Anyone using AL, SS or TI chopsticks?

[Sub_Umbra]

I was reading a 'TI Spork' thread the other night and it dawned on me that perhaps someone here could be using something I've been looking for. I'm trying to find a pair of chopsticks with the following qualities:

• Common Chinese form factor:

• ~10.75"x 1/4"
• Squarish handle
• Squarish or rounded business end with little or no taper.
• Solid -- non-collapsable.

• Made of Aluminum, hollow Stainless Steel or Titanium

I'm not interested in folding backpacker/travel models. I really just want full sized, Chinese shaped utility sticks out of one of the three metals listed above. I'm also not interested in objects of art.

I have some Korean SS chopsticks that are almost the right shape but they are too short and thin for eating rice. (My understanding is that most koreans eat rice with a spoon.) They are nice, simple, utility sticks that are great for sushi, etc.

With probably a billion and a half people on the planet eating with chopsticks I'd be shocked to find that someone's not selling a metal version of the big Chinese chopsticks -- I just can't find them. If I have to I'll make my own out of 6160 -- but I don't want to re-invent the wheel.

Anyone using anything like that? Where did you get it?

PS I've also read of full sized (~10.75" long) chopsticks with triangular handles made from recycled aluminum that are quite similar to Chinese utility sticks. I'm looking for them, too.

TIA

 

[DonShock]

I've got a set of Ti sticks from LCranston over on EDCF. But they are round rod and have a fairly large taper on them. I keep going back and forth on the my opinion of the tips. Just about the time I get fed up with them being too small for one use, I use them for something else and they're just fine. I don't know if he might be willing to a custom job to meet your specs.

Here's a link

 

[gunga]

I've used korean SS chopsticks before. I find them too heavy and un-wieldy, not my favorite.

I would avoid Al since I like my memory (ie Alzheimers, aluminum leaching etc).

Ti would be great but I don'tknow of anyone making them. I know of the folding ones that are half metal/wood or such but you don't want that right?

 

[Sub_Umbra]

Good morning guys,

The form factor I want is so simple that I could make them out of 6061 aluminum without much trouble -- I've just got a feeling that I can buy stock flatware with less hassle if I can just find it. I'm looking for metal sticks that are similar to the plastic/bamboo sticks I used to see in many restaurants.

gunga,

I've got a few pairs of the hollow Korean ss chopsticks shown below.

For me they are fine for everything but rice. Note that they are almost the same shape as the Chinese sticks I'm looking for. That's why I bought them. They are much shorter and thinner, however. Other than that they are great -- I don't find them heavy in my use -- just too small. I also like the fact that they are very plain and unpretentious. I'm looking for the exact same set -- only on a larger scale.

 

[gunga]

Oh cool! Had not seen those. I've only used the more basic ones in the restaurants and the nice blingy ones a friend got.

I think they were close to what you want, but man they were heavy (not likely to be hollow).

I'll let you know if I find any. Wouldn't mind a few stick myself (the nice and very heavy ones were costly, more fancy dining type of stuff).

 

[Sub_Umbra]

I got four pairs for $4.99 from Amazon HERE and even with shipping the whole order was under $10. They were here in a week. They're great for most things but I eat a lot of rice and I'd like to carry sticks in my bags.

 

[paulr]

I like this: http://dmcleish.com/ti/chopstick.html

I've used Korean metal chopsticks (ss?) before. They seemed heavy but I guess one would get used to them. Didn't have any trouble using them on rice if I remember right. They had little grippy grooves on them that might have helped.

 

[GarageBoy]

It'd be nice if someone did CF chop sticks. I can't do metal chop sticks.. it feels so unusual to me

I prefer the warmer feeling of plastics

 

[Sub_Umbra]

I'm comfortable with metal sticks and I like the idea that they are easier to keep clean in the subtropics, especially for folks who EDC sticks.

So far, some of Eric Lee's more traditional shaped chopsticks in titanium appeal to me more than anything else I've seen anywhere. I particularly like models 009, 010, 011 and 012 listed on Eric's site linked above. Unfortunately I can't find any dimensions anywhere on his site. He offers a huge selection of colors. I'm going to write him later today and ask about the lengths of specific models and whether or not I may get a pair with no finish at all.

 

[mchlwise]

Some of those look very nice! :thumbsup:

I'd like a set myself. Due to budgetary constraints, I placed an order with DealExtreme instead, since I could get them for half the price of a cheap lunch. We'll see how they work out.

 

[Theatre Booth Guy]

Last time I was at REI (picking up a second Ti Spork), I saw in the same section, Ti chopsticks. They looked nice and if I remember correctly (IIRC?) cost about $25.

 

[Sub_Umbra]

I just got an email answering my query to Eric Lee. (link above) He will make them any length desired and the default length is 30cm. Wow! I've got the wants bad for a pair of his sticks.

His price is $50-60 depending on model. ($60 for collapsable) That's more than I wanted to spend but I'm very particular about the items I touch every day. I keep telling myself that $60 wouldn't go very far at all if I were shopping for a one place setting of conventional silverware -- and Lee's sticks have that classic form factor that is exactly what I've been looking for.

 

[lcranston]

I've got a set of Ti sticks from LCranston over on EDCF. But they are round rod and have a fairly large taper on them. I keep going back and forth on the my opinion of the tips. Just about the time I get fed up with them being too small for one use, I use them for something else and they're just fine. I don't know if he might be willing to a custom job to meet your specs.

Here's a link

I make the tips pointy for self defense purposes, but can make the tips thicker if you would like them that way. If you want to send me yours, I'll cut the tips back and refinish them for you. It will shorten the length a little, depending how thick you want the tips.

Thanks,
Lamont

 

[AndyTiedye]

Do you still make them rainbow anodized?

 

[McGizmo]

I bought a few pair of Ti chopsticks a couple years back and unfortunately I can't recall the fellow who made them. I have one pair here on Maui and they are all I use when I use sticks. I think the ergonomics would be improved with the fatter and square shank as seen in some of the links. The Ti cleans very easily and imparts no ion flavor to the food like other metals do. (ice cream tastes better with a plastic spoon than a metal one)

Of course I am a hopeless Ti nutcase and I use Ti spoons, forks and knives as well.

 

[Tubor]

Strangely enough (or not) someone I know is working in Korea and having read about Korean food and stuff I came across the SS chopsticks so asked for some for Christmas... I'm assured they are on the way and will post some pics when I get them. Plain and decorated, with spoons.

 

[lcranston]

Do you still make them rainbow anodized?

Sure, the rainbow I do is a combination of bronze, purple, and blue.

 

[nerdgineer]

Perhaps I'm missing something here. Is this intended as a dual purpose eating/self defense device or are we actually talking about EDCing a pair of metal chopsticks, perhaps anodized in colors, for emergency eating?

If the latter, and with all due respect, I knew we were all nuts here, I just hadn't realized HOW nuts until just now....:huh:....

(I think I would just use the throwaways - don't like slippery metal/plastic ones that much...)

 

[Sub_Umbra]

Perhaps I'm missing something here. Is this intended as a dual purpose eating/self defense device or are we actually talking about EDCing a pair of metal chopsticks, perhaps anodized in colors, for emergency eating?

Not for my purposes. I think my OP was pretty clear.

...(I think I would just use the throwaways - don't like slippery metal/plastic ones that much...)

I don't really like throwaways but I don't think you're really getting the picture. Let me put it this way. I like eating with chopsticks. I've been doing it for over four decades. I'm sure that at least a billion people feel the same way as I do on this. Aside from the fact that I dislike eating with throw-away sticks just as much as most Westerners would dislike always eating with plastic forks there is much more to it than that. Most non-oriental restaurants don't stock even the crappy throw-away sticks for their customers, so if I want to eat jambalya with chopsticks provided by the cafe I'd just be SOL. That ain't gonna happen in any place that makes jambalya that is worth eating. Sooo, I prefer to bring my own, which brings us back to what I was looking for in the OP -- servicable utility chopsticks that are full sized and in a classic Chinese style. Metal is nice because it's easier to keep clean in the sub-tropics.

And like many other Western dishes, jambalya is great eaten with chopsticks!

 

[yclo]

It'd be nice if someone did CF chop sticks. I can't do metal chop sticks.. it feels so unusual to me

I prefer the warmer feeling of plastics

CF chopsticks would probably have lots of nasty splinters that you don't want to be eating. But I do recall G10 chopsticks being made.

On the point of eating ice cream, are there any strong/stiff Ti spoons out there? I saw the usual spoon/spork at the camping store and they were quite soft!

-YC