Barbecue Tools

Last week we looked at the Reaching Rod that I use for a number of tasks around the house. By far the most important is using it to safely lower the lid of our barbecue. By hooking the curved portion through the leftmost teardrop shaped hole near the handle I am able to gently pull the lid forward to begin lowering it. As it descends the handle of the barbecue rests against the neck of the rod, the hook remaining in the teardrop shaped hole, so that the lid does not slam shut. With our previous barbecue I was able to use the fork of our barbecue tool set to do lower the lid gently. The shape of the new barbecue lid's handle necessitated finding an alternate way. A prime example of one method not necessarily working for everyone or every circumstance. Base your own solution on this information.

Regarding the tools that I use to barbecue, there is nothing special about them except that when purchased we were very intentional about choosing tools that had a good rubber handle. This handle made for ease of inserting in The Gloves yet provided enough friction to safely flip a nice, big, juicy steak. More challenging than that are grilled vegetables because they can be floppy or more likely to roll or slide off of a tool, but I manage by being extra careful when cooking them. Unfortunately, the shafts of the tools we first chose were somewhat flimsy and they did tend to bend when put under any pressure, such as sterilizing the flipper by placing it under the lid between uses. The tools we bought recently have a nice rubber handle but sturdier shafts which we hope will make for less flex when dealing with something heavy such as a whole chicken.

At first I thought that the triangular hangers at the end of the tools would be helpful. They ended up getting in my way so I removed them. Otherwise, it was just a matter of trying a few tools until we found the ones that suited best. This is definitely not something terribly unique, just a matter of purchasing what works best for you.

Source: Hardware and Department Stores

Universal Cuff

This is a standard universal cuff designed to Velcro around the hand. The pocket provided on a standard universal cuff is typically the right size for something like a piece of cutlery, toothbrush or other similar sized tool or utensil. Ironically, our standard cutlery was too large for this cuff. A prime example of how these cuffs can be very application-specific. As mentioned previously, I had a larger version that I used for my razor. I have also seen versions large enough for a modified ping-pong paddle or just about anything else with a handle of a smaller size. Some of the premade universal cuffs have a pocket, or even just a sleeve instead of a complete pocket, made out of an elasticized material so that they can accommodate a wider variety of utensils or tools. What I have found with these is that unless the tool is really big the elasticized sleeve does not provide enough tension to properly hold utensil, which results in it falling out or sliding all the way through so that the tines of a fork, for example, are right up against your hand. Once you get larger than a standard smaller size, say a pool cue, fishing rod, tennis or badminton racquet, there is a larger version that falls outside a standard universal cuff that will be shown in a future post.

As this cuff is shown it may be considered upside down by a lot of users of universal cuffs. Typically the utensil would be positioned the other way, with the pocket side of the cuff against the palm of the hand. For me, I found that it added additional helpful tension to use a universal cuff upside down. This way when pulling my wrist back into extension the raising of my tendons on the back of my hand would add tension, making the utensil less likely to slide out of the pocket. Something could be added to the utensil for additional grip to make it less likely to slide out of the pocket, but that means not just having a universal cuff but specialized cutlery to use with. It is a small additional price to pay for independence but it is one more adaptation to consider and possibly eliminate when the time is right.

I no longer use universal cuffs for anything. As mentioned in the Plasti-Dip and Typing Pencil article, I type with a pencil woven under my index finger, over my middle finger and under my ring  and pinky finger, with the eraser side coming out the bottom of my hand, which is what I type with. For eating I rest the fork on my thumb with the end of the handle between my middle and ring finger. For anything involving cutting I place the knife between my palm and my glove with the handle of the knife protruding between my middle and index finger, as will be demonstrated in next week's post regarding knives.

Source: These are available in occupational therapy catalogues, but since each application can be so specific, they are typically custom made by an OT or aide.