A good silicon rubber spatula is a valuable tool in any kitchen and replacing a broken handle makes a lot of sense if it is a particularly good spatula.
My love affair with silicone rubber spatula started many years ago when they first became available as expensive tools at ~$30+. At the time, my day time job involved working with laboratory molding of silicon rubber. Consequently, I made my own spatula with a black-wood handle that was cut from my land. This has given wonderful functional service to this day, despite some little staining and nicks to the blade.
The price of such spatula has since plummeted, and any idea of manufacturing bespoke spatula dissolved. The blade of some of the best quality spatula go on forever, but alas the handles have failed. However, a wooden handle from a cheap (relatively crappy) spatula can bring your favourite blade back to life. Of course, you could also make a bespoke handle out of interesting local wood as I did.
Most wooden spatula handles are dry and porous like an icy pole stick. So, with all wooden handles (or bare wood in a kitchen), I like to oil them with olive oil to seal them. It gives them a better look and feel. It also protects them from staining and makes them easier to clean especially in the junction between the blade and handle. I figure it is better to contaminate the wood with something that you know and like, rather than something that you don’t know.
It is still a mystery to me that most well-appointed apartments, B&Bs, cabins, hostels and shared chalets etc seldom have a good silicon rubber spatula, just crappy permanently bent plastic ones. I even take a tiny one backpacking as it makes cooking easy.
Tim
gge
Hi Tim,
Can you make some for me?
I need three.
Fiona
Hi Fiona, Sorry, making them for you would cost too much as would the postage. I just purchased a new silicone rubber spatula for $2. You can make your own handles from various tree prunings or firewood using a sharp kitchen knife as a splitter and then as a scraper. Turning an ugly stick into a beautiful custom tool is a great pleasure as the wood grain colours and textures are revealed during the splitting of various tree species. Your chosen wood will take on a new beauty as it is oiled, burnished and stained by used and abuse of lots of cooking. If I made them for you, you would be deprived of all the pleasure of the creation and the maturation of its beauty. Tim