OXO International is a company that produces a diverse line of
ergonomically designed
tools. Sam Farber, who had previously founded a successful
cookware company, identified a
market need when his arthritic wife reported
difficulty in gripping
kitchen tools. He worked with a
design firm to conduct
research involving consumers, professional
chefs, and merchants. After determining that kitchen tools should have a large, soft grip with a rounded end and a big
hole to facilitate their hanging, they designed a set of
implements with handles made of
Santoprene®, a processed
rubber used for dishwasher
gaskets. Many of the grips feature what the company refers to as "
fins" - these are evenly spaced thin rows of the
flexible rubber on the sides of the grips that conform to individual hands and allow for greater
control when
wet.
The first products in the OXO GOOD GRIPS line were launched in 1990 and the company has seen remarkable success, garnering numerous design awards, receiving rave reviews, and expanding the line to over 350 products - including tools for cooking, cleaning, and gardening - in just over ten years.
OXO products are a pleasure to use and a delight to behold. The grips are incredibly comfortable and the tools themselves work very well. They are also quite economical considering their high level of quality. My personal favorites include the tongs, the salad spinner, and the pet slicker brush.
OXO GOOD GRIPS Locking Tongs are made of brushed stainless steel with soft rubber handles. A round tab at the top allows for smooth opening and closing and provides a big hole for hanging. I have the 9" and 12" lengths and I use them practically every day in a wide variety of ways, including tossing salad and noodles, sautéeing, and pulling out the oven rack to make it easier to take out the pizza. I seem to have developed a behavioral pattern with my tongs: to open them, I hold the tongs in my right hand and hit the tab on my right hip bone. Sometimes if I have something in my left hand and it's absolutely necessary to close the tongs right away, I have put the tab between my teeth and pulled the tongs away from me to lock them shut. While this may be horrifyingly unsanitary, I mention it as a testament to the ease of tab sliding in the OXO tongs.
The OXO GOOD GRIPS Salad Spinner is the most attractive and easy-to-use salad spinner I have ever owned. There's a big, round knob on the top that, when plunged repeatedly, makes the inner basket spin in the outer bowl. There's also a button on the top that serves as a brake, making the basket come to an immediate halt no matter how fast it has been spinning. It's more like a child's toy than a kitchen implement - I have over-spun numerous heads of lettuce just because it's fun. As an added bonus, the outer bowl makes for a lovely salad bowl (just ignore the little bump at the bottom that keeps the basket in place).
Both my dog and I are big fans of the OXO GOOD GRIPS Slicker Brush, which has stainless steel pins that are much softer than any other slicker we've used. The handle makes it easy to brush the dog as long as necessary to remove stray hairs and make her coat nice and shiny.
Source: oxo.com