"plus have something to fiddle with while complaining about the wait staff."

Oh man, that gave me a good chuckle. So true... so true. The wait staff can never win.

ruggels

A real Chinese restaurant never past US health inspection because the main meal is listed in citation heath code violation.

Aleung

Umm, how are those more sanitary than the ones in paper sleeves. Actually those would be in contact with all sorts of contaminants floating around in your pockets/ handbags. What about after you eat, I'm sure all the particles of food would attract all sorts of stuff to them... I'll just stick to the disposable wooden ones in paper sleeves.

tetrion

Why stick a nasty wooden end on those anyway? Add the hinge, and there are even more places for bugs to hide. Yuck. Plastic Chopsticks? Ugh, not an alternative IMHO...can't stand those faux-ivory things. I do have a metal pair scavenged from an old set at home I keep with me at work. Spend a couple meals with all metal ones and you'll never go back...and they are super easy to clean. You can get a non-folding set at your local Korean store for about $2. And it'll come with a spoon too.

draghkar

But aren't most restaurant chopsticks sealed in a paper sleeve, so that they're completely sanitary? Or am I just eating in inauthentic Chinese places?

jetexas

@McLucky:
real asians are like jack bauer, except where keeps guns, we keep chopsticks. Glovebox-chopsticks. left sock-chopsticks. messenger bag-chopsticks.

although your post about whales did get me thinking back to this post on valleywag from a few months ago

[valleywag.com]

really nothing to do with chopsticks, but a funny read nonetheless with whale comments (I even think they had a caption contest about it later that week)

discounteggroll

@McLucky:
and i've seen the cartoons! they use a whole tree for EVERY CHOPSTICK!

nutbastard

There are other good reasons to carry your own chopsticks (other than an only slightly irrational fear of germs). I remember reading some years ago in Japan that somewhere between 90 and 100 million sets of disposable wooden chopsticks are used every day... they are then either incinerated or landfilled. Quite a waste that could be eliminated if people carried their own or switched to the Chinese style of plastic chopsticks in restaurants. But asking people to do this in Japan is, well like asking them to stop killing whales. A hard sell at best.

McLucky

Can already see that these would not be easy to use. To hold and manipulate the chopsticks properly, the grip needs to be far back on the stick.

These sticks have a thin wire loop as the upper half (where the gripping would occur) which would make them really difficult to manipulate. What they need is to add a round cover that could be slipped over the loop end when in use. This cover would also act as a shield for the entire folded stick when not in use.

RainyDayInterns

@discounteggroll: "No Mr. Redneck, that's pronounced with a long 'i'. Seriously, stop laughing."

92BuickLeSabre

ooh! they also make a foldable titanium spork

[www.amazon.com]

gadget...meet redneck; redneck...gadget

discounteggroll

Slap a salmonella and listeria probe on them and I'll take 2 (pairs).

Safe Sushi For All!

Maxwells_Nylon_Hammer

culture vs. gadget. i'm at a crossroads here

discounteggroll

Or just get some nice camping chopsticks for like $12.

FlashSandbox

Yeah, someone like me who has used chopsticks their entire life to the point where I even use them for eating cheetos, I cannot see using those chopsticks as being a comfortable experience. The back ends need some sort of girth.

calpis

Go stainless. Can double as a weapon. They've done it with agricultural implements, why not eating utensils?

dragonmojo

Oh ya! Needs these for Ninja Day 08, actualy, probably more for Pirate day 08, Mwa ha ha! *POOF!* (Throws smoke nade)

MagnoliaBoy

@jetexas: That's actually something I found interesting back in Beijing. The really good restaurants had the most cheap-ass paper-sealed chopsticks. In university many students had their own chopsticks when eating in the cafeteria or the restaurant around the corner.

mangochutney

@infmom: I believe the chop sticks that you are referring to are the "Carry-on Chopsticks" by snow peak. I actually have two sets that I bought from Thinkgeek.com when they were a little cheaper than what they are charging for them now.

If those aren't the chop sticks that you are referring to then Snow Peak makes the same style chopstick as what you described ;)

auslander

I carry my own chopsticks precisely because there's no need to use those flimsy, unsanitary break-apart wooden ones that most Asian restaurants seem to supply. I got mine from Sahalie a couple years ago, but they don't seem to be available from them any more. They disassemble and the "point" part (wooden) fits into a metal tube that forms the top part of the chopstick when they're in use.

I'm thinking that the stainless steel chopsticks from the GarrettWade catalog would be a lot more sanitary than my half-wooden ones. I'd just need to find something to carry them in.

infmom

@RainyDayInterns: As someone who uses chopsticks nearly every day, I completely agree. They would NOT be very easy to use or be very comfortable.

[www.thinkgeek.com] has chopsticks that would be MUCH better than these. They have the proper chopstick shape and can be stored in half the space. Plus, they solve the problem that tetrion mentions, since the one half is stored in the other half, the part you eat with never touches anything filthy.

Azndude51

Not to dispute the questionable overall germ sturdiness of wood, a better option are the Snow Peak chopsticks where the wooden part actually screws into the bas, thus protecting from incidental contact with random pockrt or backpack nastieness!!

[www.snowpeak.com]

tbull

wooden chopsticks are also treated with chemicals...The really white chopsticks don't come from really white trees if you know what I mean.

lyons

@auslander: Yup, those are the ones!

Someone else mentioned getting metal chopsticks from a Korean store. I never thought to look at the humongous Korean market not far from where I live. Definitely time for another shopping trip. Woman can't live on kimchi and dried fish alone.

infmom

@McLucky: Save the planet, eat with your hands!!!

iFlingPoo