Pickles by Brian Crane for September 15, 2024

Good tines . . . .

It seems that Nelson’s manipulative powers are developing early.

Well, I would cut you meat if you had a girl’s fork.

I never thought of tableware as having a gender bias… but come to think of it, I and the few men I’ve talked to about the subject (maybe three?) all prefer “somewhat plain” with a sharp knife, four tines on the forks and a handle that is easy to grip and won’t rotate in a greasy hand. And a spoon with a very thin (equals sharp) edge on the bowl so it can scoop better when the good stuff is down to a mere coating.

Spouse and Ex both prefer(ed) something “more decorative” and care much less than I do about the feel of the handle in their hands. And my oldest sister liked her “Dansky” tableware that has three-tine forks, though the handle is pretty good. Ex had a strong preference (she still has the tableware we bought when we set up housekeeping). Spouse is willing to let me choose, which I did: Utterly plain flat handles, with a nice curved top to the handle and at least thin-ish spoons. And serrated knives.

When I was a kid, my family had silverware (it was actually stainless steel) from multiple sets. We kids regarded one set as the “kids’ set” and didn’t like to use that. We preferred to use silverware with “adult” designs.

That knife looks awfully girlie!

It seems like Nelson might have entered a “girls are icky” phase.

I tend to get “short-forked” when going out to eat. My guess is that those don’t get stolen as much as adult forks do, therefore more of them are around these days.

Sometimes a boy needs to show that he’s a man.

Sometimes boys and even grownup men show that they are still boys.

Nelson, a real man doesn’t use a fork, or cut up his meat. He picks it up with both hands and chews a bite off of it. And the meat has to be cooked RARE, with the blood still dripping off of it…. And then he calls to the serving wench to get him more.

They were giving away silverware at a grocery store way back with a purchase, pick out your own. I never realized I had picked ones with different patterns on them until it was pointed out to me much later! So now few of ours match!

Girl vs boy utensils? Is this where the idiocy starts? Reading the comment and reasoning from the first poster, that all makes sense. But not using a fork because it has flowers on it? Sounds sexist to me. I don’t like that Opal gave him a new one. I think she’s a sexist as she’s teaching Nelson to be. She should’ve told him to use it or go hungry. (And, no eating with his fingers)

Maybe if he had a “man knife”…. he could do it HIMSELF

He should ask Earl to cut up his meat. Then Earl could show him how to whittle-away with a pocket knife.

Nelson’s been listening to Earl too much…..where else would he get this notion? ☺️☺️☺️

I like the plain, unadorned silverware, as I do the dishes, and food doesn’t get trapped in the “decor.” My wife hates the forks in restaurants, and carries her own.

fork it

fork it all to hale

well now—this has been a very enlightning and educational strip this morning—NOT!

Inherent sexism.

You’re a big boy. You can cut it yourself.

My flatware is plain

your typical alpha male

Poor Grandma…….

Opal should say to Nelson that if it’s “manly” enough for you, you can act like a man and cut up your own meat. However, since this is just a comic strip, that’ll never happen.

Growing we just were grateful for the flatware we had.

Yes, he’s right on track with The Da Vinci Code, symbol of the sacred feminine ‘V.’

I’ve never assigned gender to silverware, but I do consider salad forks to be “baby forks.” I refuse to use them even for salads; they’re inefficient.

Methinks he doth protest too much. I have a trans friend who said, as a growing boy, he vehemently rejected the idea of anything girly, so no-one would guess his secret.

It’s a fork, tell the kid to eat with his fingers if he doesn’t like it.

Grandma, consider this a learning opportunity for young Nelson :) My little brother wanted a doll when he was about 4 (that’s 62 years ago) and our parents (A WWII vet and homemaker, typical middle class), got him one without hesitation. He loved that doll and took it everywhere, and I always gave our parents credit for not caving to the very sexist idea in those days that boys shouldn’t have dolls!

Mr Crane is starting to hit below the belt.

I just want a fork that’s sharp enough to snag a single piece of lettuce instead of pushing it around. What good is a blunt fork??

LOL

I completely agree with nelson here and I only eat with 1 fork that I just hand wash when I’m done with it. also I only eat with a fork if I can help it

I enjoy using the silverware that my parents and grandparents bought, Plus some we got for free.