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
|
Post #243,226
2/2/06 8:26:46 AM
|
Tell them what you're looking for.
As specific and knowledgeable as you are about your requirements, they may decide it's worth making.
Regards,
-scott anderson
"Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
|
Post #242,391
1/25/06 3:13:03 AM
|
Try and find, 'Alone in the Wilderness'
B & W pic ~ 50 yrs old (shown on PBS a couple times last year). Misanthrope guy sets up his Bolex 16 mm, shows exactly how he built his cabin, contents -- in Alaska IIRC, incl. stone fireplace. 99+% from the local materials (except for plastic vapor-barrier, roll of tarpaper for the sod/moss roof, about which he demonstrated remorse.)
24K hits on Google; seems to be out, in all meeja.
Fascinating chronicle, near-perfectionist handiwork (but with the first snows as inescapable deadline.) Makes his cookware, sink, etc. with tin cut from large cans, also hinges for his privy + its bear-'proof' door with lock.
First wooden artifact he makes for the camera:
A SPOON, much like your heart's desire. How-to is a few minutes of the flick. Et ... viola!
(He stayed there 35 years; occasional sea- ski- plane flights to adjacent lake bringing condiments, vegetable plants, etc. Thoroughly efficient outdoorsman, but I wouldn't want to live around his persona.. for more than a few days.)
|
Post #242,392
1/25/06 8:09:07 AM
|
Sounds like you're looking for a ladle, not a spoon. 21 kB
Ladles are ideal for getting liquids out of deep containers.
I know this isn't quite what you're looking for, but is it close enough?
[image|http://www.spasandtubs.com/Finnleo/jpgs/ladle18.jpg|0|Sanna ladle|400|349]
From a Google image search on "wood ladle"
Roy Underhill's "The Woodwright's Shop" show on PBS (he also has books) covers traditional woodwork. He might cover making spoons, but I haven't seen any details of which episode/book would be best.
HTH!
Cheers,
Scott.
|
Post #242,396
1/25/06 8:54:51 AM
|
That's what I was thinking
For Christmas I bought my brother and his wife some (IMO) beautiful wooden kitchenware - amongst the items was the large ladle shown [link|http://www.indeco.net.au/ladles.htm|here]. It is a beautiful piece of work - the kind of thing that almost seems a shame to dip into hot soup.
Two out of three people wonder where the other one is.
|
Post #242,401
1/25/06 10:33:51 AM
|
Well, that's a lot closer than any of the spoons . . .
. . but it's too deep for tasting. You need the right balance of depth to surface cooling - with a ladle you're going to get burned. At the other extreme a straight spoon just comes up damp with nothing to taste.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
|
Post #242,458
1/25/06 3:58:38 PM
|
That's for throwing water onto the stones on the sauna oven.
With its varnished finish (according to [link|http://www.spasandtubs.com/Finnleo/sauna_access.html|http://www.spasandtubs.com/Finnleo/sauna_access.html]), it is, as you say, not quite what Andrew is looking for. The [link|http://www.spasandtubs.com/Finnleo/jpgs/ladle14.jpg|other one] would probably be a better bet -- it looks completely untreated, from the picture -- although that, too, has a bit too straight a handle. (And it's also generally pretty clumsy and ugly.)
[link|mailto:MyUserId@MyISP.CountryCode|Christian R. Conrad]
(I live in Finland, and my e-mail in-box is at the Saunalahti company.)
Yes Mr. Garrison, genetic engineering lets us correct God's horrible, horrible mistakes, like German people. - [link|http://maxpages.com/southpark2k/Episode_105|Mr. Hat]
|
Post #242,413
1/25/06 11:35:25 AM
|
What would a local machine shop charge?
Looks like it'd be easy to do on a small CNC, but probably not worth trying unless you can model it first and want a lot of them at once (or have a friend with access to a CNC).
--Tony
|
Post #242,427
1/25/06 12:38:40 PM
|
Having been a machine shop cost estimator . . .
. . and having clients with CNC I know what it takes to set up a job - multi-thousand dollar spoons are a bit rich for my taste. Of course quantity would bring that down but conventional machinery is far more practical for quantity production if you can afford the initial tooling.
Having been a machinist and having worked in both rework and tooling departments I'm convinced that a bench belt sander is one of the most powerful and versatile tools you can have. I've been planning to get one for some time. You can get small bandsaws and belt sanders for about $99 each these days and a bandsaw would also be useful for sawing up pig's feet and the like.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
|
Post #242,467
1/25/06 5:33:49 PM
|
Our machinist likes grinders
they're a good way to get precision (like 0.0002") surfaces.
--Tony
|
Post #242,476
1/25/06 7:23:47 PM
|
Grinders I know . . .
Precision surface grinders, centerless grinders, crush-form ginders, bench grinders, guinea grinders, etc. etc. - but they're hardly the right tools for making spoons. Some grinders are good for sharpening cutting tools though.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
|
Post #242,475
1/25/06 7:17:43 PM
1/25/06 7:20:14 PM
|
Have you looked at any Pampered Chef catalogs?
They have some of the best cooking utensils I have ever used.
They have a nice set of [link|http://www.pamperedchef.com/our_products/catalog/product.jsp?productId=193&categoryCode=CT|bamboo spoons]
Peace,
Amy
"It's never too late to be who you might have been." ~ George Eliot
Edited by imqwerky
Jan. 25, 2006, 07:20:14 PM EST
|
Post #242,477
1/25/06 7:26:53 PM
|
My wife is a Pampered Chef junkie
I've trying to find her a 12-step recovery program - but she just can't say 'Hi , I'm Tonia and I'm a pampaholic' yet.
--
Steve
[link|http://www.ubuntulinux.org|Ubuntu]
|
Post #242,478
1/25/06 7:28:15 PM
|
Well, those are nice, but once again they're straight.
Haven't seen their catalog but that seems to be all they have on the Web site.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
|
Post #242,906
1/29/06 4:55:34 AM
|
Straight wood + steam + formers = bent wood. No?
|
Post #242,918
1/29/06 10:54:26 AM
|
Hot soup would unbend that right away.
What you need for a permanent bend is ammonia under high pressure, if I recall correctly. I don't currently have that facility.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
|
Post #242,930
1/29/06 3:52:24 PM
|
Sure you do
Remember that friend who turned her stove into a pool of molten aluminum? Ask her when she'll be trying to cook again. Tell here you've got something you want to try.
===
Purveyor of Doc Hope's [link|http://DocHope.com|fresh-baked dog biscuits and pet treats].
[link|http://DocHope.com|http://DocHope.com]
|
