Takeout chopsticks

[nyik]

Do you scrape the eating ends of the wooden takeout chopsticks before eating? Why/why not? Any real benefits to preventing unwanted splinters? Do you instinctively do it?

These questions came up while I was eating lunch today - why do I do it? TBH, I have no idea, I just do - feels safer for some reason.

[slowtyper]

I used to instinctively do it as a kid . I guess just saw other people doing it and thought it was cool. I have since stopped doing it. I find it rude when people do it now.

[joeyjoejoe]

I never do it. It doesn't look like it does anything either.

[nyik]

Depending on the quality of the chopstick, I sometimes am able to remove offending splinters that look like it's about to break from the chopstick and cause potential harm in my mouth.

[CantMissADeal]

Depends on the quality of the chopstick. Some are pretty cheaply made and many wood splinters fly off when you do it. I don't want to be eating slivers of wood so prefer to get them off.

For example these ones are more roughly shaped and have more splinters


And these ones are more smooth so have no splinters

[ippon]

Depends on the quality of the chopstick. Some are pretty cheaply made and many wood splinters fly off when you do it. I don't want to be eating slivers of wood so prefer to get them off.

For example these ones are more roughly shaped and have more splinters


And these ones are more smooth so have no splinters

it has more to do with type than quality.
the bottom ones are bamboo. the cheap ones use softwood and they break in the middle easily during separation and are much more prone to having splinters. bamboo ones get splinters too, but not much.

[ronin1701]

Do you scrape the eating ends of the wooden takeout chopsticks before eating? Why/why not? Any real benefits to preventing unwanted splinters? Do you instinctively do it?

These questions came up while I was eating lunch today - why do I do it? TBH, I have no idea, I just do - feels safer for some reason.

I can't really think of a good reason why someone would want splinters ....

[ronin1701]

I used to instinctively do it as a kid . I guess just saw other people doing it and thought it was cool. I have since stopped doing it. I find it rude when people do it now.

Why? If you've got splinters that need removing, what's the preferred method?

[sandikosh]

Whenever I buy chinese food, I always ask for a plastic knife and spoon.

[chinesedevil]

I always do this, it's like a norm and I don't find it offensive at all. It gets rid of splinters that could screw up your mouth.

[slowtyper]

Why? If you've got splinters that need removing, what's the preferred method?

I use these chopsticks pretty much daily (I have a couple thousand of them and yes, I am very wasteful) and never have splinters or at least don't have any that have caused me any harm to my hand or "screwed up my mouth". Like I said, I always did it just because...but when I stopped doing it, I find it does nothing.

As for why I find it rude, thats just me. Same as if some people sat down and started holding up their cutlery to the light and buffing them and wiping them.

I find most people do it everytime just because it has become a ritual, not that there are actual splinters needing to be shaven every time.

I do always find it amusing and slightly embarrassing the "tea ritual" my girlfriend and her family does to clean bowls/plates/chopsticks/everything on the table. It's considered normal in HK but...just funny to me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3-CJ-ntnxs

[ronin1701]

I do always find it amusing and slightly embarrassing the "tea ritual" my girlfriend and her family does to clean bowls/plates/chopsticks/everything on the table. It's considered normal in HK but...just funny to me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3-CJ-ntnxs

Hmm, I remember seeing my Grandmother doing that sort of thing when I was a kid. I guess it's just a holdover with the "older generation" from HK - all my older relatives living there still boil their drinking water too.

[nerak]

I do always find it amusing and slightly embarrassing the "tea ritual" my girlfriend and her family does to clean bowls/plates/chopsticks/everything on the table. It's considered normal in HK but...just funny to me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3-CJ-ntnxs

It's not necessary here, it's practical depending on where in HK. You never know where the rats have been over night especially in the small restaurants with back alley access.

Similar thing when I lived with my grandparents in HK in the public housing. The apartments aren't air tight sealed like they are in Canada. You'll get bugs that do their stuff at night. We didn't have to wash everything in the morning, but you put away your dishes properly before bed and turn your cups upside down so stuff don't get inside.

Even with proper condo flats, mice can still enter...scared my mom. We lived on the 19th floor. It came in from the kitchen exhaust fan. You can try figuring that out. We're still confused. (We aren't dirty. We just lived above those day time grocery markets that's basically the whole street.)

Anyway, I do the chopstick thing out of habit. Pavlov has it that I salivate when I rub the splinters off. Itadakimasu?!

[ippon]

It's not necessary here, it's practical depending on where in HK. You never know where the rats have been over night especially in the small restaurants with back alley access.

Similar thing when I lived with my grandparents in HK in the public housing. The apartments aren't air tight sealed like they are in Canada. You'll get bugs that do their stuff at night. We didn't have to wash everything in the morning, but you put away your dishes properly before bed and turn your cups upside down so stuff don't get inside.

Even with proper condo flats, mice can still enter...scared my mom. We lived on the 19th floor. It came in from the kitchen exhaust fan. You can try figuring that out. We're still confused. (We aren't dirty. We just lived above those day time grocery markets that's basically the whole street.)

Anyway, I do the chopstick thing out of habit. Pavlov has it that I salivate when I rub the splinters off. Itadakimasu?!

ya, very true for some people.
not me though. i much prefer forks or just using my fingers.

[slowtyper]

I like spooning.