Adapted thin and light cutlery.

The solution

In order to minimise the weight of the cutlery, I bought and cut down a set of Titanium camping cutlery and then, to make the thin handles, I used some 8 mm diameter aluminium rod. I started by making the spoon with an adjustable joint to get the correct angle for the fork and spoon. I also found some soft rubber pencil grips that were just the right size and took the spoon to the client to test out. She liked the idea and we settled on an angle. I then made a fixed joint for the spoon and another for the fork and a straight version for the knife. The client tested these and found that, because of the angle, there was a tendency of the fork and spoon to twist in her fingers. I found some different pencil grips with recesses and we tried these at the front end and they were better.

The client had also found that the spoon was a bit small. I had already failed to find any bigger camping cutlery so I found a suitable stainless steel spoon and fitted it into the handle. The twisting action was now more severe due to the additional weight of the stainless steel so I designed and 3D printed a counterbalance weight holder that fitted on the back end. I adjusted the balance with metal washers. The spoon could now be held with just very light grip and balanced perfectly (without any food). It took this spoon and some counterweights for the original fork and spoon to the client and updated them. The final solution seems to be successful and the client is happy with these. As always, they can be adjusted in the future if needed.

Cutlery before fitting the grips.                              Cutlery with the soft rubber grips.                                   Larger spoon with new grip and counterweight.

The final cutlery all with the new grips and the angled ones with counterweights.

The benefit

The benefit to the client is that she can now eat much more comfortably.

The client can be seen here holding the cutlery (before the new grips and counterweights were added).