We should have been using this bamboo-based cutlery all along

As someone who does his fair share of takeout, perhaps the one thing I hate with a vengeance is the flimsy, horribly designed plastic cutlery I get with my food. The spoons sometimes come with these plastic flares that get left behind from the cheap injection molding process, the knives are more flexible than the food I’m cutting, and the forks don’t possess enough structural integrity to pierce my food. All that’s aside from the fact that this cutlery eventually reaches either a landfill or the ocean by the tonne, not having served any purpose whatsoever. The sad reality is that we’re far from democratizing a solution that actually works… but with projects like the Knork Eco, we’re getting a few steps closer to conscientiously designing single-use (or even multiple-use) plastic cutlery that has little to no impact on the environment.

The Knork Eco has a pretty transparent objective. To A. remove non-biodegradable single-use plastics from our life-cycle, and to B. replace them with cutlery that’s eco-friendly, biodegradable, and more importantly, much more robust and comfortable to use than those horrible disposable forks and spoons. The Knorks are made from a specialized material called Astrik, which combines sugarcane starch along with bamboo fibers. The result is a moldable polymer that’s sturdy, looks and feels like glossy plastic, is food-safe, dishwasher safe, and can biodegrade in 2 years. Most importantly, sugarcane and bamboo are two of the fastest growing plants in the world, allowing Astrik as a material to cater to the incredibly high demand of disposable cutlery without any hassle.

The Knork Eco is a spoon+fork set made from Astrik. It looks and feels exactly like plastic, and can do everything plastic can. The Knork cutlery comes in its own chic case made from the bamboo-polymer too, allowing you to easily carry it around with you wherever you go, because the Knorks are much more reliable and robust than most plastic spoons and forks. They come with a larger cross-section, making them thicker and stiffer, and even integrate a broader handle with a finger-rest, allowing you to use them with the dexterity of metal cutlery.

The Knorks can cleaned either manually or in a dishwasher, and can be infinitely reused until you dispose them. When introduced to the soil, the Astrik material biodegrades completely in just 2 years, turning into compost that can then be used to grow more plants, making it perhaps the best example of nature-conscious cradle-to-grave designing with zero negative impact. Yes I said it, we should have been using this bamboo-based cutlery all along!

Designer: KNORK Flatware

Click Here to Buy Now: $15 $30 (50% off). Hurry, only 3 Days left!

The KNORK Eco is a plant-based bamboo utensils that are dishwasher safe, compost in 2 years, and sustainably made. Genius design meets epic functionality.

KNORK Eco uses Astrik: Made from PLA (poly lactic acid – sugar cane starch 90%) and bamboo fiber (10%), this eco-friendly and responsibly sourced material provides a workable, multi-functional + sustainable alternative to harmful one-use plastic utensils.

The designers have thinned and improved the tines, and added a platform right where your index finger typically rests when doing the aforementioned side-tipping action. These help the user to rock through and cut most foods without reaching for a knife, and the contoured handle fits comfortably in most hands and creates an ergonomic balance.

Eco pieces will fit many specific niche market opportunities where the functionality encourages creative freedom for chefs in environments where use of a knife isn’t feasible.

The combination of clever design and a dishwasher-safe, durable, and 2 year compost-able material was exactly what we had been looking for, and the Eco line was born.

If you love food and eating as much as we do, you’ll totally get that the one constant of American style eating is the natural born habit of people to tip forks on their sides to cut through foods that it’s not necessarily normal to reach for a knife to eat. Think waffles, pancakes, chicken, burritos, coney dogs, etc.

KNORK is perfect for multi-tasking, on the go eating-think desk lunches or cocktail parties where the ultimate challenge is to hold your drink in one hand while trying to eat with the other.

The stainless steel fork and spoon that fit into the new carrying case will feature a limited edition “Eco” stamp, so you know just which pieces to reach for when packing your lunch!

Click Here to Buy Now: $15 $30 (50% off). Hurry, only 3 Days left!

The Gerber ComplEAT puts an entire cutlery set into your pocket

Gerber’s ComplEAT looks at food in the outdoors more holistically than you’d imagine. Designed to take care of literally every food-related need you’d have, the ComplEAT lets you open, cook, serve, eat, and even clean, putting every single bit of kitchenware you’d need into something that slides right into your pocket. The name ComplEAT just perfectly complements its abilities, because the kit is quite literally capable of handling all your eating needs.

The ComplEAT fits the entire culinary experience into four parts that nest within each other to make them easy to carry. Separate these elements and you’ve got yourself a two-sided spatula, a spoon, fork, and a kitchen-prep multitool. The spatula comes made from glass-filled nylon, and packs a silicone edge on one side as well as a serrated edge on the other side. The flexible glass-filled nylon construction makes it sturdy yet pliable and even makes it heat-resistant, allowing you to cook and serve with it. The silicon-edge on one side helps scrape and clean your dishes and utensils efficiently, while the blunt serrated edge makes cutting through food easy.

The opposite end of the spatula features the docking area to nest your spoon, fork and multitool… however, nest your spoon or fork in the opposite direction and you’ve got yourself a pair of tongs that makes grabbing, tossing, and flipping your food easy. The aluminum-punched spoon and fork look and feel like steel cutlery, but provide an additional corrosion-resistance. Lastly, you’ve got the ComplEAT’s crown jewel, its multitool. Packing a package opener, can opener, bottle opener, and a veggie peeler (or a vegetable opener if you will), the multitool gets you started, allowing you to open your kitchen supplies and get cooking. Designed to be easy to use and maintain, the ComplEAT goes from a small, portable set of nested tools to a veritable cutlery set that lets you prep, cook, serve, eat, and polish your food clean!

Designer: Gerber

Click Here to Buy Now

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Nendo’s minimal, skeletal cutlery design has a functional purpose

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Elegant and elegantly different, Nendo’s minimal cutlery design looks the way it does for a reason. The eye-catching scoop detail not only gives the cutlery visual character, it also helps you rest/dock your spoons, forks, and knives easily on a rack, stand, or even against other cutlery.

Designed for Belgian furniture and home accessories brand Valerie Objects, the cutlery series is aptly titled ‘skelton’, after its bony, skeletal appearance. It comes PVD coated in four different colours, silver, black, copper and gold to provide an anti-scratch and dirt-repellent surface.

Designer: Nendo for Valerie Objects

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Not Your Mama’s Flatware

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According to the Red Dot Award-winning designers at LÚCID, “Magnòlia is a cutlery set with soft and classical ergonomics that are combined with an artist’s touch that makes it even more modern, its style lines break flowing surfaces creating changes in its plans which directly affect the usability and function of the pieces,” which is just a fancy way of saying this flatware set is freaking awesome.

Quite simply, it’s very attractive. But, it’s also thoughtfully imagined. It takes inspiration from the agricultural tools of our not-so-distant ancestors and grandparents. Imagined for use with consumption of red meat, it combines the shapes of some of these traditional farm tools to achieve an all-new, sharp shape with a nod to a pastoral past.

Designer: LÚCID DESIGN AGENCY for Cutler

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A Whale of a Knife

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The KAI Pure Sensai 3 is one sharp knife no matter which way you slice it! Made with ceramic carbon stainless steel, the design is coated with an FDA approved food-safe coating and hand-sharpened to a 16° cutting angle on each side for precise and safe cutting. That equates to lasting, ultra-sharpness without much maintenance. As for it’s unique, ribbed blade, it takes inspiration from the underside of a whale! A textured handle with concave thumb grip guarantees comfortable and safe handling of this bad boy.

Designer: Sam Cho

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A Twist on Cutlery

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This chic cutlery set is named “Giro” (from the Italian word for “turn”) for both its twist in the geometry and how the cutlery is turned in your hand when finding the best position for use.

The set, designed by Ben van Berkel/UNStudio for Alessi, features a twist that originates from the point where the handle transforms into blade and graduates along the length of the utensils. The ergonomic silhouette that is created by this gradual transformation creates a dynamic motion frozen in solid material and presents a balance between modern and classical.

A three finger concept for the holding and balance of the cutlery has been adopted in the design. The weight of the cutlery transfers from the lifting position to the position when in use, supporting and balancing the utensils in both situations.

Designer: UNStudio

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Channel Your Inner Samurai Chef

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Inspired by a trip to the home of the Samurai Sword in Seki, Japan, TOG founder Bert Beagley-Brown found the traditional craftsmanship and quality of the blades so incredible, he had to share it with chefs and cooks outside of Japan! Based on the folded construction of Samurai Swords, the TOG Elite Japanese Kitchen Knives’ blades are forged from 21 alternating layers of steel and copper, wrapped around a core of ACUTO 440, a superior high-carbon Japanese stainless steel. The outer steel layers are meticulously rolled to 2mm in thickness, and the copper layers, half the thickness of a human hair, give the blades antimicrobial properties and provide the striking orange stripes that are unique to TOG. The high-carbon core, layered structure, and heat process create a knife that is extremely sharp and durable, with excellent edge retention. The design’s beautiful handles are made from Kebony, a sustainable and highly durable material made from Norwegian maple. To give the user unparalleled control while slicing, the handles feature a scoop on the side. To finish, the handles are laser etched with a 600 year-old Japanese pattern.

Designer: Bert Beagley-Brown for TOG

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Not-so-silver Silverware

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Wood cutlery might not be dishwasher safe but the warmth and refined aesthetic are worth the hand wash! Maik Lippe’s Tan series is a classic take on cutlery with a modern twist… literally. Each piece has a soft twisting edge that follows seamlessly from top to bottom. Not only for looks, this feature provides an intuitive grip and enhanced ergonomics.

Designer: Maik Lippe

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Bringing art and cutlery together again

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In the world of fast food and doorstep deliveries, we lose out on some of the small beautiful things. My house now has more plastic spoons than actual cutlery, which seems a little sad. Gone are the days of ornate silverware, that became heirlooms after fulfilling their purpose. The days of handcrafted cutlery are, sadly, a thing of the past. Designers Akanksha Rathore & Shreelekha Lakshmipathy realized that there may still be hope.

Dhatu means element in Sanskrit, and is used also as a synonym for metal. The Dhatu collection of cutlery features a range of handmade brassware by the craftsmen of Reha, a small but culturally rich village in Gujarat, India. The design opts for a more indigenous approach, rather than an ornate one, giving the cutlery a beautiful antique charm; and with the use of Brass, it just adds to the magic.

Designers: Akanksha Rathore & Shreelekha Lakshmipathy.

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Wrench Cutlery Set Is Perfect for Hungry Man Dinners

A manly hunger demands a manly meal. And a manly meal is best consumed with manly tools. Like this cool Wrench Cutlery Set. Just like manly men, these utensils are tough and forged from steel.

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Even if your weak arms cant turn a bolt, you should be handy enough to use these wrench utensils to scarf down your meal. One end is for your food, the other is for fixing stuff between bites.

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This is the only cutlery that lets you eat and fix a car at the same time. Or you know, have your cereal and fix the lawnmower. This set of four tools sells for $60 over on Amazon. I suggest keeping them in your toolbox.

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[via This Is Why I’m Broke]