Andodized aluminum folding spoon

[Dale Wambaugh]

I have a titanium folding spork that fits in a 400ml mug I have along with a Esbit Ti wing stove and a bit of aluminum foil for a windscreen. This forms my minimalist overnight and day hike hot drink kit. I decided that I wanted a Ti folding spoon and to my surprise, they are hard to find in the US. So I went to eBay and found an anodized aluminum folding spoon out of China that arrived today.

It is a fairly typical folding design and I like the spoon bowl design very much. The aluminum is much thicker than a Ti version and the edges are nicely rounded. Weight is 0.7oz/20g and measures 3-5/8" folded and 6-1/4" extended (93mm/158mm). The handle is stainless steel. Cost was just $4.66 each with shipping. It took about 2 weeks to reach me in the US.

[drowning in spam]

How does it feel in your mouth? I hate my titanium spoon because it feels so odd when my tongue touches it.

[todd]

Nice Dale. It's like my folding Ti spoon – nearly identical except for the above-mentioned thickness.

Is this the same vendor?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Folding-Spoon-for-Outdoor-Camping-Hiking-TW-103-/270931237861?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f14c29be5

Thanks,
Todd

[Dustin Short]

I've never understood the design of the folding spoon. They are purposefully constructed to fold down. Why? This design requires a latch to keep the spoon "open" and if the latch fails your spoon collapses and drops it's contents. If the hinge was just flipped and placed on the upper side of the spoon handle, then no latch is necessary (weight savings though may be nice to have idiot proof the spoon when stirring) and the spoon won't collapse when weighted by simplicity of design.

There may be a minor safety issue of having the hinge on the top, but I generally don't shove a spoon that far into my mouth so I'm not personally concerned.

Sorry I'm off topic, just a pet peeve I've had for a while with folding utensils.

Still a good find!

[Ken Thompson]

Did you order one for me while you were at it?

[todd]

Dustin,

"They are purposefully constructed to fold down. Why? "

Good point. And valid.

The reason is so, when folded, the handle conform to the shape of the "bowl" so it packs small. Having it collapse sucks though.

Todd

[Dustin Short]

I figured, but I think a simple reshape and it will conform to the inside of the spoon bowl. Maybe a little less aggressive of a curve since it's the inside radius, but this is a utensil we're talking about. There is little performance gain one way or the other as long as the hand can still grasp the handle.

Such is my curse of thinking only in reverse.

[Dale Wambaugh]

Eugene, it feels good in the mouth, even better than my stainless kitchen flatware. More like a Lexan spoon really.

Todd, yes that is the same vendor on eBay. The "2 sold" were mine :)

Ken, get your own $%^& spoon. I got two and they are MINE {grin}

As far as hinges and latches go, I did tweak the sliding latch on this one a bit using a pair of needle nose pliers.

[Author]

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