Edit: I decided to throw it out and order a new stainless steel one that’s all one piece. Thanks for the help!
Round up another $1.25 and head to dollar tree
This right here unfortunately, the glue will cost more if you only use the glue once. We live in a world where items are easier/cheaper to throw out then repair.
Though I guess the cheapest thing you could do is drill a hole on the backside with a drill and put a screw through it. Only a short screw that goes into the cylinder/shaft.
Also fyi, most plastics from the dollar store are not guaranteed to be toxic free. You may find most of these plastics melt on pans with use over time and might end up being consumed. Usually what I opt for is metal on a metal pan or silicon cooking utensils that don’t seem to melt or loose peices of them in what I am cooking.
throw out then repair.
I think you have that backwards: try repairing and THEN throw it out.
Smash a tech screw in it, problem solved till the screw rusts.
I can relate to not wanting to throw something away if you can just fix it, but I guarantee you will save yourself a lot of time and stress if you just go down to your local thrift shop with a kitchen section and pick one of the dozens of spatulas they will have for like $0.50.
The last thing you want is the mess and possible pain of your repaired spatula breaking under the stress of lifting a hot, oily food from the pan.
This. If it’s plastic it should be solid plastic. This kind of failure will happen again.
Just get metal with a plastic or wooden handle. I got a $3 one 5 years ago and it works great. Cast iron can handle metal on metal.
Not great for ceramic coatings though.
Ours is like this and is at least 12 years old. I believe the plastic is over molded directly onto metal handle which sits about 1.5 cm into the plastic.
Check the border of the spatula, it looks like you are “eating” it with time, not good for the health
It got slightly melted along the leading edge once, so I trimmed/files it back to make it chamfered again.
I’m sure it sheds some microplastics, like pretty much everything, but I prefer a little of the spatula, to scraping the nonstick ceramics.
We really only use this with a couple pans, and use metal in our cast iron, though one of our favorite metal spatulas has a plastic handle that’s been melted dozens of times from resting on the rim of the pan.
I use metal for CI, and for everything else I use wood.
It looks like the glue may cost as much as the spatula.
Just go to Spatula City
S P A T U L A C I T Y
Buy 10 spatulas and get one FREE!!
Oh, don’t lean on me, man, ’cause you can’t afford the ticket
Back from spatula city
Plastic items aren’t meant to be repaired and it’s not a good idea to use them with food for very long. The plastic parts will disintegrate. Just throw it out.
Buy one that’s made out of wood.
Metal, wood handle, more durable.
the only allowable plastic for utensils should be a rubber spatula (high heat), for scooping out the last bits of a product.
metal is ok but not so good for the pan. absolutely not suitable for coated pans
…didn’t know i had to specify or have a disclaimer.
Thanks for the assist though, in case someone didn’t know.
If I really wanted to keep it I wouldn’t use glue I’d put part of a balloon or a finger from a glove on the spatula and force it back in. IMO any kitchen utensil that’s 2 parts like this will always fail quickly. I believe that’s a force fitting with ridges intended to keep it in so slightly enlarging the piece that goes in will recreate the tight fit
I’ve used tin foil to make the same repair. You can be as sloppy as you like, after it fits snuggly, you can just peel/rub off any excess.
Water proof JB Weld. But honestly it should be tossed. You want a spatula with a full tang. Even after you JB weld this the metal is going to fatigue and it will break again because there is so little connection between the tool and handle.
Yeah, I threw it out. I’m gonna order a full stainless steel one.
If I wasn’t going to throw it away, I’d probably fill the handle completely with food grade silicone caulk and score the s*** out of the plastic plug before I forced it together.
But unless I had a damn good use for the rest of the tube of caulk there’s no good reason to burn a $10 tube of caulk for a $2 spatula.
As a handyman I always have uses for caulk.
JB weld only does metal to metal right?
JB weld does pretty much anything to anything.
There’s different types of JB weld that will do different materials.
I strongly recommend NO glue and liberal use of your TRASH CAN. Then go get a cast iron frying pan and a METAL flip turner.
Do this so you do not die a horrible micro plastic PFOS death one day.
Best!
I already have cast iron pots and pans, but you make a good point. I’m going stainless steel!
Le Crueset makes a fantastic spatula, solid piece of metal, no glues/adhesives holding it together. Comes in either a metal blade or silicone coated one.
At least upgrade to silicone. I’m baffled that cooking utensils even come in nylon. Options should only be metal, wood, silicone if intended to use near heat.
As far as I have seen, nylon is considered food safe and dishwasher friendly. https://weeklypellet.com/2016/06/10/the-tricky-business-of-choosing-plastic-for-food-contact-applications/
The Weekly Pellet is a website for people in the plastics industry.
Here’s a site focused on people in the food industry:
https://www.chefsresource.com/is-nylon-food-safe/Nylon is considered food safe while it is in good condition, but not if it has been damaged or used at temperatures higher than what it is rated for. If you cook at max on your stove top, you can exceed the safe temperature of Nylon very easily.
https://chefreader.com/how-hot-does-a-frying-pan-get/Nylon can be washed in the dishwasher, but in my experience it does degrade a bit over time. Silicone on the other hand tends to absorb any smell or taste, including dish washing detergent.
These types of plastic spatulas tend to be recycled plastic. Which…you’d usually be all like “Oh, that’s great!”
WRONG! Unfortunately it means you’re getting an unknown exposure level of forever chemicals and there’s rarely any oversight on what types of plastics are put into these. So it’s worse than just cooking with plastics. It’s cooking with an amalgam of unknown plastics that may be putting a huge amount of chemicals into your food.
I’m so glad you never go to restaurants, use plastic bags, ziplocs, or ever take food to go. It’s good to use only glass food storage. Now tell us how to afford it. If you’re over 2 years old (and I assume you are) we’re already fucked with plastics.
I actually don’t use ziplocks or plastic bags, I do use glass food storage containers, and I go and eat at restaurants maybe twice a year. Wife and I are trying to have a kid, so we’re cutting as much plastic exposure as we reasonably can. Are we already lousy with plastics? Definitely. Does that mean we shouldn’t do everything we can to mitigate further exposure? Of course not, stop being a whataboutist doorknob.
Wait till you find out about chlormequat
Ffs…
Wonder what the levels in Canada and the UK are. Context: I’m from Canada, and live in the UK. I’ll hold out hope this is an American problem…excuse me while I bury my head in the sand a mo
Rada makes some pretty decent metal spatulas if you want specific recommendations.
The blade part is way thinner than plastic spatulas. Now that I’m used to the stainless steel ones, I feel clumsy and inept when I have to use someone else’s nylon spatula.
Instructions unclear, trash can now wedged into my dishwasher and a pipe burst behind it
At least you didn’t do something unspeakable to an innocent ceiling fan.
News flash: Even if they do that, your body is already full of microplastics as it’s in your food. So not sure if this is going to help even one bit :)
Any glue that is a) food safe and b) able to be stuffed in a dishwasher is probably going to be more expensive than a new spatula.
I applaud the effort to repair, but sometimes, it’s just not viable. Especially because the problem is in the relatively weak design of the part.
ETA: Food grade silicone or epoxy would do the job for a while, but neither will bond very well to the spatula. It would essentially be a mechanical bond and probably weaker than before
Get a proper single piece silicone spatula for your non stick and throw this one away. Get a single piece metal spatula for your stainless steel pan.
Alternatively, throw out your non stick pans and skip step one above.
Modern non-stick is great, but you have to get the right ones. The cheap non-stick is terrible, stuff like Calphalon is great. You spend a bit more, but it makes cooking and cleaning so much easier.
I was surprised Project Farm found some cheap ones test really well.
Thanks for the summary image and link to a new channel to check out! I love that the video just immediately jumped into topic without any fluff or calls to action at all. Likely going to try my luck with a Granitestone griddle to replace an ancient one with some gouges around the edges that’s probably giving me hyper-cancer.
For real. Project Farms videos are freaking cool.
He tests everything as scientifically as he reasonably can, pretty thoroughly in my experience, and he buys it all out of pocket so he’s not influenced by sponsors
The glue would cost the same price as a spatula at a dollar store.
That looks like a friction fit. Put it in place and try and crimp the tubing just a little bit. This is a ‘controlled pressing force’ type of operation. Don’t hammer or push too hard too fast. Creative thinking can go a long way in training your inner MacGyver (ancient US TV show reference).
One idea is to use a dining room chair. The leg of a chair can exert a lot of pressing force on a small area. This can work if you lack hand tools, a vise or other methods. Position the tube and lower your weight onto the chair in a controlled manner to alter the geometry enough to securely hold the insert in place.
Two part epoxy would be the only type. The catalyst in most epoxies is probably toxic, there are specialty food safe types, but they cost a fortune. I don’t think this is the solution though. I would go with crimping the tube.
MacGyver (ancient US TV show reference)
I would call a TV show ancient, if it’s like 40 years old, but MacGyver is like, 20 years ago?
Wait…
Elmer’s? If kids can eat it, so can you!
Hahaha nice
Stick it back in, put it in a clamp, and drill a screw straight into the end of that rod. Ain’t going nowhere unless you break it in the process, but at least you’ll have had some fun. No, I’m not being serious.
I mean, that’s not the worst suggestion? Drilling a hole and adding a screw could work. Now, whether that screw will start rusting and shedding rust shavings/dust into your food after a few washes is a different matter.
Honestly though, OP, it’s best to just replace. If it’s got sentimental value for whatever reason, you could try crimping the end of the tube or do go the drilling route and use a non-metallic holding mechanism (e.g. plastic screws or even a small circular plastic rod with an end that flares out after exiting the other side so it stays in place).
Cyanoacrylate. Unless you’re literally soaking it in your food I’m not too concerned about food safety with where the joint is - but of course I’ve been exposed to so many carcinogens that a little super glue won’t matter
![[Answered] What would be a good glue to repair this spatula with that wont be toxic or come undone in a dishwasher?](https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/ab3cf6e1-13ef-4b5a-bbdf-7694694c2981.jpeg){kind=link}