
I Just Ordered a Ladle from Amazon - abtinf
http://www.abtinforouzandeh.com/2011/12/29/I-Just-Ordered-A-Ladle-From-Amazon.html
======
Ogre
I just read what someone I've never met wrote about the experience of buying a
ladle, then read what a few other people thought about it, and finally wrote
something myself on the subject.

What the hell is wrong with ME?

~~~
ctdonath
(Sorry, down vote button is too close to up vote button on a touchscreen.
Someone please up vote the heck out of parent.)

~~~
verroq
Maybe you need the chubby-fingers HN extension.

------
huhtenberg
The intrinsic beauty of the post aside - this sort of in-depth, but cheaply
available product insight simply wasn't available before and it is pretty damn
useful.

What if it's a cheap Chinese ladle that is made of led?

What if the handle is too thin and it heats up when left in a hot soup?

What if the shape of the bowl is odd?

What if the rubber grip falls off after the second use?

Any utilitarian gadget could certainly use an usability review. There is
absolutely _nothing_ wrong with it. How often do you buy ladles? Exactly. Why
not pick a good one then?

~~~
mechanical_fish
So, in total seriousness: I'm an amateur baker, I own six spatulas, and only
one of them is very good. My second favorite was doing great until I was
making a double batch of muffins and the wooden handle came out of the
silicone head, and then some muffin batter got into the slot where the handle
used to be, and it was obvious that I was never going to get it clean again so
I had to throw it away.

(Funny thing about this is I vaguely remember Alton Brown _predicting_ this in
his own review of spatulas. And then it happened just like he said.)

The good one is from Zyliss and is a silicone spatula firmly fused to its
plastic handle. I have stirred some pretty viscous tubs of stuff with this
spatula and it holds up, plus it's flexible enough to scrape well. My only
problem with it is that it's wearing out after a few years; silicone isn't
permanent and it develops nicks on the edge. I should go order three more
while I'm thinking about it.

So I don't think reading ladle reviews is that farfetched at all. (Though for
ladles, as for many things, I'd start at the local restaurant supply store.
Those stores are big on utility and not as big on hype and markup. And,
truthfully, ladles are not a hard thing to get right. Now dishers, on the
other hand...)

(For some reason I am now having fond memories of Weird Al Yankovic's movie
_UHF_. Fans will know why. ;)

~~~
tptacek
Why not just dunk the spatula head and handle in a 5% bleach solution?

We do a fair bit of sausage and charcuterie stuff here; there's usually a bowl
of bleach solution somewhere in my kitchen with something disinfecting in it.

~~~
mechanical_fish
Well, I suppose I could have done so, then reinserted the handle. Then there'd
be thoroughly disinfected organic material somewhere inside of the head of my
spatula. ;) This would probably not be fatal, but it was distasteful.

Or I could have attacked the problem with Q-tips and patience.

But another, different problem is that I anticipated the spatula coming apart
again. I do a lot of stirring of dough with spatulas, and it's annoying when
you have to constantly guard against pulling them apart. I guess I could have
gotten into the whole "which glue holds wood to silicone?" materials science
problem but it was easier to just switch to Zyliss.

------
e28eta
Yes, in the abstract, this is fairly ridiculous. However, having tried to use
kitchen utensils purchased from a dollar store, it's my experience that there
are some that are _completely_ useless.

So, I too would read reviews before purchasing a ladle online, because the
handful of images wouldn't give me a good idea of the quality of the item I
was purchasing.

Although, I personally would probably buy a ladle at a local store (thrift
store if you're looking for a deal), instead of getting it shipped to me.

~~~
abtinf
Amazon Prime eliminated the shipping charges on my $6.15 ladle. And it's
snowing outside.

And the physical store has no reviews!

~~~
tmeasday
Yeah, but someone in the store might be able to outline the pros and cons..

~~~
abtinf
Its like the electronics stores of yesteryear. Any piece of equipment you ask
about, regardless of how expensive it might be, will be met with the response
"this is a great x, why I have one myself and it is just fantastic".

~~~
wolever
This. I clearly remember the day my mental default switched from "trusting
sales people" to "ignoring sales people". It was the day my mom was trying to
buy a two-line phone, and she had three sales people trying to tell the three
different things that she actually wanted ("this cordless phone has two
handsets", "this phone has a flash button", "one phone can't have two lines,
you need two phones").

------
templaedhel
This is for some reason one of my favorite articles I've read on HN in awhile.
Probably because it is so (personally) profoundly true, and reads almost like
poetry.

~~~
abtinf
Does that make me a programmer poet?

~~~
gcb
nothing there hinted at the programmer part...

------
citricsquid
£42 / ~$60 seems to be the most expensive _pure_ Ladle I can find:
[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alessi-Mirror-
Finish-4180-10/dp/B000...](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alessi-Mirror-
Finish-4180-10/dp/B000PS4Q70/ref=sr_1_16?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1325223701&sr=1-16)

Special mention goes to a £172 / ~$230 Exoglass Spatula:
[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Matfer-Exoglass-Spatula-utensils-
kit...](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Matfer-Exoglass-Spatula-utensils-
kitchen/dp/B0039VAD22/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1325223701&sr=1-1)

I was curious what "Exoglass" is, apparently... "It is a special hi-tech
plastic developed by Matfer of France. It is used in the handles of their
pastry utensils. It is extremely durable, hygienic, and heat resistant. (Both
hot and cold extremes)" but there is no reference of the material outside of
cooking, is that strange or interesting I'm not sure.

~~~
samlev
How is a spatula that's 1.2m long a "simple utensil for your kitchen"?

Sure, I guess the design is probably simple, but what type of kitchen do they
imagine you're running where you need a spatula that's over a meter long?

------
terinjokes
I did a very similar thing while buying an ironing board for my mother for
Christmas. I thought I was crazy, reading reviews for ironing boards.

Two days later, one of them arrived on my doorstep (thank you Amazon Prime…),
and the moral of the story is that my mother loves the new ironing board,
mainly about how quiet it is compared to the old one, which rivals my age.

~~~
jarek
Technically speaking that's the conclusion of your story, not its moral. The
moral might be that spending time looking at what seems like basic utilities
results in happier users or something.

edit at 0 points 5 minutes later: :D

------
Hilyin
Oh you haven't learned amazon yet? Let me help you.
<http://dl.dropbox.com/u/227408/how-to-amazon.png>

~~~
jamesbritt
I look at the 1-star reviews first to see just what so bothers people. Often
it's something random ("I could not open the plastic wrap") that really has no
bearing on the product itself.

If no one has a legit killer complaint I look at the middle-star reviews.

Sometimes, though, the 1-star reviews point out some flaw or omission that
you'd never know about until you owned the thing for a bit, and you end up
feeling duped if you bought it (hence the 1-star venom).

There's a point, though, where you have to ask yourself what's the worst that
happens if you end up with a piece of crap. How much time/money are you out?

The problem (as the ladle purchase shows) is that it can become a sort of
personal challenge; "I _will_ get the best item for my money!" Even when it
make no sense.

------
wccrawford
I started reading reviews online when I wanted my first toaster oven. See, the
thing is, I had no idea what I wanted from a toaster oven, or how to judge
them. So I read reviews until I found out all the ways they could go wrong,
and then I looked for ones that didn't do that. At least, so far as I thought
I cared. "Not tall enough" isn't a problem for me because it's for toast and
bagel bites. Not really going to be a problem.

Ever since then, I read the negative reviews to judge products by their
deficiencies. It has worked wonders. I've never had such good appliances and
footwear, and I'm not spending an arm and a leg on them, either!

This is just one of the ways that the internet is changing our daily lives and
we don't even notice. It's quite amazing.

------
ctdonath
Reminiscent of "Spatula City".

~~~
troymc
Ah, but Amazon sells almost everything.

Spatula City sold spatulas,

and that's all.

------
stcredzero
There are some freakin beautiful cheap-as-dirt Chinese made stainless steel
ladles out there. Sometimes they show up in the grocery store for a song.

------
nate
Funny. But really, you are looking at Amazon reviews because you probably care
about the design of every day things. I wish more people did. The people that
do tend to be very successful.

I think about all the ladles I have ever had. I don't think I have a single
one I'd recommend. Here's a few things that pop into my mind as things I wish
ladle makers cared about.

First, they all have the problem of not being able to catch anything when a
bowl gets to the end. There's still stuff there, but a ladle becomes useless
at getting the shallow stuff. Why are ladles are shaped like cups with
handles? Why couldn't a ladle have a design to help sweep the bottom of round
bowls?

Second, ladles are awkward to put anywhere after using. Their handles make
them oddly balanced to lean on most things. They also tend to get very hot
handles when spooning hot mixtures and you leave the thing in the bowl.

Third, I'm not sure I've ever successfully used a label to get a full ladle of
anything in the target container (my cup) 2 times in a row. Inevitably I spill
something somehow.

------
hammock
The illuminating thing about the internet for me is not that people comparison
shop for simple objects like ladles. It's that there are enough unemployed or
lonely(?) people out there who actually have the motivation to write a
250-word review about something as mundane as a plastic ladle.

~~~
mturmon
Silicone, actually. World of difference.

~~~
hammock
Silicone is a type of plastic.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic#Classification>

------
abtinf
wtf, how did this post ever get on the main page? I mean for real? Go buy your
own ladles people.

~~~
abtinf
In case anyone is wondering, the ladle that inspired my post is:
<http://www.amazon.com/Zyliss-42320-Ladle/dp/B0018IAHTM/>

~~~
danberger
I don't blame you with going with this one. I mean, the first sentence of the
first post reads "Wow, this is one great ladle."

------
jtchang
Can we start a discussion on dish sponges/brushes.

This is by far my favorite:

[http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Good-Grips-Squirting-
Brush/dp/B000...](http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Good-Grips-Squirting-
Brush/dp/B00004OCLK/ref=pd_sim_hg_5)

Yes we shall have a discussion on the merits of kitchen utensils on
hackernews.

~~~
tdicola
I'm not a big fan of these sponges with integrated soap dispensers, they puke
soap all over your sink when you put them down.

~~~
aDemoUzer
dont like em. Too small for large pots. I prefer the brushes with longer
handle.

------
goatforce5
The NYT has an article with how to buy all the kitchen utensils you need for
under $200:
[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/09/dining/09mini.html?pagewan...](http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/09/dining/09mini.html?pagewanted=all)
(including a ladle)

------
dhughes
You could go to <http://www.americastestkitchen.com/> for in-depth reviews of
ladles, they get really technical.

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dddddannyyyyy
Hrm.. I did the same thing last week.

Your estimated delivery date is: Wednesday, December 21, 2011

OXO Good Grips Brushed Stainless Steel Ladle Sold by Amazon.com LLC
(Amazon.com) $9.99

------
veidr
Having already put that much effort into it, I would have bought the highest-
reviewed ladle, not the cheapest.

[http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Grips-Brushed-Stainless-
Steel/dp/B...](http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Grips-Brushed-Stainless-
Steel/dp/B0001BMXKI/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1325225659&sr=1-1)

~~~
cfinke
You can't go wrong with OXO. They put a noticeable amount of thought into the
ergonomics of their kitchen tools that is sorely lacking in most other brands.

~~~
Zak
And now I'm reading ladle reviews on _hacker news_.

------
pbreit
I mid-read it as "ladie" at first!

------
Vivtek
I learned something new about US/UK spelling differences today...

------
redthrowaway
That's enough of this nonsense on the frontpage.

Flagged.

~~~
huhtenberg
> Flagged.

Careful. They took away my _flag_ option when Steve Jobs died, and I still
haven't seen it back.

~~~
redthrowaway
I'm not anticipating a rash of ladle reviews requiring my (apparently
unpopular) flagging.

