Q: Can anybody tell me what this utensil is used for?
A friend sent me this pic and wants to know. I've never seen one.
From Andrew Scrivani via Twitter
Editor: This question came to us via NY Times food photographer Andrew Scrivani on Twitter. (See Andrew's personal food blog here.)
Honestly, this reminds me of nothing so much as my mother's old knife sharpener. It had a few tightly spaced ridges, like on this gadget, and you ran a knife between the ridges to quickly sharpen it.
Readers, can you identify this gadget? Ever seen anything like it?
Related: Mystery Gadget! Squeezy Handles and Spiky Ring
(Image: via Andrew Scrivani)
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That's a "Mars Coat King" stripping rake. It's used for grooming dogs.
So if I only eat hairless breeds, I shouldn't need one in the kitchen?
Seriously? Haha - that's awesome. OK, maybe not so kitchen-y after all...
lol, that's great. I was wondering all morning after seeing that on twitter
Yes, that is a dog grooming tool (rake). Great for goldens and newfies, but I wouldn't put it anywhere near food.
That's hilarious :)
From far away I thought it was a cheese slicer...guess not!
yeah, it looks really similar to a cat comb we have, with blades in the rounded part for cutting matted fur and pulling out undercoat.
Haha! Yes, that is definitely for deshedding your dog, which I don't advise doing in your kitchen.
Looks like it might be used to make julienned strips of citrus fruit.
We used a tool like that for our julienned carrots. It's a julienned tool, like punchNYC said.
You can buy them in most kitchen supply stores.
@manjar: LOL! That comment just completely made my day!