TrulySusan Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 My MIL passed away this summer and we are now in the process of cleaning out her home. In her kitchen I found several items I haven't seen before and I know the hive can solve this mystery. The thing I want help with is like a big aluminum skewer type item. One end is pointy and the other ball shaped. It is about 12 inches long and slightly thicker than a pencil. All along the sides are depressions like little holes that don't go all the way through to the other side. The ball end rotates but doesn't seem to do anything. There are 4-6 of these so it could be a set but could be that she tended to rebuy items she already had. Sorry I didn't get a picture but any ideas what this could be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Rotisserie skewer? I've seen some thicker ones that hold a chicken or roast, sometimes with a frame you thread them through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Things for trussing a chicken or turkey? When you put sticks through the opening of the cavity and then tie the opening shut. I used to have things like that, but they were thinner than a pencil and had a ring on the end, not a ball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Rotisserie skewer? I've seen some thicker ones that hold a chicken or roast, sometimes with a frame you thread them through. That sounds like a good possibility! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrulySusan Posted January 7, 2014 Author Share Posted January 7, 2014 I looked up rotisserie items on amazon and I don't think that is what I saw. I think they would be too big to truss a chicken or turkey=they are at least a foot long. Oh, and just to complicate things, because she was suffering from dementia, the fact that these were in her kitchen may not mean they are a kitchen gadget at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatHomeschoolDad Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 The fact that they have depressions is interesting. Are the depressions the right size to accommodate another skewer, like if you had them at right angles you cold make a grid to support something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkacademy Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 I would try and get pictures and start posting them online in places with a what is this type question. When I moved into my house everything was still here from my mom I was told the kitchen was fully stocked full of all kinds of great things. I don't know much about kitchen things so needless to say I goodwilled a ton of stuff. Stuff I found out later was not only cool to have but some of it was virtually antiques and worth quite a bit of money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrulySusan Posted January 7, 2014 Author Share Posted January 7, 2014 No, the depressions are small and fairly shallow as well. I don't think there is a way to put them together. They are evenly spaced over the entire stick part but not on the ball. Good thought. I wish I had taken pics but I didn't realize how much not knowing was going to bug me. Now I am 6 hours away from the mystery spikes . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatHomeschoolDad Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 OK, I'm going with skewers based on this pic of Coleman brand skewers with the indentations to keep food from sliding: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatHomeschoolDad Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 I'm also guessing that the balls at the ends did not turn when new, but have loosened quite a bit over time. If they turned, flipping a skewer while grilling would be difficult. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrulySusan Posted January 7, 2014 Author Share Posted January 7, 2014 OK, I'm going with skewers based on this pic of Coleman brand skewers with the indentations to keep food from sliding: Thanks for the pic, but it is isn't this. They are much thicker and taper from thickest at the ball end to a pointy tip. The thickest part might be as big as a Crayola marker down to just bigger than pencil size at the other end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatHomeschoolDad Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Very MANLY skewers, then, for REALLY BIG CHUNKS OF MEAT. Grrrr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbmamaz Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Are they shiny, like a decorative item, or do they look more dull? are you sure the round end doesnt come off? I wonder if there was a base that held them or something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerileanne99 Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Other than the fact that there are so many of them, it sounds somewhat similar to the old-fashioned ice picks I found in my great-grandmother's kitchen. She had two of them. Hers looked like this, but are longer, just about a foot-long each: http://www.etsy.com/listing/166452547/vintage-wooden-and-metal-ice-pick?utm_source=google&utm_medium=product_listing_promoted&utm_campaign=vintage_low&gclid=CN7v28yx7LsCFcVQ7AodlCMAHg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetMissMagnolia Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 know what you're trying to describe but I have NO idea what it is..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 dp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Does it look something like this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrulySusan Posted January 7, 2014 Author Share Posted January 7, 2014 Does it look something like this? Did you mean to link to a picture of a chinois set? (To strain jelly)? No, nothing at all like any of those parts. What I saw is long, thin(fatter than ice picks or kebob skewers more like magic markers), and stick shaped. The aluminum is not shiny like a decorative object. It is more like a new aluminum cake pan in color. These things don't look old. They seem to be in perfect condition and unused. Must not be very important if no one can figure it out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Cake tester? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Hmmmm....I think this is going to drive me crazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrulySusan Posted January 7, 2014 Author Share Posted January 7, 2014 Hmmmm....I think this is going to drive me crazy. I am so sorry! I really thought someone would pop right up with a photo and even a little cooking lesson. Now I've just spread the misery around. I promise in February when DH goes back I will get him to take a picture for everyone. I have been searching keywords on amazon and they look more like giant knitting needles than anything in the kitchen dept. (They are not actually knitting needles but the shape is similar, only fatter and longer) (Also, MIL didn't knit). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara in Colo Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Could they be skewers for fondue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trulycrabby Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Ive seen really thick metal skewers for heavy or large met chunks...these ones are flat, but I've seen ones like this that are round... If she has a grill, I would ckeck it to see if it has a rotisserie or grilling attachment... http://www.popeilfamilystore.com/sr8027.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Did you mean to link to a picture of a chinois set? (To strain jelly)? No, nothing at all like any of those parts. What I saw is long, thin(fatter than ice picks or kebob skewers more like magic markers), and stick shaped. The aluminum is not shiny like a decorative object. It is more like a new aluminum cake pan in color. These things don't look old. They seem to be in perfect condition and unused. Must not be very important if no one can figure it out! Not the whole set, just the wooden pestle. I have seen pestles that were metallic, not shiny. Perhaps your items are in perfect condition and unused because your MIL couldn't figure out what to do with them, either, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 At a foot long and what about 1/4" thick at the biggest end my guess is barbeque skewers for kabobs. You use the notches of one to remove the food from another. BUT given her dementia, I also considered a crafty use, like knitting needles, though my first guess is a set of bbq skewers. Although we tend to think of kabob skewers as being fairly thin and most often bamboo, they do make quite thick ones for the bbq. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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