You used WHAT to do WHAT???

[Suzanne]

(We may already have a thread on this, but I'm feeling lazy right now. )

On the Equipment forum, panini mentions using dental floss to clean around the rivets holding on pot handles. Very cool -- another use for the stuff besides cutting cheese and cake layers. And, oh yeah, cleaning teeth.

I use a dedicated set of eyebrow tweezers to remove fish bones and pin feathers, and an old-style hairpin to pit cherries.

What nonculinary tools do you use for culinary tasks?

[sucrechef]

I have a set of wood carving tools which I use for carving chocolate and also for designs in the icing of cakes. Also a variety of rubber stamps which can be dipped in food coloring (mixed with water) for designs on just about anything.

[foodpump]

I've made alot of my own tools: A ravioli board from 3/8" strips of lap jointed maple, a rolling pastry crimping wheel from the pinion gear of a 3 speed bicycle hub, a device to deposit an even layer of icing or cake batter made from oak, turned my own "custom" rolling pins on a wood lathe, and made my own rolling chocolate storage cabinet that accepts normal 18 x 26" sheet pans

I've also applied cooking techniques to everyday life: To graffitii-proof a freshly painted white garage door in the back alley, I gave it the "cake pan" treatment, smeared it with margerine, then got my kids to fling dirt on it. It works! No graffitii

[oldschool1982]

Got tired of using a hack saw to cut femur bones for stock so I invested in a DeWalt reciprocating saw. Have used a Ryobi power hand planer to resurface those white plastic cutting boards and a medical saw typically used for cutting casts to split king crab legs, an old fashioned hand planer (non-powered) does a great job making chocolate curls and of course can't forget a good wood rasp for grating nutmeg and cinnamon. Also Schedule 40 PVC (Waste line) makes a great mould for frozen desserts and a couple other uses on the hot line for things that need to "set up" while cooking.

[kuan]

A bandsaw for frozen baguettes.

Of course, lengths of pipe for shaping tuiles.

Nylon fishing line for cutting cinnamon rolls.

[Austin_]

Good-quality scissors. Great for cutting bacon, snipping chives, and butterflying chicken and duck.

[foodnfoto]

Good-quality scissors. Great for cutting bacon, snipping chives, and butterflying chicken and duck.

For these, I can't live without my Joyce Chen kitchen shears. I buy them 10 at a time because eveyone wants a pair once they use them.

I have a small soldering iron that I use to put a final "just dipped" look on chocolate just before the picture is snapped. Love that little tool.

My old fashioned paint stripper is great for toasting bread and melting cheese.

Dental picks are great for pulling seeds out of citrus wedges without messing up the fruit.

[chrose]

I have used a wide variety of objects to achieve different textures on chocolate, marzipan, fondant, etc. Bubble wrap makes cool chocolate decorations, balloons of course. My favorites were the acrylic lens's from ceiling light fixtures. Large textures make great diamond type looks while I have used the fines ones to create an amazingly lifelike texture for an "adult" style cake I had to do for a client. I think I spent an inordinate amount of time getting that one just right!

[nickydafish]

This wasn't as original as some of the posts above, but it really made my day. Back when I was in the Army, I was in the field and dying for a cup of coffee. I made a grill out of some empty M-16 magazines boiled up some water in a canteen cup and used a clean sock as a coffee filter. A lot of the guys thought it was gross, but you know what? There was a line waiting for coffee.

[Suzanne]

Well, I think that's pretty original!

[oldschool1982]

At least it was a clean sock. Wise person said "necessity is the mother of invention".

[samvt]

Cut a notch in the edge of thin teflon cutting board. In this notch place the barrel (bridge end) of a used high E guitar string. Cut string to appropriate length and secure to corkscrew handle. Voila! Industrial strength cheese slicer for free! Necessity strikes again.

[mredikop]

Exact-O knives for cutting garnishes, a rubber mallet for pounding out meats because it's smoother surface won't tear the wax paper I wrap meats in and the rubber mallet gives me better control.