Post 11: What and Why? – Ari Matrajt

For this project, I wanted to create something that would be challenging to manufacture and would expand my current skills. I have been cooking a lot recently, so I thought I could improve my current spatulas. My goal was to make a spatula with interchangeable “heads” to reduce the space needed to keep these utensils and streamline the cleaning process. I decided to make it out of wood and the attaching mechanism would be activated using magnets.

Finalized idea of how the product would look like

My initial idea was to make several “head” attachments, ranging from various spatulas, spoons, and even a whisk. Hoeerber, I settled on only doing two “heads” as a proof of concept to be expanded in the future. The original idea was to include a hand protector as well to guard against boiling water or grease, but this idea goes against optimal space use, so I decided against including it. The idea behind the project was to maximize the number of cooking utensils I could have in a limited amount of cabinet space, so being able to separate the spatulas into two smaller pieces would optimize the space usage.

Initial inspiration for hand guard [1]

My goal was to achieve a rustic aesthetic; I wanted the final piece to look as if had been used for some time and have an aesthetic appeal. This is why I chose to build it using wood rather than 3D-printing it, since this would allow me to closely match my desired aesthetic.

Diagram of the attachment mechanism with magnet and base dimensions. [2]

I had the opportunity to learn a new skill throughout this project: woodworking. I had never made any products using wood so it was a fun experience learning a new set of skills while making the spatula. I first had to finalize my plan and set the dimensions I would be striving for.

Plan of how to cut the wood slab to create the spatula [2]

Final product

References:

[1] “Amazon.” Practice Fencing Epee with French Handle, www.amazon.com/Fencing-epees/b?ie=UTF8&node=13287001. Accessed 5 Mar. 2024.

[2] Helped by Joshua Colyer from the Idea Forge