Hahaha. Even I had a good laugh at the Filipino translation up top. I figured another post on single-use sterling silver implements would be a nice diversion just now. I wasn’t sure what this implement was when I first laid eyes on it, but it did remind me of something I had seen many years ago. While visiting the Palace of a Jogjakartan prince in Eastern Java, I came across a glass case of instruments and quickly zeroed in on the most memorable piece in that Palace… a metal “male chastity belt” that was essentially a ring decorated with spikes and if a young prince got frisky, it would seriously hurt in the wrong places. This potentially excruciating “dog collar” was then worn by the various teen Princes so they didn’t get any wayward lasses pregnant with royal you know what. So, at first glance, this silver implement was almost Christened Marketman’s “Elitist Contraceptive” for stupid commenters but a quick search on Google yielded the appropriate name… it’s a bone holder, stupid! HAHAHA. (Please, retain your sense of humor here, I don’t need any more zinger comments this week, although emilalva did have the gall to return to THE POST and comment again…)
The bone holder arrived a few days ago from Sister, who sent what is possibly the most extravagant gift ever shipped in a balikbayan box across the Pacific Ocean… A set of silver that included some rather unusual implements such as this one. Actually, you are supposed to unscrew this piece and place it over the end of a bone of a roast or possibly a small ham, before you carve the meat with your other hand. It is wildly elegant, totally of another era, but isn’t it nice to know they made them at one time? And this one will definitely find some use in our household in the years to come… The piece came as part of a European service for 12, purchased at an antiques store/auction house in Paris, stuck in luggage to New York and shipped home in a balikbayan box in time for the holidays. Marketman, Mrs. MM and The Kid were stunned by this wonderful gift. Thank you very much Sister, the silver will be used and cared for on this side of the planet…
Oh, and a note for those that haven’t come across posts on single-use silver implements on this blog before, there are several so far in the archives, and they are meant to simply show part of the wide spectrum of enjoyment in the food realm, from the extravagant to the utilitarian. So no grief please, or I will delete. :)
37 Responses
this is a cool one to have!!! thanks for sharing!
one rosemary-roasted leg of lamb, or a standing rib roast coming up, MM? just to check if the thing works? :-)
The tagalog headline version made me LOL! Thanks for sharing this interesting piece of antiquity!
Wow, never thought someone could actually think of making a bone holder(and all the other unthinkable single implements you featured)…very, very nice!!!
This thing really does exist, amazing craft. i wish i could borrow that from u, Marketman. thanks
If someone attempts to rob the house again, you can first use the fish pan to bonk the attacker on the head, then use the bone holder to place the screws on a sensitive part of their anatomy.
Serious question though: how long is this instrument? The last photo makes it look as long as a carving knife.
mila, 8 to 9 inches long. Hahaha, that could start a different set of ribald comments…
??? panghawak ng …. LOL!!! i am not bisaya but i DO know the bisaya meaning of ‘buto.’
oucheeeeee!!!! :-)
seriously, though, the posts on single-use silver instruments are verrrrryyy interesting! thanks, MM, for educating us in so many ways!
I’m bisaya, and initially read the tagalog translation the bisaya way. He he! Interesting post :)
I’m trying my very best to rewrite and edit my comment on this post, anyway, I’ll borrow this “8 inch long instrument” and your marrow spoon for my trip to the friendly neighborhood bulalo joint.
Should such an instrument be available locally in stainless steel rather than silver, please let us know. This is better than finger lickin’
hi. am not bisaya pero natawa ako reading the title. relatives are from the bicol region. growing up i heard an expression some used which went like this “ay —- mo”. naalala ko.
very interesting post on the silver instrument. thanks.
I’m Bisaya but didn’t quite get what was so funny with that word..hehehe A few posts after, I finally realized what it means…Good thing it isn’t what you initially thought MM, that would surely hurt if that was the case…
Same thing: male chastity ring = “bone” holder…..Ay, hindi pala yan single use implement! :0
Akala ko, an instrument of an orthopedic surgeon. Cooking utensil pala. The metallic feel makes the two almost similar.
kakaloka! where else would I have learned that there is such a thing called panghawak ng buto but here? hahaha… dami ko natutunan dito :)
hahaha, i was reading the comments and I blasted into laughter, heheheh “the buto” thing, an 8 inches and chastity belt for males, i want to have one talga…can i copy it and make pasadya it to a manufacturer?
CecileJ — HAHAHAHA!!! I was about to say the same! This implement is really easy to make ribald comments on. Just one more letter added to “bone holder” really does make it a chastity device! ;-D
an r?
Naku, MM. If the Fishpan woman reads this post, she’d be foaming in the mouth once again. Hehehe. I do love single-use implements — but I can’t hold a candle to your collection and Sister’s. Show us more, please.
Hahaha, this post and utensil is too full of double entendres!!
oh this gadget can hawak my buto anytime. hehehe, i’m ilonggo and i share the humor.
Hi MM! I’m currently dating a chef and his bday is coming up. I was wondering if you could suggest a unique and brilliant birthday gift for a chef. The few things I know about his kitchen life is that his favorite tool is hi chef’s knife (I thought of giving him one with his name engraved on it bu I thought it to be too expensive) and his favorite position is being an entremetier. He loves fusion food and his specialty is asian cuisine. Any suggestion? Pls email back! Thanks.
chinadoll, NEVER buy a chef a chef’s knife – they want to pick their own, and it’s supposedly bad luck to give someone a knife, no? Why not a pair of wild crocs or clogs (but then again, that’s a bit personal as well) to wear in the kitchen. Personally, I always love food gifts, unusual ones like a heirloom recipe ensaimada, or some kobe beef, or a bottle of homemade vinegar, etc….
MM, for the life of me I thought you posted a picture of a.. SPECULUM!
MM, just be sure you have it under lock & key….just in case you rub Mrs. MM the wrong way and she decides to use it!!!! hahahaha
chinadoll, MM is right.
We not only like to pick our own chef’s knife, we also hate it when somebody uses it. I could not understand this trait until I got my own set and become upset when someone uses it. Really weird, but its true.
An instant read/infrared thermometer is a useful gift that a chef will appreciate
artisan chocolatier, you are right. No one uses my knives but me.
Hi MM! It’s been months since my last comment. This post crack me up! lols You are right when you said it’s from a different era. Who would have thought there’s such a kind of thing, bone holder hehehe Anyway, yet another single-serve silverware in your collection. I’m looking forward to your post when you finally us this during one of your events. Your sister is so generous to share with you her rare finds. She has the eye for such nice pieces. Warm holiday greetings from New Jersey!
i love your posts on single use silver implements — so informative about bygone lifestyles.
how about a post on your new silver set? — a most extravagant gift indeed.
if i can’t have one, i’ll settle to be just educated by this blog- it’s interesting to see the different implements on the other side of the world, di ba? madami pa siguro yan- it’s like going on a treasure hunt for us. thanks again.
i have my own set of knives too and i dont like others to use it….
hmm MM I have not seen this yet normally this is what i check at french markets old pieces for serving
I remember seeing the spiky male chastity rings in the Kraton in Yogyakarta (which is its own province, more Central than East Java, fwiw) – it seems that it wasn’t very good to be a prince at that time ;)…
And that “buto” holder – the idea is hilarious! It reminds me of the mechanized Chinese finger trap that was in the first Addams Family flick.
katrina and lee, you beat me to it ‘coz that word was on my mind when i read this post. lol. i’m ilocano and if you put the emphasis on first syllable of buto, then this instrument will truly become an effective contraceptive (?) or should i say deterrent. hahaha..
I just had to share – am so excited. Thanks to you MM, I instantly recognized this implement at the flea market in Paris a few days ago. The dealer was showing me this set, of bone holder, fork (with the attached movable prong) and knife. The handles were made of bone, and are yellow, like amber (looks like bakelite.) As I rummaged through his tray some more, I found another set, but this one just the holder and a fork, in sterling silver, PLUS, it had my initials engraved on it! What a find. I could not let either one go, and had to buy both. Let’s just say, I got a good deal since I was buena mano! Thanks for the enlightening post MM, and now a few months later, I am the happy owner of two!
nycmama, ah the thrill of the find, don’t you love it? Glad you had a terrific day at a Parisian flea market and ended up with goodies to boot… gotta get me to Paris soon… may I ask which flea market you were at? :)
Clignancourt (#4 train) I went on Monday, open Sat to Monday. Still here, one more day then back home to NYC. When I get home, I will email you the info of the store I found it at. I think his prices are good even without tawad, but you must make tawad! And I only went to one section of the flea market cause I didn’t want to spend the entire day there. Now I look for this panghawak ng buto everywhere I go, and the prices are much much more than what I paid for the two sets! Have to plan Easter lunch soon, so hubby can cook two things maybe, with a bones, so we can use the sets! Yesterday, I spent hours at the Bon Marche…you don’t even want me to start. To make a long story short, when you come, do not fail to get the foie gras sandwich, thick chunks of it, plus some greens that I think are arugula in a ciabatta-like bread, for 4.90 euro — definitely my most bang for the buck Paris meal thus far.