Large Tiki Fork and Spoon Collecting

How did THESE THINGS get started? Are you embarrassed to have these as art of your tiki collection? Are they the ultimate tacky-- part tiki, part "country"?

Here's what I found on Wikipedia about the origins of decorative Forks and Spoons:

[begin quote]
As folk art

Wooden spoons have been made in virtually every nation on earth and (compared to silver or pewter or gold spoons) represent the ordinary artisan and reflect the life of ordinary folk: this is their "folk art".

Each region, sometimes each village, will produce its own very distinct style and type of spoon. Many African examples are carved with wild animals and are aimed at the tourist market; there are others that are ceremonial and contain much symbolism. Distinctive painted spoons have been made in the Khokhloma region of Russia for nearly 200 years, originally for domestic use and in more recent times as tourist objects.

Traditionally, the intricately-carved wooden love spoon has been used as a token of affection in Wales - see below 'The Lovespoon Story'. Each spoon could contain different meaning as shown by the use of various symbols, for instance: a chain would mean a wish to be together forever; a diamond would mean wealth or good fortune; a cross would mean faith; a flower would mean affection; or a dragon for protection. Many sailors carved spoons as they had much free time at sea on their long voyages, they would carve such symbols as anchors or ships into the spoon. Although the Welsh love spoon has its unique qualities, other styles of love spoons have been made in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, notably Romania.

In sporting culture

In some regions, particularly British-influenced ones of the Commonwealth and the United States, "wooden spoon award" is a booby prize for the team or individual finishing a competition in last position.
[end of quote]

So... makers of tiki tourist items perhaps chose to produce Large Tiki Forks and Spoons as a vehicle to sell popular stuff. "Decorative Forks and Spoons are a popular as folk art items, we want to sell lots of items, let's make tiki versions of Large Forks and Spoons." ???? Or did they begin as a tiki booby prize?

I have just one Large Tiki Fork, which is in my office... can you see it? Wood on wood; perhaps I'm subconciously hiding it.

[ Edited by: Bongo Bungalow 2008-11-10 04:47 ]

[ Edited by: Bongo Bungalow 2008-11-10 04:50 ]

I've loved this sort of stuff ever since I was a kid, when my mom would tell me that they were dinnerware for cannibals. I found this set last year. I think the motif is Native American, but they fit into my tiki bar perfectly.

Mr Bali Hai, that is a unique design I have never seen before. There are other non-Tiki, Indonesian faces on some of the big ones out there, but this one is especially cool. I hope some other folks have some surprises in store like that, because, honestly, to me the giant fork and spoon sets represent the bottom of the barrel of not only Tiki carvings, but of tourist art (which is already less cool than Tiki!):

The Tiki ones all look alike, and some are so badly carved you cannot make out what the figures are supposed to be. Before EVERYTHING that had a Tiki on it became collectable, they used to used to hang around en masse in thrift stores here. Kind of like the native-girl-with-movable-legs nut crackers, of which the early ones possessed a basic level of carving artistry, but later examples devolved into "nameless pieces of hacked wood". Here is a small set with the basic Ku design that I speak of (it resembles that blocky cheap tourist Tiki that was sold by the thousands in Hawaiian convenience stores):

I am sorry to have to be so blunt, Bongo Bungalow, you might have fond childhood memories of these and your mom's story is truly classic, but I just wanted to remind folks here WHY the art of mainland Tiki is so special: Because of its high artistic quality and ingenuity, things that are absent in most of these mass-produced, generic gag souvenirs ....in my (un-)humble opinion.

Could not agree more, bigbrotiki. Yet, here they are... part of tiki history. And many of us occasionally add un-artistic items to our collections.

When guests see my office tiki collection, they find some items facinating, some items beautiful, some surprising and some items humorous. My tiki fork is a bit in the last catagory. I get something like, "I've seen these before, I didn't notice they were little tiki guys!" I like that.

There is a drive for some collectors to gather in EVERYTHING they find that fits the catagory. I wonder if any TC members have like 50 sets of Large Tiki Forks and Spoons? How much variety is out there? How amusing would they be all hung together on one wall?

Ignorance is bliss, they say, and although growing up surrounded by wooden utensils wonders (grandma was - and still is - a huge fan of souvenirs), I cannot describe you the sense of victory I felt upon discovering a chipped wooden spoon with a carved Ku on top one morning, some 3 years ago in Tel Aviv's baragin market. This was my very first tiki find in the wild and in general, save for 2 postcards I had previously bought and two others that had already been in my postcard collection.

I love my fork, just like I like the weird abstract-ish Moai I found in the same market last spring. Later, of course, I've realised that the tiki utensils (please don't mind me calling them tiki) aren't such a big deal and that they can be found all over the place - a western trading post in Oklahoma Route 66 and an isolated ranch in Thompson Falls, Montana, included (and also really, really badly carved ones in the flea market in Jaffa, apparently)- but hey, when in the desert you don't say no to water just because you like coke.

On 2008-11-10 14:27, bigbrotiki wrote:

Mr Bali Hai, that is a unique design I have never seen before. There are other non-Tiki, Indonesian faces on some of the big ones out there, but this one is especially cool.

Glad you approve, bigbro. My set is signed by a Peter Mellick of Ashland, Wisconsin. I know nothing about him, so I'm not sure exactly what style he was working in here, but as I said, I can see definite Native American influences in the faces. I also thought it was unusual that he did a knife and spoon, as opposed to a fork and spoon. I'd never seen that before.

I had a couple of these sets around..

I decided to carve tikis out of the tiki spoon handle. The top of the spoon with hanging hole was discarded, the top tiki body turned into a moai head, the second tiki body turned into the moai's belly and arms and the lone tiki head at the bottom of the handle was carved into a lono/hei tiki, the top part of the spoon itself was carved into a fishhook and I learned that carving monkeypod with exacto knives is hard....

I then drilled a hole in the back to wall hang and a side hole to wear it as a pendant.

To drown sorrow, where should one jump first and best? "Certainly not water. Water rusts you." -Frank Sinatra

[ Edited by: Sneakytiki 2008-11-20 11:44 ]

Interesting thread idea. I'd guess everyone has at least ONE of these, whether they'll admit it or not.

I saw dozens of these in thrift stores and antique malls for years and refused to buy one at any price. But when I saw this one in a house we were salvaging before demolition I was actually excited to grab it! Of course, now I keep it behind the door in my home office (which should tell you something about how I really feel about it). I guess it was well worth the purchase price!

I had a broken Spoon with a nice handle.... I need door handles for the hut.....

Hey, those are nice handles. I actually bought a couple of spoon sets for just this exact purpose. I hid them around here, some place.

Sophia Loren shows off her giant Tiki dinnerware:

Oh, I have the same set she has. But, her head is not in the middle of them.

On 2009-01-09 06:53, Tiki Kupcake wrote:
Oh, I have the same set she has. But, her head is not in the middle of them.

The "same set" you say? You have the same set as Sophia Loren? Nice... :wink:

This is from my first post on this board. These were one of the first "Tiki" items I bought in a thrift store, before I knew anything about what was cool and what wasn't. (same story with the mask between them - bigbro, look away...) They're so common, why not pick up a set? They're great wall-filler. These ones are particularly crude; the tikis almost unrecognizable. Here in Edmonton, authentic artifacts are very few and far between, so we've got to make do with the touristy stuff that managed to make it this far north. I'll never tout them as anything but cheap, tourist crap, along the same lines as monkey pod mugs and tikis made in the Philippines. I really like that idea of turning them into door handles. I'm thinking about picking up one of those sets with the owls instead of tikis, to post to "Owl Central" of course! :wink:

I have a fork/spoon combo, but I also have what looks like the same idea applied to a skillet...in other words, it's a wooden platter with a tiki handle. I also have one that looks like a teardrop shaped scoop with a single tiki handle.

If I wasn't such a computer-illiterate-dumbs*#t I would be able to take pictures with my handy digital camera and post them here to share. But I am a dumbs*#t and don't have a clue how to get the pics from the camera onto this post.

:drink:
Tacky

Wow ... I just bought a fork & spoon that look exactly like the ones Sophia is holding. These things are huge, 39'' long and the spoon is 8-5/8" wide. I've been all over the Internet and haven't found anything comparable. They are very old and extremely well-carved. The wood is black, and they are in excellent shape. I think I'll eBay them and see what they'll bring.

[ Edited by: allenmac 2009-08-27 21:33 ]

Always remember, that the true use of these giant forks and spoons is for making Wahine Salad.

Real tiki aficionados always use their collectibles for their intended purpose - not just for display. So go have fun!

Sabu

Hey Bradda & Sistah's, I'm looking to buy a inexpensive(as in $15-25) spoon & fork set so let me know what ya got if any :) thanks

My friend is collecting them so he doesn't have to take down the hideous wall paper in his kitchen. One day he hopes to have just a wall of forks and spoons. The big ones are 5-6 feet tall!!!

Hey Kelly

I have a pair I rescued at the Salvation Army last year. You can have them, I have no need to keep them. I will take a photo later and post them. I'll give them to you next time I see you if you want them.

Jen

On 2009-08-28 09:09, Skinny Dog wrote:
Hey Kelly

I have a pair I rescued at the Salvation Army last year. You can have them, I have no need to keep them. I will take a photo later and post them. I'll give them to you next time I see you if you want them.

Jen

I do want them Thank You! Kitchen remodel & they are a necessity Thanks again, I will hook up with you Jen :)

No worries Kelly, they have your name on them.

Jen

Whatever..are you kidding me? What tiki-loving abode would be without at least ONE set of souvenir utensils...honestly, what alternative universe do you some of you people comefrom? lol. They are awesome.

Always remember..... Spooning leads to forking.

I appreciate this thread, because I always wondered what is up with these?

I constantly run across them in my thrifting, and have yet to give in and buy some. Not that I don't find them cool, but if found tiki mugs at the fork/spoon rate, I would have a 24 hour grin.

In order I constantly find and pass on:

1. White Buddha/Geisha/Ninja mugs. Debate on Poly-pop tikiness yet?

2. Wooden fork and spoons

3. Those brown Kahlua double decker things

On 2009-08-27 15:51, sputnikmoss wrote:
My friend is collecting them so he doesn't have to take down the hideous wall paper in his kitchen. One day he hopes to have just a wall of forks and spoons. The big ones are 5-6 feet tall!!!

that wall of giant forks and spoons is inspiring...i have a few sets, but maybe i need more,much , much, more.

Wow! How fitting this post is right on the first page, i just got around to finishing this project yesterday. I have had this spoon for about a year now. Now it is complete!

I have never met a drink I didn't like, unless it was that time I met beer...

[ Edited by: Mike the Headhunter 2009-10-14 06:21 ]

My favorite:

-Duke

I agree with Duke...those Easter Island ancestor figure inspired untensils are the coolest ones I've seen. I wouldn't mind stumbling across some of those in the salvation army.

I noticed that no one mentioned that one of the reasons so many of these, and the monkeypod wooden tiki mugs, show up in thrift stores on the mainland is that they were available in North American stores in the late 60s and 70s as well. Here's an ad from the 1974 Canadian Sears Wishbook...

So far I've resisted the temptation to pick up any of the dozens I've seen over the years!

We love our giant fork and spoon that we have up on display in the house. They make a perfect kitschy transition from the lounge area of the house into the kitchen. Yeah, they're not the most intricately carved or designed, but I think that's kinda the point - they're supposed to be tacky.

They're certainly weird, but they do have their place as part of the tiki past.

On 2008-12-02 10:42, ErichTroudt wrote:
I had a broken Spoon with a nice handle.... I need door handles for the hut.....

Erich, your door handle idea inspired me.The fork is mounted on the other side of the door.

The door needs to be tikifiied, but this is agood start I think.

I FINALLY broke down and got my fork & spoon. Spent about $12 in gas to pick it up at a thrift an hour away from me for $3. So call it $15 for the set. A gal I know has a craft store with a few collectibles in the back that I have gotten a Coco Joe's and a Leilani from and her daughter saw the f&s at a thrift that she works at and messaged me about them on fb. So now I have my TikiTaki.

As for the origin of Big fork and spoons, A friend told me this many years ago; "I dated a Filipino guy and they have a set in his parents house. He told me that folk lore has it that Ancient Filipinos were GIANTS and the big fork and spoon is an homage to their ancestory."

Hmm...

Spoon!

Well I took a pick of a tub of spoons and forks I have in storage. I pick them up whenever I see them for under $5 for a pair. Most I've paid around a $1 and I plan to make a lamp of something interesting with them at some point.

I like the ones we've found that have little ducks and heart decals applied.

Paul

I too have a spoon in my set. It was given to me by my brother when he was staioned out of P.I. looks like the standard style, but I did happen to come across this set at a salvation army today for a buck. Haven't seen one like this before.

Wasn't realy looking for them, and like many of the others I pass em' by, but these I liked

Funny how much those things are going for these days. I've got them everywhere in my 'galley' area. Here's a quick shot... they are on nearly every post. Couldn't do that at todays prices, but back when you could find them for $3 to $4 a pair...

It's funny, I really don't like these things at all but when you see some of them set up in your spaces, they look pretty good! I still think the majority of these should be cut down so only the Tikis survive but that's just my opinion! That being said, the pair (two posts back) added by ka'lenatiki are probably the coolest I've seen. Their original and are good Tikis.

There's an old house in Fort Langley that's been there forever. It's quite an old Arts and Crafts type house. They have this unique fence that goes around their property and it's really pretty cool. It's made with lots of old antiques, tools and other bits and bobs.

There's even a few floats thrown in, that's right close to the Sewing Machine!:

And sure enough, at the end of the fence:

A little weathered now but still holding up!
There's just no escaping these giant Forks and Spoons!!!

Mahalo, TabooDan

That fence is awesome, dan. I like the way the fork & spoon weathered. is the rest of the property "excentric"?

I thought these Witcos were big

Until I saw these from the Seattle's World Fair!

DC

Just found these at my local goodwill for $4 for the set. What's cool is that it still has the original tag from "The Monkeypod Wood Shop" in Honolulu, HI. Got 'em hung up already!

Clintiki

I have O.T.D: Obsessive.Tiki.Disorder!.. :)

I love this image

The Bali Hai here in SD has a set that includes the matching knife. Anyone ever seen another one of those out there?

I have a few sets from various pacific tourist hubs:

Papua New Guinea's version:

Rapa Nui Kava Kava man set:

Tahiti's full tableware version:

New Zealand Maori decorative:

Maori salad servers:

Maori Hei Tiki resin salad servers:

Buzzy Out!

On 2013-01-09 10:12, SandraDee wrote:
I love this image

HAH! Wonderful photo

I kneed a tiki knife for a project. Anyone ?

On 2013-07-06 05:43, RevBambooBen wrote:
I kneed a tiki knife for a project. Anyone ?

Never mind. Gonna do something else. Mo' funnah! :wink:
Keep an eye out.

picked these up for $5..... about 12 inches long....

Good 1