Sporkman Badge Thread

[WECSOG]

This is one I have been thinking about doing for a long time, and am finally getting around to.

Start a new thread showing photos of at least 3 different sporks in use

I really like carrying and using reusable sporks. Taking road (and offroad) trips in my 4x4 truck, my Jeep, my motorcycle etc. and stopping at some point to eat a quick meal of canned goods and/or other foods that travel and store well, or that I find along the way. Impromptu meals, in other words.

I have a few different sporks to choose from. This first one is my Swedish "Light My Fire" spork. I have a pair of these, and they are more likely to go on an actual camping trip than a non-camping road trip. The spoon portion is a very usable spoon, and the fork is also very usable. It has a serrated "knife" section on the side of the fork, and I'm not really a big fan of that. But I always have an actual knife too, so that's not an issue.
This spork works much better for an actual full meal (as opposed to something like an MRE or a can of beanie weenies or whatever) than some of my other sporks. Here it is with a meal of sausage patties, eggs and garden fresh jalapenos. Those jalapenos are pretty small, but they will be larger and hotter in a month or so.
I did use the serrated "knife" section while eating this meal, and did not use my actual knife.

Stay tuned for more sporkage!

[Farmer X]

Cool to see any in-progress request for the Sporkman badge!

[IMR4198]

  I like your idea of breakfast.  Sausage and eggs.  Mmmm.  I haven't had any eggs in the house in about six months.  I am saving up to buy a dozen.  Looking forward to another spork photo. 
Best wishes.  G
 

[AzteCypher]

I've never seen that kind of spork before.  Also, that's a good breakfast right there.  Makes me wish we had sausage patties.  Need to put it on the list.

[WECSOG]

Thanks guys!

Okay, this is my FRED. Actually it's a Marble's version of a FRED, which is itself an Australian modification of the USGI P38 and P51 can openers. The Aussies modified it by adding a small spoon to the end, and Marble's modified that by making the spoon a spork. Officially, FRED stands for Field Rations Eating Device. The troops of course changed that to F(something) Ridiculous Eating Device.

I actually like it, and it is probably my most-used spork. I don't know how well it works for Vegemite, but it works pretty well for Beanie Weenies, potted meat, Vienna sausages and the like. Here I'm using it with a can of hickory smoke flavored Beanie Weenies. And yes, I almost always eat them cold!  I hear they're good heated, too.
Since this device is also a can opener, I pretended the pull tab didn't exist and used the FRED to open the can.

It actually does a pretty good job of scooping up even the last bit of juice from the bottom of the can, although if you are impatient you can turn the can up and drink that last bit like it's a cup. Which it can be btw, after you get it empty. I've found that it holds one cup to the rim. That might be a useful bit of information.

Back to getting the last bit of juice out, though: if I have crackers like I do here, I like to crumble two or three crackers into the can, let them soak up the last of the juice and use the FRED to scoop them out.

 

[Grant Lamontagne]

I haven't seen the Marbles version of the FRED before.  That's pretty cool, I may have to check one out!

Def

[WECSOG]

Ok, this next spork is by Kershaw. I cooked some oatmeal in my old solo backpacking cook kit. I didn't measure anything; just filled the pot about half full and added a four-finger pinch of oats. As it turned out, I used too much water. But that's okay.
I also added some dried cranberries, raisins, walnuts and honey.

The Kershaw spork has good and bad points. On the positive side of the ledger it has a really nice spoon that is suitable for eating soups and other foods with a lot of liquid. The fork is pretty good too, with tines long enough to get a good chunk of meat or whatever.
But, I really don't like the "carabiner" part. To do that, they had to leave a big open-sided hole that really weakens the structure. Not that it really needs to be that strong, but it's a poor design in my opinion. And it's just for looks. I really don't like that.
Worse, the spring clip that closes the "carabiner" swivels from a pair of holes in the spoon. That's terrible because it provides an ideal place for food to get stuck and breed bacteria. So, you have to scrub it and boil it to be safe. It could have been one of the best of my sporks; instead it's probably the worst. Just because they had to be cool and add a useless "carabiner."

With this, I think I have enough to get the badge. I'll probably continue the thread though, and add a couple more sporks.

[AzteCypher]

I'd be interested in seeing what other sporks you have.  I have two hobo knives but never even thought about sporks.

[WECSOG]

I'd be interested in seeing what other sporks you have.  I two hobo knives but never even thought about sporks.

I'll post up another one soon. I have a couple more on the way too, and I'll post them up when they arrive.

[IMR4198]

[quote author=WECSOG link=topic=94027.msg2534313#msg2534313 date=1749667332

With this, I think I have enough to get the badge. I'll probably continue the thread though, and add a couple more sporks.
[/quote]

     Don't stop now.  You're on a roll.  Sporks!  Sporks!  Sporks!
Best wishes.  G

[Farmer X]

  And I have one.of those Marbleized FREDs. Though I can't recall ever having put it to the test.

[WECSOG]

Okay, so this one is a UST spork. I was planning to use it to eat another can of something, because that is what it excels at. But my beautiful and brilliant wife suggested double-dog dared me to eat my regular dinner with it. She knows me so well!
So, I proceeded to eat my pork chop, corn and yams with it. And, I used my new Boker lockback sodbuster to cut the chop. I love 57 sauce on my pork chop, and 57 also adds a nice patina to carbon steel. So I wanted to see if it would do the same to the D2 of this Boker. I've heard that D2 will patina.

So how did the UST spork work? Quite well, thank you. Better than I expected. I was really surprised at how well those tiny tines were able to grab and hold a bite of meat. It really doesn't look as good as the Kershaw. But I like it better, overall.

[WECSOG]

One more pic, to prove that those little tines really do hold a piece of meat! 

[IMR4198]

   Grand.  Just grand.  If it isn't a secret..... what does WECSOG stand for?  You figured out my handle instantly.  IMR4198 is a little unhandy, so most people call me Gary or IMR.  I think I already butchered WECSOG into MECSOG or something.  Someone else said WESCOG I think.  If it's a secret code, just forget I asked. 
Best wishes.  G
 

[WECSOG]

   Grand.  Just grand.  If it isn't a secret..... what does WECSOG stand for?  You figured out my handle instantly.  IMR4198 is a little unhandy, so most people call me Gary or IMR.  I think I already butchered WECSOG into MECSOG or something.  Someone else said WESCOG I think.  If it's a secret code, just forget I asked. 
Best wishes.  G
 

Wile E. Coyote School Of Gunsmithing. It started amongst fans of the FAL rifle, and basically refers to amateur gunsmithing. Especially when it deviates from "accepted" practices, while still being (hopefully) safe. 

[IMR4198]

   You might have enjoyed the Gas Station MRE challenge that we did a few months ago.  Pack your own version of an MRE from items you could buy at a gas station.  No, I am not making this up.  There were some vienna sausages and little cans of beanie weenies in that one as well. 
Best wishes.
G
 

[Antti Lammi]

Badge awarded 

[AzteCypher]

   You might have enjoyed the Gas Station MRE challenge that we did a few months ago.  Pack your own version of an MRE from items you could buy at a gas station.  No, I am not making this up.  There were some vienna sausages and little cans of beanie weenies in that one as well. 
Best wishes.
G
 

It was actually more fun than I anticipated.

[WECSOG]

Badge awarded 

Thanks!

[WECSOG]

   You might have enjoyed the Gas Station MRE challenge that we did a few months ago.  Pack your own version of an MRE from items you could buy at a gas station.  No, I am not making this up.  There were some vienna sausages and little cans of beanie weenies in that one as well. 
Best wishes.
G
 

I've been looking at that one. It does indeed sound like a lot of fun!
In fact I was looking at it last year, but missed it when it ran this year. 

It's been 3 months; what do think about doing another one in say August?

[WECSOG]

UCO sporks showed up today, just in time for lunch. A pair of them for $6.99 or something like that. So I decided to invite one of them to lunch.
First impressions were that they are pretty similar to the Light My Fire sporks. Nylon, like the LMF. Made in China (vs Sweden for the LMF). The spoon section is somewhat smaller than the LMF, but it has a more squared off, scoop-like end. I like that and slightly prefer it. I also like the fork section more than the LMF, because it is spoon-shaped while still having long tines. The UCO has "pretend" serrations on the side of the fork, which is fine because I'm not really keen (see what I did there?  ) on serrations anyway. The LMF has a straight portion on the side of the fork, with aggressive serrations. For me, that cuts ( ) into its usability as a fork.

The UCO does not do that. The (pretend) serrated part does not break the line of the fork, being rounded like a spoon just like the other, non-serrated edge. I like that better. It's worth mentioning that I did use it to cut my slice of onion as I was eating it, and it worked surprisingly well.

Bottom line: the LMF was my favorite spork for actual camping, where I might use it for cooking and eating an actual meal as opposed to a trailside/road trip snack or an MRE. It has now been displaced because this UCO is my new camping favorite.

[IMR4198]

   This might just be the biggest Spork badge thread ever.  You could be appointed as the new King of Spork.  Did you ever think of doing the Outdoor Cooking chalenge or maybe the Hobo Knife event?  Those are both fun.  Best wishes.  G
 

[WECSOG]

   This might just be the biggest Spork badge thread ever.  You could be appointed as the new King of Spork.  Did you ever think of doing the Outdoor Cooking chalenge or maybe the Hobo Knife event?  Those are both fun.  Best wishes.  G
 

Yeah, I'm definitely planning to do both of those! 

Btw, 30+ years ago I discovered the Mexican Pizza at Taco Bell. I loved it, but I always complained that the spork they provided wasn't a very good tool for eating it. Now after all these years of becoming accustomed to eating a Mexican Pizza with a spork, Taco Bell gets rid of the spork and replaces it with a fork!  Now I'm complaining about that! I want my spork back! 

[Farmer X]

Bring your own spork. Problem solved.

Congratulations on your new badge!

[WECSOG]

Bring your own spork. Problem solved.

Congratulations on your new badge!

Thanks!