[Sca-cooks] Seeking Metal Eating Utensil Maker

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

Stefan li Rous wrote:
>Anahita said:
>  > I have a picture of an interesting "SCA-period" eating device that
>  > was found in the Levant and apparently made during the Islamic
>  > period. I suspect it is Byzantine not Muslim in origin, but anyway...
>  >
>  > It is a long narrow rod with a simple hinge at each end. Hinged at
>  > one end is a spoon bowl, hinged at the other end is a three-tine fork.
>
>We've talked about at least one "spork" utensil before.

The only other one i've heard of is a solid (unhinged) utensil with a
spoon bowl at one end and a three-tine fork at the other. It is
supposed to be 9th/10th c. Saxon. Here's a reproduction - since i
haven't seen the original archaeological find, i can't say how
accurate this is:
http://www.armlann.com/spork.htm

>But this
>is the first time I remember hinges being mentioned. What are these
>hinges for? So that it folds more compactly for travel?

Why it is reticulated is a mystery to me. Perhaps it was part of a
travelling dining kit - but this is just a guess. It certainly looks
like a luxury object. There were travelling kits in many cultures
which involved folding eating utensils, although usually a blade or
about half a fork that fold into the handle. There's an exhibit here
in SF, which i haven't seen yet, at the California Academy of
Sciences in Golden Gate Park. There are some pictures on the web,
although most items are OOP for the SCA.

Here are some items from the show - from a couple continents and
several centuries:
http://www.calacademy.org/research/anthropology/utensil/portable.htm

U.S. Civil War era folding fork-spoon combos, which apparently were
pretty common, both for soldiers and as specialty items for
civilians, have the "working parts" fold sideways under the handle.
But this one has a bowl and fork that fold "up" toward the "handle"

>If they don't
>lock in place or they aren't at least fairly stiff, I would think
>this utensil would be rather difficult to eat with. It seems that
>at the wrong moment it would drop that spoonful of soup into your
>lap.

The hinges only fold one way - up - so the spoon bowl won't drop, nor
will the fork. There are flange-like extensions on the hinges behind
the bowl and the fork to keep them stable.

Anahita