I've been Bamboozaled

[Alan 13~7]

Description

MFH 3 Piece Cutlery Set Bamboo
• 3-piece KFS set
• Knife , Fork, & Spoon
• Carabiner attachment
• Length: approx. 6.5" (16.5cm)
• Material: Bamboo
• Weight: 50g
• Manufacturer: MFH
• Manufacturer's number: 33535
• Brand new


A bamboo KFS set sounds like a good Kit option.

Being more durable and more stain resistant than wood, more heat resistant than plastic, Lighter & less abrasive than metal ergo ideal for non-stick & ally cookware & more aesthetically pleasing & versatile than a spork.....

So for £4.95 I thought I would chance a closer inspection, & bought one from Military 1st! & Here it is :~

Here's the thing:~ I am not a fan of plastic cutlery (& absolutely detest sporks), & although this KFS set looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, & has feathers, granted very stiff hard & tough feathers...

The description for this item clearly describes the material that it’s made from as being Bamboo ?

Yet it has no apparent grain like you might expect from "bamboo" & shows no signs of being carved, It looks more like injection molded plastic ...?

It does seems to be decently tough, it's not bulky & weighs only 50g's, so if it can take the heat It may still have its place as useful Kit, for cooking with.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301795391...:MEBIDX:IT&clk_rvr_id=933677499370&rmvSB=true

 

[Harvestman]

I wouldn't expect bamboo to have a grain, because it is a grass. Lots of silica in grasses, so a glassy or shiny look is not impossible at all.

But not having handled one of those sets, I couldn't say if they are bamboo or plastic.

 

[Toddy]

Ah, they can break bamboo down into a kind of 'soup' now, and extrude it into the fibres (like rayon) that are spun and woven into cloth. No reason that the same soup cannot be treated and used like a plastic, even though it's basically bamboo

M

 

[John Fenna]

The bamboo cutlery I have made or been given over the years all has a definite "grain" and looks nothing like plastic.... more like the bamboo cutlery flatwear available from Save Some Green...

 

[Goatboy]

Thing is a lot of these bamboo fibre things like underwear & cutlery aren't as environmentaly friendly as they say. The process to get the fibres out involves some pretty dodgy chemicals which are hard to get rid of and damage the environment. Bit like the damage caused by growing cotton in areas where is doesn't naturally grow.

Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.

 

[homesicksteve]

I'm curious now - will it burn ? or melt....?

 

[Alan 13~7]

I wouldn't expect bamboo to have a grain, because it is a grass. Lots of silica in grasses, so a glassy or shiny look is not impossible at all.

But not having handled one of those sets, I couldn't say if they are bamboo or plastic.

This set looks like what I would expect more fibrous Wood like

bamboo KFS Set £4.00 postage free

I sort of wondered if it was possible to manipulate bamboo to look like injection molded plastic, maybe high pressure pressing of young Green fresh cut bamboo or bamboo High density fibre... something like mdf but bamboo.

 

[Alan 13~7]

Ah, they can break bamboo down into a kind of 'soup' now, and extrude it into the fibres (like rayon) that are spun and woven into cloth. No reason that the same soup cannot be treated and used like a plastic, even though it's basically bamboo

M

Wow mary you are just so knowledgeable. Thanks, you may actually be right. Will you please be my personal oracle? (that sounds to be cheeky but is meant by the way of a compliment)

& steve I will attempt to do some NDT on them... but plastic or bamboo would most likely catch on fire in a naked flame...

& like you mr fenna That's what I imagined too... My next £4 purchase from Save Some Green flatware.. 8" spoon & fork perfect cook wear & bushcrafty, comes with a knife but will probably ditch the knife..

& goat boy I am probably not the most environmentally friendly person when it comes to kit the green party would probably condemn me as a Witch to some environmentally friendly death....

 

[Tengu]

I dont think they like any of us; we are too practical.

 

[Goatboy]

Aye Alan the only reason I brought it up is that a lot of companies trot out bamboo fibre and cotton as being "environmentally friendly" as they're from renewable sources. But the production of the item removes all the green credentials of making it. Bit like the batteries for electric cars.

Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.

 

[Alan 13~7]

I dont think they like any of us; we are too practical.

Aye Alan the only reason I brought it up is that a lot of companies trot out bamboo fibre and cotton as being "environmentally friendly" as they're from renewable sources. But the production of the item removes all the green credentials of making it. Bit like the batteries for electric cars.

Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.

For me the big sell was that bamboo is cookwear friendly didn't give a second thought to environmentally friendly....

The green party is probably the least of my worries the lesser of two evils? I'am more afraid of the wife, who may well very soon inflict a fate worse than death on me for buying the kit in the first place...

 

[The Lord Poncho]

Aye Alan the only reason I brought it up is that a lot of companies trot out bamboo fibre and cotton as being "environmentally friendly" as they're from renewable sources. But the production of the item removes all the green credentials of making it. Bit like the batteries for electric cars.

Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.

Or many recycled glass or paper products. Unfortunately the environment is a key marketing tool these days, and few people really pause to undertake a genuine life cycle analysis of a product.

Most people are proud of how much household rubbish they recycle each week- but how many people actually look into the energy and resources taken to recycle that waste, and stop to weigh up the environmental pro's and cons? Just a classic case of miss-selling by local authorities (who have recycling targets set upon them by central government due largely to the logistical challenges placed by a lack of landfill space).

 

[Goatboy]

Must admit my horn spoons meet all the criteria. Nice to use, look nice, carve well, fairly heat resistant, don't react to a lot (some chemists still use horn spatulas) and pretty eco friendly. Plus they don't mark your cookware.

Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.

 

[Tengu]

But isnt landfill a problem in itself?

I remember the trouble over proposed new landfill (actualy landraise) in my area some years ago.

(Projects approved by FoE and other big NGOs)

(Projects run by a waste disposal company that does a lot of recycling and has won many enviromental awards)

 

[Alan 13~7]

Or many recycled glass or paper products. Unfortunately the environment is a key marketing tool these days, and few people really pause to undertake a genuine life cycle analysis of a product.

Most people are proud of how much household rubbish they recycle each week- but how many people actually look into the energy and resources taken to recycle that waste, and stop to weigh up the environmental pro's and cons? Just a classic case of miss-selling by local authorities (who have recycling targets set upon them by central government due largely to the logistical challenges placed by a lack of landfill space).

Bio~ethanol is one such product that immediately springs to mind, I work in the care industry in a care home for the elderly which couldn't be further from green if it tried, almost invisible to most the amount of food waste & plastic bags & plastic for ppe & incontinence products none of which is recyclable & which inevitably goes to land fill or gets incinerated adding to green house gasses, I am actively encouraged to use tons of the stuff & could be prosecuted & possibly even be incarcerated for not using enough non recyclable products.. I cant help feeling a little guilt, but with everybody choosing to keep Their elderly family & relatives alive for as long as humanly possible we are all guilty of creating this demand & we all use hospitals/doctors so nobody guilt free.... IMHO the genuine life cycle analysis of sustaining the lives of your elderly family MMMMMM...... not so green now are we?

 

[Goatboy]

My father didn't want care or life beyond a certain point and asked me to make sure it happened from when I was a youngster. So when he had a rather large heart attack I had to persuade the doctor that he would be NFR. Doctor questioned it everyday due to his age. I'm the same, don't want to end up being a burden. Have worked in a care home, a really nice one but don't wish to end up as a guest. Still I don't think it'll be a problem for me either.
I commend you for doing your job, but I think we should all have a choice at the end.

Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.

 

[The Lord Poncho]

But isnt landfill a problem in itself?

I remember the trouble over proposed new landfill (actualy landraise) in my area some years ago.

(Projects approved by FoE and other big NGOs)

(Projects run by a waste disposal company that does a lot of recycling and has won many enviromental awards)

Landfills used to be problematic (with leachate affecting ground and surface water quality), but these days a properly constructed landfill is unlikely to leak, and the methane etc can be collected and used for power. That's not to say they don't cause a localised nuisance with smells etc, but in the wider scheme of things, that's pretty minor. The real problem with landfills is the fact that we are running out of suitable quarries to fill, or areas to raise. The solution is incineration, but that usually suffers from a level of NIMBYism that stops many consent application in their tracks.

 

[The Lord Poncho]

Bio~ethanol is one such product that immediately springs to mind, I work in the care industry in a care home for the elderly which couldn't be further from green if it tried, almost invisible to most the amount of food waste & plastic bags & plastic for ppe & incontinence products none of which is recyclable & which inevitably goes to land fill or gets incinerated adding to green house gasses, I am actively encouraged to use tons of the stuff & could be prosecuted & possibly even be incarcerated for not using enough non recyclable products.. I cant help feeling a little guilt, but with everybody choosing to keep Their elderly family & relatives alive for as long as humanly possible we are all guilty of creating this demand & we all use hospitals/doctors so nobody guilt free.... IMHO the genuine life cycle analysis of sustaining the lives of your elderly family MMMMMM...... not so green now are we?

That's a good illustration. Taking it back one stage further and to the extreme, childless couples are significantly more sustainable than couples with a single child, couples with a single child less so, two children even less so, and three children - well your raping the planet! Everyone has a price they are willing to pay to be 'green' - if the government tries to set that price too high, then no one will listen and they will lose votes.

 

[John Fenna]

OK - I am childless but wear bamboo viscose and cotton products ... am I a good guy or an eco-villain?

 

[woof]

That set you've shown was available in wilko's.

Rob