Tongs

[Traab]

Can someone please explain to me why tongs have open semi sharp edges on the inside of the tong arms? Every metal one I have ever seen is designed the same way, edges you could cut steak with.

[LaZodiac]

I think it's so they grab things better, and so they can be light while still strong.

[Malak'ai]

Just the way they fold the metal I suppose. I guess you could find a way to bend the edges over further without stretching the tongs out of shape.

[Traab]

I think it's so they grab things better, and so they can be light while still strong.

Im not talking about the grabbing part, im talking the long metal arm you have before the part that picks stuff up. The part you squeeze to shut the arms. Its a straight line of sharp metal. Not only that, but its a pita to clean, because sauce or food or grease gets in there and you have to cut your sponge in half scrubbing it out along the knife edge.

[LaZodiac]

Yha, that part is likely made that way to make it lighter, while still holdable.

[KerfuffleMach2]

Added strength while staying light.

That, and the designer didn't deem it necessary to round those edges.

[Eurus]

Most of the ones I've seen/used are folded so that the sharp edges aren't exposed. :smallconfused:

[Winter_Wolf]

Im not talking about the grabbing part, im talking the long metal arm you have before the part that picks stuff up. The part you squeeze to shut the arms. Its a straight line of sharp metal. Not only that, but its a pita to clean, because sauce or food or grease gets in there and you have to cut your sponge in half scrubbing it out along the knife edge.

Buy better tongs. Slightly more money gets you more options. We have some very nice tongs with silicon fused to the gripping part and a locking mechanism in the handle to keep them closed. Your run of the mill grill tongs will probably just be a piece of metal bent in half with some serrated edges near the tips to grip stuff. Just above those, they dip the handle part into rubber or plastic and you've got grips that won't cut your hands.

TL;DR: throw more money at your tong problem. :smalltongue:

[noparlpf]

Im not talking about the grabbing part, im talking the long metal arm you have before the part that picks stuff up. The part you squeeze to shut the arms. Its a straight line of sharp metal. Not only that, but its a pita to clean, because sauce or food or grease gets in there and you have to cut your sponge in half scrubbing it out along the knife edge.

That sounds like silly design. That part should be smoothed somehow, as that's the part you hold. As for cleaning, tongs are usually annoying because there are various grooves for strength, but other things can be more annoying.

[Fragenstein]

Buy better tongs. Slightly more money gets you more options.

Good advice for purchasing both kitchenware and time with hookers.

[Traab]

That sounds like silly design. That part should be smoothed somehow, as that's the part you hold. As for cleaning, tongs are usually annoying because there are various grooves for strength, but other things can be more annoying.

My potato masher is annoying if I dont rinse it off right away. All those small holes with chunks of potato stuck in them. Ugh. A whisk REALLY sucks to clean. But my absolute favorite is cleaning my food dehydrator after making jerky. Do you have any idea how long those trays have to soak for before the teryaki sauce softens up enough to be removable after its been dried on for hour after hour? Even then, its teeny tiny spaces with sticky sauce and chunks of dried beef jammed into them.

[Yora]

I can has picture of the tool you are talking of?

[noparlpf]

My potato masher is annoying if I dont rinse it off right away. All those small holes with chunks of potato stuck in them. Ugh. A whisk REALLY sucks to clean. But my absolute favorite is cleaning my food dehydrator after making jerky. Do you have any idea how long those trays have to soak for before the teryaki sauce softens up enough to be removable after its been dried on for hour after hour? Even then, its teeny tiny spaces with sticky sauce and chunks of dried beef jammed into them.

Yup, sounds about right. Potato mashers are a pain. Back home my family insists on dinner right away instead of just putting a lid over the dish to keep in the heat while somebody cleans things up before they have time to dry on. I can only imagine how hellish it is to clean the jerky stuff off.
You know those wire racks that you can use to keep a turkey or chicken or roast or whatever up from its drippings? I've always hated cleaning those because it's so much more complicated than just scrubbing a flat plane. It's especially bad because after years of poor cleaning by my grandparents it's encrusted with baked-on gunk that's impossible to get off and that makes it impossible for me to tell when it's actually clean of this cooking's mess.

[Traab]

I can has picture of the tool you are talking of?

Bingo! (http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A0PDoX3y18BQLwYACKiJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMT Q4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimage s.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dtongs%2 6ei%3DUTF-8%26fr%3Dyfp-t-521%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D13&w=500&h=348&imgurl=craftycreative.files.wordpress.com%2F2011%2 F08%2Ftongs.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcraftycreative.wordpress.com%2F2 011%2F08%2F16%2Fa-tip%2F&size=8.9+KB&name=%3Cb%3Etongs%3C%2Fb%3E&p=tongs&oid=39f842ec09b3e8031d70c24cfd795ddf&fr2=&fr=yfp-t-521&tt=%253Cb%253Etongs%253C%252Fb%253E&b=0&ni=96&no=13&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=11l5qvtvq&sigb=12sl0s7c6&sigi=11k9nd7dc&.crumb=6FndpWYtKOA) Look at them there sharp edges! LOOK AT THEM! Seriously, would it have been so very hard to bend those edges inwards so they are rounded off and not a lethal improvised weapon?

[noparlpf]

Bingo! (http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A0PDoX3y18BQLwYACKiJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMT Q4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimage s.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dtongs%2 6ei%3DUTF-8%26fr%3Dyfp-t-521%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D13&w=500&h=348&imgurl=craftycreative.files.wordpress.com%2F2011%2 F08%2Ftongs.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcraftycreative.wordpress.com%2F2 011%2F08%2F16%2Fa-tip%2F&size=8.9+KB&name=%3Cb%3Etongs%3C%2Fb%3E&p=tongs&oid=39f842ec09b3e8031d70c24cfd795ddf&fr2=&fr=yfp-t-521&tt=%253Cb%253Etongs%253C%252Fb%253E&b=0&ni=96&no=13&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=11l5qvtvq&sigb=12sl0s7c6&sigi=11k9nd7dc&.crumb=6FndpWYtKOA) Look at them there sharp edges! LOOK AT THEM! Seriously, would it have been so very hard to bend those edges inwards so they are rounded off and not a lethal improvised weapon?

Well that would make them harder to clean.

[Winter_Wolf]

Bingo! (http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A0PDoX3y18BQLwYACKiJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMT Q4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimage s.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dtongs%2 6ei%3DUTF-8%26fr%3Dyfp-t-521%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D13&w=500&h=348&imgurl=craftycreative.files.wordpress.com%2F2011%2 F08%2Ftongs.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcraftycreative.wordpress.com%2F2 011%2F08%2F16%2Fa-tip%2F&size=8.9+KB&name=%3Cb%3Etongs%3C%2Fb%3E&p=tongs&oid=39f842ec09b3e8031d70c24cfd795ddf&fr2=&fr=yfp-t-521&tt=%253Cb%253Etongs%253C%252Fb%253E&b=0&ni=96&no=13&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=11l5qvtvq&sigb=12sl0s7c6&sigi=11k9nd7dc&.crumb=6FndpWYtKOA) Look at them there sharp edges! LOOK AT THEM! Seriously, would it have been so very hard to bend those edges inwards so they are rounded off and not a lethal improvised weapon?

We apparently have really differing standards as to what constitutes a bad pair of tongs. Those aren't great, but I certainly can't see anyone getting seriously hurt by them without a LOT of effort on someone's part. I was thinking of something like this (http://in-this-economy.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/ice-tongs.jpg), except more grill sized and less ice cube sized. Or a long piece of straight metal essentially bent in half. We got a pair of those that could probably take the head off a small animal at ten paces.

Or possibly decapitate an immortal. :smallwink: :smalltongue:

[Yora]

The reason they are sharp? Because it's cheap!

The manufacturer takes sheets of steel and cuts out the pieces with a giant cookie cutter. Then the sides are bent inward to make the arms ridgid and keep them from bending and that's it. Filing the sharp edges from the cutting smooth causes extra costs, so that step is skipped or done shoddy to keep the production cost low.

[Traab]

Well that would make them harder to clean.

What I mean is, those edges get bent in all the way so they meet the surface again. There is no opening for stuff to get stuck in them, and no way to slice your finger open because your hand slipped off the sponge while cleaning them.

[Kindablue]

Bingo! (http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A0PDoX3y18BQLwYACKiJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMT Q4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimage s.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dtongs%2 6ei%3DUTF-8%26fr%3Dyfp-t-521%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D13&w=500&h=348&imgurl=craftycreative.files.wordpress.com%2F2011%2 F08%2Ftongs.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcraftycreative.wordpress.com%2F2 011%2F08%2F16%2Fa-tip%2F&size=8.9+KB&name=%3Cb%3Etongs%3C%2Fb%3E&p=tongs&oid=39f842ec09b3e8031d70c24cfd795ddf&fr2=&fr=yfp-t-521&tt=%253Cb%253Etongs%253C%252Fb%253E&b=0&ni=96&no=13&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=11l5qvtvq&sigb=12sl0s7c6&sigi=11k9nd7dc&.crumb=6FndpWYtKOA) Look at them there sharp edges! LOOK AT THEM! Seriously, would it have been so very hard to bend those edges inwards so they are rounded off and not a lethal improvised weapon?

Hey, I have that too! though my recurring problem is that almost every time I use it one of those rubbers ends slips off.

[noparlpf]

What I mean is, those edges get bent in all the way so they meet the surface again. There is no opening for stuff to get stuck in them, and no way to slice your finger open because your hand slipped off the sponge while cleaning them.

I think it might be better to curl them outwards instead, just so you can see the crack in case anything does get into it.

[The Glyphstone]

Am I the only one who clicked on this wondering if it'd be about the cooking/kitchen utensil, or if it'd be about Chinese gangsters?

[Mercenary Pen]

Am I the only one who clicked on this wondering if it'd be about the cooking/kitchen utensil, or if it'd be about Chinese gangsters?

No the only one... and I daresay other mods could fall victim to that ambiguity...

[GolemsVoice]

Should he not expect chinese gangsters to have sharp edges and hurt people? I mean, that's kinda what being a gangster is all about!

[Kelb_Panthera]

Am I the only one who clicked on this wondering if it'd be about the cooking/kitchen utensil, or if it'd be about Chinese gangsters?

No sir, you are not.

As for the problem with those tongs. Cheap kitchen tools are crap. The trick is to strike a bargain in your head between cost and quality. I suggest edging your slider a little more toward quality, even though that means sliding it away from low-cost a bit, if the edges of those really bother you.

Just for fun, I'm going to guess those cost you less than..... $15? I really kinda wanna say around $10, plus tax and/or shipping.

[Traab]

No sir, you are not.

As for the problem with those tongs. Cheap kitchen tools are crap. The trick is to strike a bargain in your head between cost and quality. I suggest edging your slider a little more toward quality, even though that means sliding it away from low-cost a bit, if the edges of those really bother you.

Just for fun, I'm going to guess those cost you less than..... $15? I really kinda wanna say around $10, plus tax and/or shipping.

Well, thats not actually a picture of MY tongs, just a version that have the same razor sharp death blades attached to the arms. But for the record, you are probably right on the cost.