"Jen" the Jabiru | Australian BBQ Tongs

The Inspiration The jabiru is the only stork in Australia, and it is almost entirely bill. Nearly a foot of heavy black beak on the end of a metre-three of bird, carried on legs the colour of a fire engine, wading the floodplains and billabongs of the north. Watch one hunt and you'll see the whole design brief. It stands motionless in the shallows, waits, and then strikes — and what happens next is the interesting part. It doesn't stab. It grips. The bill closes on a fish or a frog, holds it, carries it, gives it a wash, flips it, and swallows it head first. All of that is done at arm's length, with total control, by an animal that never once puts its face near the thing it's holding. There is a whole class of tool built on that idea, and this is it. The Design Tongs are the most-used thing at any barbecue and usually the worst thing on the bench. Flimsy arms that flex when you need them not to. Tips that don't meet. A handle that quietly becomes as hot as the food. Jen fixes the three that matter. The jaws are serrated, so a sausage doesn't roll and a chop doesn't slide free halfway to the plate. The tip is a separate piece of steel, joined at the pivot so heat stays where it belongs — on the meat, not travelling up the arm to your hand. And the arms are stiff enough to lift a whole rested rump without folding, which is the difference between turning meat and chasing it. Long reach, precise grip, and no need to put your hand anywhere near the fire. Exactly what the bird does. The Specifications Material: Titanium-coated stainless steel Jaws: Serrated, uncoated stainless Tip: Separated steel heat break at the pivot Fittings: Colour-matched screws Length: 340mm Full Length | 320mm (not include lock) Weight: 207g Finish: Engraved Koi Knives Australia along the arm, with hanging ring Collection: Wild / Australian Animal BBQ Bracketed figures pending final production spec.