Featured Can someone identify this spoon thingy?

A recent box lot purchase. When you compress the handle, it opens to a reticulated spoon on top and a solid spoon on the bottom. It takes some muscle to open it as well! If the picture of the maker's mark is not clear, it is a hand pointing to the right with the letter F in the middle. And of course it says patent pending and silver plate. Possibly made to scoop up chunks of food?

 

Looks like a type of spoon infuser for loose tea or perhaps other herbs.

https://www.google.com/search?q=inf...Q1PBb4QjJkEegQIFxAC&biw=1448&bih=698&dpr=1.25

 

This one might help others more:

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This tea drinker agrees with it being an infuser spoon.

 

serving tongs may help for searching

one on etsy but overlaid with another listing for a necklace !

 

Unless you’re drinking gnats pee tea, not an infuser. And those are, in any event, an abomination. I’ve seen these in use as serving “tongs” .

 

VTG English Sheffield Style Silverplate Serving Tongs Patent Pending, 9 1/2" L | #3921121519 (worthpoint.com)

Antique VTG Silverplate Serving Spoon Spring Loaded Slotted Strainer 9 1/2" Tong | #3837808728 (worthpoint.com)

RARE Silver Strainer Serving Spoon Tongs SQUEEZE HANDLE | #35422881 (worthpoint.com)

 

I guess I must drink a lot of gnats pee tea because I voted for infuser. Seriously, just trying to learn here, why wouldn’t it be an infuser? I don’t use infuser spoons, but it sure looked similar to me.

 

Infuser spoons are pierced on bowl and cover so that the leaves can steep better. And you’d not get much tea in that thing.

teapot. Leaf tea. BOILING WATER FRESHLY DRAWN.

Or it’s gnats pee.

 

Just popping in to agree with Bear on the form of tea infuser spoons, and adding that these strainer openings are way too large anyway, especially since the pieces shown in TallCakes' links are clearly stated as 9-1/2" long, the bowl over 2" wide. Always helpful if the size of an item is given...

~Cheryl